Michael Kightly

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Michael Kightly
KightlyWolves07.png
Michael Kightly in the Wolverhampton Wanderers jersey (2007)
Personnel
Surname Michael John Kightly
birthday January 24, 1986
place of birth Basildon ,  England
position Winger
Juniors
Years station
Tottenham Hotspur
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
2001-2003 Basildon United
2003-2005 Southend United 13 0(0)
2004-2005 →  Farnborough Town  (loan) 11 0(0)
2005-2007 Grays Athletic 53 (24)
2006-2007 →  Wolverhampton Wanderers  (loan) 5 0(2)
2007–2012 Wolverhampton Wanderers 109 (21)
2011 →  Watford FC  (loan) 12 0(3)
2012-2014 Stoke City 22 0(3)
2013-2014 →  Burnley FC  (loan) 36 0(5)
2014-2017 Burnley FC 40 0(1)
2017 →  Burton Albion  (loan) 12 0(4)
2017– Southend United 20 0(5)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
2007-2008 England U-21 7 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.
As of March 6, 2018

Michael John Kightly (born January 24, 1986 in Basildon ) is an English football player . The midfielder , who can be used on both sides , has been active for Southend United since the 2017/18 season and was a seven-time England U-21 international in 2007 and 2008 .

Athletic career

Kightly played for Tottenham Hotspur as a student . Hopes for a steady career progression via the youth departments up to the professional team of the Spurs were not fulfilled and so the teenager found himself in his hometown Basildon - 40 kilometers northeast of London - with the local amateur team Basildon United. The two-footed winger found this detour back into professional football in March 2003 when he joined the fourth division Southend United . He made his debut on May 3, 2003 on the occasion of a 1-0 loss at Exeter City . In the following years, however, it was the cup games in which Kightly was set up with the "Shrimps"; of the total of 13 league appearances up to July 2005, only two were from the start. During his final season in Southend on loan from the club between October 2004 and January 2005 to the fifth-rate team Farnborough Town , where Kightly received regular game practice. At the end of the 2004/05 season, Southend's coach Steve Tilson decided that the now 19-year-old Kightly should leave the club.

A permanent move to Farnborough Town was not an option due to relegation, but an alternative was quickly found with former league rivals Grays Athletic . Kightly found his way around there well, scored 15 league goals in his first season in 2005/06 and also won the FA Trophy with his new team . By November 2006, he had already scored ten goals in the following season and Kightly came to a certain degree of fame in low-class football. The " Ryan Giggs of Non-League Football " caught the attention of some big clubs' talent eyes; A deal was initially reached on a loan deal with second division side Wolverhampton Wanderers, which both parties let flow into a final transfer after two goals in the first five games - part of the sales deal was a friendly game between Grays Athletic and, in addition to a transfer fee of 20,000 pounds the "Wolves", which took place in July 2007.

With his skills, which include good ball control, frequent changes of sides and also defensive qualities when conquering the ball, Kightly quickly played his way into the hearts of fans in Wolverhampton and at the end of the 2006/07 season came in the club's internal election for the best player behind goalkeepers Matt Murray equaled to second place. The rise he just missed out in the play-off matches and numerous Premier League clubs ( Aston Villa , Tottenham Hotspur , Portsmouth , Everton and relegated Charlton Athletic ) expressed openly their interest in the second-division newcomer. With the signing of a new four-year contract with the Wolves in June 2007, Kightly ended such speculations prematurely - a new contract for improved salaries for four seasons again followed a year later.

In August 2007, the new coach Stuart Pearce appointed him for the first time in the squad of the English U-21 national team and so Kightly came in the friendly against Romania in the first half of his debut. The aspiring career suffered a setback in November 2007 when he had to take a break due to a stubborn ankle injury, whereupon he even had to undergo an operation in February 2008 after two failed comeback attempts. It was not until the last four days of the 2008/09 season that Kightly returned to the team, which narrowly missed the return to the play-off games due to the poorer goal difference. In the 2008/09 promotion season he worked his way back into the regular formation and with eight goals played a key role in ensuring that the Wolves managed to return to the Premier League . A metatarsal fracture, which he suffered in a game of the reserve team in March 2009, prevented both his participation in the decisive second division phase and his first division premiere in August 2009.

successes

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Kightly released by Southend boss" (BBC Sport)
  2. ↑ "Saturday's football gossip" (BBC Sport)
  3. ↑ "Kightly completes move to Wolves" (BBC Sport)
  4. ^ "Wolves sign McIndoe and Kightly" (BBC Sport)
  5. ↑ "Grays reception impresses Kightly" (BBC Sport)
  6. ↑ "Scouting report: Michael Kightly, Wolverhampton Wanderers" (The Guardian)
  7. ↑ "The Screamer ... It's the talk of football" (Daily Mail)
  8. ↑ "Kightly signs new Wolves contract" (BBC Sport)
  9. ^ "Kightly pens new deal with Wolves" (BBC Sport)
  10. ↑ "U21: England 1-1 Romania: Pearce starts reign" (Soccernet ESPN)
  11. ↑ "Kightly suffers fresh ankle woe" (BBC Sport)
  12. ↑ "Kightly will miss start of season" (BBC Sport)
personal data
SURNAME Kightly, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kightly, Michael John (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Basildon , England