George Elokobi

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George Elokobi
Personal information
Full name George Nganyuo Elokobi
Date of birth 31 January 1986 (1986-01-31) (age 26)
Place of birth Mamfe, Cameroon
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current club Nottingham Forest
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Number 26
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2004 Dulwich Hamlet 1 (0)
2004–2008 Colchester United 39 (2)
2005 → Chester City (loan) 5 (0)
2008– Wolverhampton Wanderers 76 (2)
2012 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:15, 19 February 2012 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

George Nganyuo Elokobi (born 31 January 1986) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a defender. He is currently on loan at Championship side Nottingham Forest from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Elokobi moved from his native Cameroon to England aged 16 and soon entered non-league football. He was signed by league club Colchester United in 2004, where he caught the attention of Wolverhampton Wanderers to whom he moved in 2008. He was part of their promotion-winning squad to the Premier League the following year, and has appeared during their top flight campaigns ever since.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Elokobi was aged 11 when he lost both his father (to diabetes) and a grandfather. In that same year he was left to live with his grandmother, while his mother moved to England to study. Having gained her qualifications, she found work and was able to send her son to one of the best boarding schools in Cameroon (St. Joseph's College Sasse). At the age of 16 he moved to London to join her, at first attending college to study business, IT and sociology. However, his football career soon took off as his main focus.[1]

[edit] Club career

Soon after arriving in the UK in 2002, and while living in Welling, Elokobi joined non-League Dulwich Hamlet, before stepping up to league football with Colchester United in June 2004.[2] He did not feature for the team in his first season and was loaned to Chester City for a month in early 2005, working under Ian Rush.[3] He made five appearances for Chester, including his professional debut against Swansea City on 29 January 2005. However, the spell did not go well with Chester losing all five games and Elokobi being sent off in his final appearance for the club at Shrewsbury Town.

He made a further 10 league appearances in the 2006–07 season as the team consolidated itself in the Championship, and went on to establish himself as a regular first team player in the early months of the following campaign. However, he was later dropped from the team for several matches, prompting him to hand in a transfer request.[4] This alerted fellow Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign him in a two-and-a-half year deal for £300,000 on 31 January 2008.[5][6]

Elokobi quickly became first-choice left-back at Molineux, but his run in the side was ended when he suffered a knee-ligament injury just three games into the 2008–09 season.[7] The injury kept him on the sidelines until the final game of the season at home to Doncaster Rovers, after which the club lifted the Championship trophy having been promoted to the Premier League after a five year absence.[8]

The defender has appeared regularly for Wolves in the Premier League since, largely competing with Stephen Ward for the left back role. He scored his first Wolves goal in a League Cup tie against Manchester United on 26 October 2010.[9] His first league goal for the club also came against Manchester United on 5 February 2011. He also claimed the second and the winning goal in that game, which caused a friendly dispute with teammate Kevin Doyle to whom the goal was ultimately awarded.[10] He is signed to the Midlands club until Summer 2013, with the option of a further year.[11]

In February 2012, Elokobi joined Championship side Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season.[12]

[edit] International career

In November 2010, Elokobi was called up to the Cameroon national team's training camp,[13] but wasn't capped. He was then selected for the squad for the 2012 AFCON Qualifier match against Senegal on 26 March 2011 and the friendly match against Gabon three days later. He was an unused substitute against Senegal, and the friendly with Gabon was cancelled only a few days before it was due to be played.[14][15]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Colchester United[16]
Wolverhampton Wanderers[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "George Elokobi ready to flex his muscles for Wolverhampton Wanderers". The Guardian. 6 March 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/06/george-elokobi-flex-muscles-wolverhampton-wanderers. 
  2. ^ "Colchester sign Elokobi". BBC Sport. 28 June 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/colchester_united/3847961.stm. 
  3. ^ "Chester sign U's defender on loan". BBC Sport. 27 January 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chester/4211999.stm. 
  4. ^ "Elokobi wants to quit Colchester". BBC Sport. 9 November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/colchester_united/7087740.stm. 
  5. ^ "Wolves sign Colchester's Elokobi". BBC Sport. 1 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7221415.stm. 
  6. ^ "Wolves sign Colchester's Elokobi". Shropshire Star. 2 March 2011. http://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2011/03/02/mccarthy-george-elokobi-could-save-wolves-from-transfer-plunge/. 
  7. ^ "Season over for Wolves' Elokobi". BBC Sport. 5 September 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7600897.stm. 
  8. ^ "Wolves 1–0 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 3 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8015237.stm. 
  9. ^ "Man Utd 3-2 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. 26 October 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/9059505.stm. 
  10. ^ "It's a Wolves domestic". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 8 February 2011. http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~2287958,00.html. 
  11. ^ "By George! New deal for Elokobi". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 20 August 2010. http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~2128833,00.html. 
  12. ^ "George Elokobi joins Nottingham Forest from Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 9 February 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16964366. 
  13. ^ "Elokobi a step closer". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 6 November 2010. http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~2209813,00.html. 
  14. ^ "Wolves' International Watch". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 28 March 2011. http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~2325118,00.html. 
  15. ^ "Gabon – Cameroon friendly canceled". Goal.com. 28 March 2011. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/84/africa/2011/03/28/2415533/gabon-cameroon-friendly-canceled. 
  16. ^ "Tier Three (League One) Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. http://www.Coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayerHonours/PlayerLeagueOne.html. 
  17. ^ "Tier Two (Championship) Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. http://www.Coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayerHonours/PlayerTheChampionship.html. 

[edit] External links

Nottingham Forest F.C. – current squad
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