After brief spells at Kettering Town and returning to Boston, Elding joined Stockport County in January 2007 for around £55,000. He wasted no time making impact — scoring seven goals in his first eight games and finishing the season with 24 in 45 appearances, helping Stockport reach the League Two play-offs. His form made him League Two's standout striker and caught the eye of Leeds United.

On 31 January 2008, Leeds United agreed a fee (reported around £100,000) with Stockport County for Elding, as manager Gary McAllister strengthened to push for promotion from League One. A lifelong Leeds fan, Elding described the move to Elland Road as a dream come true — he made clear he was determined to fight for a place despite outside interest from Crewe Alexandra, turning down their offer to stay at Leeds.

Between January and May 2008, Elding made nine League One appearances (four starts, five off the bench) and scored just one goal, his strike coming after coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Cheltenham Town, a game in which he hoped to inject confidence into Leeds' promotion push. This proved to be his only goal for the club.

Elding struggled to establish himself. Gary McAllister brought in other forwards like Tresor Kandol and Bradley Johnson during that window, leaving Elding surplus to first-team plans. Though he remained committed, he never managed to secure a regular place and watched from the bench for much of the campaign. Supporters and later retrospectives were not kind — Elding was labelled one of Leeds' worst signings.

Leeds ultimately finished 5th in League One that season and reached the play-offs, but Elding did not feature in the post-season squad. In July 2008, after less than six months at Elland Road, he was transferred to Crewe Alexandra, along with other departures, as Leeds reshuffled their squad under tighter financial conditions. He left Leeds having made just nine league appearances and one goal, in what proved a forgettable Elland Road spell. At Crewe Alexandra in the 2008/09 season, Elding was named vice-captain, but again struggled for consistency — scoring only one league goal in 26 appearances. He had loan spells at Lincoln City (15 apps, 3 goals) and Kettering Town (8 apps, 3 goals) before mutually terminating his contract with Crewe in January 2010.

Subsequently, Elding moved abroad to Ferencváros in Hungary in 2010, where he rediscovered form — scoring eight goals in 15 games and regaining confidence under manager Craig Short, whom he described as 'the best manager I’ve worked with'. Returning to England shortly after, he joined Rochdale, spending part of that spell back on loan at Stockport County. By 2011, he had moved to Grimsby Town, where he scored 18 goals in 59 appearances and later earned a loan to Preston North End in 2012. He finished his playing days with stints at Sligo Rovers, Cork City, Derry City, and Ballinamallard United — totaling over 469 league appearances and 157 goals across clubs and countries.

In contrast, his successes at Stockport and Stevenage show what might have been: a prolific non-league striker with strong heading ability and presence. His later exploits at Ferencváros revived his goal scoring and confidence, while spells with Grimsby and Sligo Rovers confirmed him as reliable at lower Football League level and abroad.

Elding also earned six caps for England C between 2003 and 2005 while at Stevenage, scoring twice—recognition of his quality outside the Football League early in his career.