Trevor Sinclair

Trevor Sinclair

Personal information
Full name	Trevor Lloyd Sinclair
Date of birth	2 March 1973 (1973-03-02)
Place of birth	Dulwich, London, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Blackpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1993	Blackpool	112	(15)
1993–1998	Queens Park Rangers	168	(16)
1998–2003	West Ham United	177	(37)
2003–2007	Manchester City	82	(5)
2007–2008	Cardiff City	21	(1)
Total		560	(74)
National team‡
1993–1995	England U21	13	(5)
1998	England B	1	(0)
2001–2003	England	12	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4:42, 4 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 September 2006

Trevor Lloyd Sinclair (born 2 March 1973 in Dulwich, London) is an English former professional footballer. Sinclair was a versatile winger, able to play on both the left and right flanks who played in the Premier League and made twelve appearances for the England national team.

He retired in 2008, after a nineteen-year professional career, after being released by Football League Championship side Cardiff City.

Club career

Blackpool

Sinclair began his career at Blackpool where he played from 1989 to 1993. When he made his debut for Blackpool, on 19 August 1989, he became the club's youngest ever player, at 16 years, five months, breaking Colin Greenall's record set nine years earlier. Sinclair's record was in turn broken by Matty Kay in November 2005.

He made 112 league appearances for the Seasiders, scoring 15 goals.

Queens Park Rangers

In 1993 Sinclair moved to Queens Park Rangers for £600,000, a figure which broke Blackpool's record transfer sale. He won the October 1995 Premier League Player of the Month award.

In 1997 he won the BBC's Match of the Day "Goal of the Season" competition with a bicycle kick from outside the penalty area whilst playing for QPR in an FA Cup match against Barnsley.

In five years at QPR, he made 168 league appearances, scoring 16 goals.

West Ham United

In January 1998 Sinclair moved to West Ham United for a combined fee of £2.7 million; £2.3 million plus West Ham players Iain Dowie and Keith Rowland moving to Q.P.R as part of the deal. He scored 7 goals in the remaining 14 games to help West Ham achieve an 8th place finish in the Premier League. He was a regular over the next two seasons, but a serious knee injury ruled him out of the final 4 months of the 1999/2000 season. His absence coincided with a loss of form for the team, and by the end of the season Harry Redknapp had been sacked, and both Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard had been sold.

Sinclair recovered in time for the 2001 season and featured 34 times, often on the left wing, as he successfully won his bid to play at the World Cup for England in that position.

2002/03 was Sinclair's final season with West Ham. Despite several strong displays from himself, the team struggled with the absence of Paolo Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute and was relegated at the end of the decision. Forced to cut costs West Ham accepted a £3.3m bid for the player from Manchester City.

In total Sinclair spent five years at Upton Park, playing in a variety of positions including wingback, left and right wing and as a striker when called upon. He made 177 league appearances and scored 37 goals including two goals on his West Ham debut, on 31 January 1998, in a 2–2 home draw against Everton.

Manchester City

Sinclair joined Manchester City in 2003 for £3.3 million, and went on to score City's first goal at the new City of Manchester Stadium in a UEFA Cup tie against Welsh side TNS.

At the beginning of his career at Manchester City, he played on the left wing, where he had performed for England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, the departure of Shaun Wright-Phillips presented the opportunity for Sinclair to play on his preferred right wing.

Sinclair was released by Manchester City at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Cardiff City

On 10 July 2007 he joined Championship club, Cardiff City. He began the season as a first team player, scoring his first Cardiff goal on 24 September in a 4–2 win in the Carling Cup over West Bromwich Albion. Early on in the season, he suffered from a build up of fluid in his knee and underwent two operations on the injury which ruled him out until mid-February. He made his return on 16 February 2008 coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 FA Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

On 12 April 2008, Sinclair faced his first club, Blackpool, for the first time since leaving them fifteen years earlier. He scored Cardiff's second goal in a 3–1 win; however, he refused to celebrate his goal. On 17 May he made an 86th-minute substitute appearance in the 2008 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, which Cardiff lost 1–0 to Portsmouth. However, four days later it was announced that his contract with the Bluebirds would not be renewed for the forthcoming season and he was released.

Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame

Sinclair was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player Jimmy Armfield in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Sinclair is in the 1990s.

International career

Sinclair earned 12 caps for England, four of which came in the 2002 World Cup, in which he was a last-minute replacement for the injured Danny Murphy. In turn, he replaced Owen Hargreaves, who was injured early in the competition, in the team and was widely regarded as one of England's best players in the tournament, doing a job on England's then "problem left hand side".

Personal life

Sinclair was educated at Castlebrook High School in Bury, Greater Manchester.^{[citation needed]} It was in 1991, during his time at Blackpool, that Sinclair introduced his then trademark dreadlocks. In 1998 Sinclair was convicted of causing criminal damage to a car, following a night of drinking in an Essex nightclub.

Broadcasting career

Sinclair hosts the football talk show called Final Score, that reviews the weeks action from the Premier League, on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel along with ALI FAZLI.

Honours

Blackpool

• Division Four play-off winner: 1991–92

West Ham United

• UEFA Intertoto Cup winner: 1999–2000

Cardiff City

• FA Cup runner-up: 2007–08

Further reading

• Calley, Roy (20 October 1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 187362607X. 
• Singleton, Steve, ed. (2007). Legends: The great players of Blackpool FC (1 ed.). Blackpool: Blackpool Gazette. ISBN 9781845471828. 

External links

• Trevor Sinclair career stats at Soccerbase
• Sinclair in the Blackpool Supporters Association Hall of Fame