Glen Little

Glen Little

Personal information
Full name	Glen Matthew Little
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Portsmouth
Number	25

Glen Matthew Little (born 15 October 1975, Wimbledon, England) is an English professional footballer. His position is right midfield, and he plays professionally for Portsmouth. He previously played for Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Derry City, Glentoran, Crystal Palace and Reading.

Club career

He made his Derry debut on the 20th of 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, 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. 'Glenda' as Little became known 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 famously commented that Little 'wasn't fit to lace Waddle's boots'.

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 famously helped Burnley beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup in 2002 after a magnificent, 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 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.

He is known as "Blakey" to the Reading fans due to a perceived resemblance to Stephen Lewis's character from the sitcom On the Buses.

Following Reading's narrow relegation in 2008, and Little's injuries leading to a lack of first team action during the 2007-2008 season, he opted to sign for Portsmouth on a one-year contract, on 20 June 2008.

Whilst playing Glenn is often called a pirate or a compass due to the fact that he has one leg shorter than the other.

Both the critics and fans have both been amazed that somebody with such a handicap can continue to "try" and play.

Whilst a YTS player at Crystal Palace senior players, such as Chris Armstrong and Nigel Martyn, used to make Glenn dress up as a pirate to earn extra money.

External links

• Glen Little profile at readingfc.co.uk
• Glen Little at Soccerbase