Glen Little
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| Glen Little | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Glen Matthew Little | |
| Date of birth | 15 October 1975 | |
| Place of birth | Wimbledon, England | |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | |
| Playing position | Right Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Sheffield United | |
| Number | 25 | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1994–1996 1994–1995 1995–1997 1997–2004 2003 2003 2004–2008 2008–2009 2009 2009– |
Crystal Palace → Derry City (loan) Glentoran Burnley → Reading (loan) → Bolton Wanderers (loan) Reading Portsmouth → Reading (loan) Sheffield United |
0 (0) 1 (0) 75 (26) 246 (32) 7 (1) 4 (0) 96 (5) 5 (0) 8 (0) 6 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Glen Matthew Little (born 15 October 1975) is an English footballer born in Wimbledon who plays as a right winger for Sheffield United. He previously played for Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Derry City, Glentoran, Crystal Palace, Reading and most recently Portsmouth.
[edit] Career
He made his Derry debut on 20 November 1994 on loan from Palace. While at Irish Premier League club Glentoran, Little gained the status of cult hero. Considered the best footballer to play in the Irish League in the 1990s,[who?] Little scored a memorable goal to win the 1996 Irish Cup.
He moved from Glentoran to Burnley, a far cry from his native city of London. Little was a key player in the Burnley side for many years, despite being frozen out during Chris Waddle's spell as the Clarets' manager. Waddle's assistant Glenn Roeder commented that Little 'wasn't fit to lace Waddle's boots'.[citation needed]
After Stan Ternent's arrival at Turf Moor, Little became a fixture in the right-wing slot, linking up especially well with full-back Dean West. In Burnley's 1999–2000 Division Two promotion season, Little scored a memorable goal at home to Bristol Rovers. He also helped Burnley beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup in 2002 after a game-turning performance when brought on as a substitute.
In September 2003 he moved to Bolton Wanderers on loan in a deal which involved Delroy Facey and Gareth Farrelly moving to Burnley. Little made his Premiership debut for the Trotters against Wolverhampton Wanderers and set up the equalising goal for Kevin Davies but his time with Sam Allardyce's team was brief.
After eight years at Burnley, Little left on a Bosman transfer to sign for Reading. Some Burnley fans felt that Little 'sold out' and left in order to receive a higher wage, leading to a very mixed reaction on his return to Turf Moor.
Little moved to Reading in the summer of 2004, having previously had a loan spell at the club in 2003. Unusually for a player of his height, he is known for his running at defenders and crossing ability. Little's talents were widely regarded as one of the main reasons behind Reading's promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2005–06 season, with Little scoring 5 goals (including a delightful chip against Plymouth Argyle) and setting up 14, more than any other player in the league.
Little started the 2006–07 season on the sidelines due to an injury sustained during the close season. Seol Ki-Hyeon took Little's place in the Reading team while he was out injured, but due to an injury to Dave Kitson, Seol was pushed up front, freeing the right wing for Little to return to the starting line-up.
On 27 November 2006, Little signed a one year extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at the Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2008.[1]
Following Reading's narrow relegation in 2008, and Little's injuries leading to a lack of first team action during the 2007–08 season, he opted to sign for Portsmouth on a one-year contract, on 20 June 2008.[2] However, he found opurtunities limited at Pompey, so in March 2009 he rejoined Reading on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season.[3]
He opted to choose number 77 for Reading, but it was rejected by the Football League and so was given the number 52. However, Reading failed to gain promotion so Little returned to Portsmouth. He was released at the end of the 2008–09 season.
In July 2009 Little had a trial with Sheffield United[4] and subsequently signed a one year contract at Bramall Lane.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Little and Hahnemann sign new deals". Reading F.C.. 27 November 2006. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~934467,00.html. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ^ "Portsmouth land Reading's Little". BBC Sport. 20 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7465979.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ^ "Winger Little returns to Reading". BBC Sport. 8 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/reading/7931342.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
- ^ "Little offered Blades trial". Sky Sports. 1 July 2009. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11683_5410983,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ "Little and Walker in". sufc.co.uk. 2009-08-05. http://www.sufc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10418~1744142,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
[edit] External links
- Glen Little profile at readingfc.co.uk
- Glen Little career stats at Soccerbase
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