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Grant Leadbitter

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Grant Leadbitter
Leadbitter playing for Ipswich Town in 2010
Personal information
Full name Grant Leadbitter[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-07) 7 January 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Chester-le-Street, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sunderland
Number 23
Youth career
2002–2003 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Sunderland 111 (11)
2005 → Rotherham United (loan) 5 (1)
2009–2012 Ipswich Town 116 (13)
2012–2019 Middlesbrough 212 (75)
2019– Sunderland 1 (0)
International career
2001–2002 England U16 10 (0)
2002–2003 England U17 9 (0)
2004–2005 England U19 11 (0)
2005 England U20 1 (0)
2007–2008 England U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:00, 7 August 2018 (UTC)

Grant Leadbitter (/ˈlɛdˌbɪtər/; born 7 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League One team Sunderland.

Leadbitter played for Sunderland from 2003 until 2009 after rising as a product from the team's Youth Academy before signing for Ipswich Town. In 2007 Leadbitter received a call-up for England U21, and featured for them three times.

Early life

Leadbitter was born in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.[3] He grew up in Fencehouses as a Sunderland fan, and joined the Sunderland youth academy at the age of 16. He progressed through the ranks and represented England at the U19 level in 2002, scoring against Brazil to help England finish in the top four in the league tournament

Club career

Sunderland

Leadbitter's first professional appearance for Sunderland came as a substitute in a League Cup defeat against Huddersfield Town in September 2003. Before obtaining a regular first-team place at the club, he was loaned to Rotherham United in September 2005, where he scored once against Swansea[4] in five league games. After his loan stay in Hibernian, he began to be selected regularly by then manager Mick McCarthy, and started in several Premier League games for the Black Cats in February 2006.

After Sunderland's relegation in 2006, Leadbitter stalled on contract talks, with many predicting he was aiming to attract the attention of a Premier League club after his impressive displays during the previous season. However, a contract was subsequently agreed with the player claiming he only ever wanted to stay with Sunderland and, henceforth, Leadbitter played an important role in the Black Cats' revival under the management of Roy Keane. Leadbitter took part in every one of Sunderland's games in the 2006–07 season and contributed seven goals,[5] ranking as the club's third top scorer of that season. On Sunderland's return to the Premier League, Leadbitter continued to feature regularly with Keane, even making comparisons with Paul Scholes (he allegedly wears the number 18 shirt in honour of his hero Scholes). In June 2008 Leadbitter signed a new contract with Sunderland, keeping him at the club until 2011.[6]

On 4 October 2008, Leadbitter scored a memorable goal against Arsenal after just coming off the bench. The 25-yard goal was celebrated in emotional style, as he ran over to his manager and had his head on the floor, nearly in tears. This emotional celebration was because his father, Brian Leadbitter, had died just weeks beforehand and his ashes had been buried right on that spot under the grass on Stadium of Light. "People close to me know why I went down on the floor like I did, I just want to leave it at that. The people who know me know why I kissed that area of the ground. My dad's ashes were buried there. I don't want to go on about it. It just means a lot to me and my family. It's exactly that spot and it was always my intention to do something like that when I scored my first goal here." Leadbitter said to the press after the match.

Ipswich Town

On 1 September 2009, Leadbitter transferred to Championship club Ipswich Town for a fee of £2.6 million, along with team-mate Carlos Edwards. He scored his first goal against Nottingham Forest.[7]

Middlesbrough

On 29 May 2012, it was announced that Leadbitter had signed a three-year contract with Championship club Middlesbrough, on a free transfer, following the expiry of his contract at Ipswich Town.[8] Leadbitter scored on his debut in a 7–3 pre-season friendly win against Falkirk. He scored his first league goal on 30 November 2012 in a 2–3 away defeat against Birmingham City.[9] Leadbitter scored twice as Boro lost 3–2 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 2013. After a string of consistent performances throughout the 2012–13 season, Leadbitter was awarded Middlesbrough's player of the season in his first season at the club. Leadbitter scored his fourth goal for Middlesbrough on 25 August 2013 at Wigan. On 21 September 2013, he scored Boro's final goal in a 3–3 draw at home to Bournemouth. On 19 December 2014 Leadbitter agreed a 3-year contract extension with the club. Leadbitter's commanding performances and selection of spectacular goals lead to him being named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year.[10]

On 7 May 2016, Leadbitter won promotion to the Premier League with Middlesbrough after a 1–1 draw at home against Brighton & Hove Albion.[11]

Return to Sunderland

On 29 January 2019, Leadbitter returned to his first club Sunderland and being a fan of since childhood. He signed a two-year and a half deal.[12] Three days later, Leadbitter made his second debut at the Stadium of light for Sunderland against Wimbledon beating them one-nil.[13]

International career

Leadbitter came on as a late substitute replacing Gabriel Agbonlahor, in a 2–0 win in England Under 21s 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification group, against Bulgaria.[14] He featured again for England U21 on 25 March 2008 and made his final appearance in a 0–0 draw against Poland U21, not being picked after that and turning 23 soon after.

Career statistics

As of 7 July 2017
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sunderland 2003–04[15] First Division 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2004–05[16] Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
2005–06[17] Premier League 12 0 0 0 0 0 — 12 0
2006–07[18] Championship 44 7 1 0 1 0 — 46 7
2007–08[19] Premier League 31 2 1 0 1 0 — 33 2
2008–09[20] Premier League 23 2 2 0 3 0 — 28 2
2009–10[21] Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0
Total 111 11 4 0 8 0 0 0 123 11
Rotherham United (loan) 2005–06[17] League One 5 1 1 0 0 0 1[a] 0 7 1
Ipswich Town 2009–10[21] Championship 38 3 2 0 0 0 — 40 3
2010–11[22] Championship 44 5 0 0 6 1 — 50 6
2011–12[23] Championship 34 5 1 0 1 0 — 36 5
Total 116 13 3 0 7 1 — 126 14
Middlesbrough 2012–13[24] Championship 42 3 2 0 3 1 — 47 4
2013–14[25] Championship 39 6 1 0 1 0 — 41 6
2014–15[26] Championship 46 12 3 0 2 0 — 51 12
2015–16[27] Championship 41 4 0 0 5 0 — 46 4
2016–17[28] Premier League 13 1 4 2 0 0 — 17 3
2017–18[29] Championship 32 3 1 0 1 0 — 34 3
2018–19[30] Championship 2 0 0 0 3 0 — 5 0
Total 215 29 11 2 15 1 — 241 32
Career total 447 54 19 2 30 2 1 0 497 58
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy

Honours

Sunderland

Middlesbrough

  • Football League Championship runner-up: 2015–16

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 23. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ^ "Grant Leadbitter". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Rotherham 2–2 Swansea". BBC. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  5. ^ "404". {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  6. ^ "Leadbitter signs new contract with Sunderland". www.bbc.co.uk. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Black Cats Pair Seal Switch". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Grant Is First Summer Signing". Middlesbrough F.C. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Scott, Ged (30 November 2012). "Birmingham 3–2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b "PFA Championship Team of the Year: Deeney only Watford player". BBC Sport. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. ^ Bakowski, Gregg (7 May 2016). "Middlesbrough 1-1 Brighton: Boro promoted to Premier League – as it happened" – via www.theguardian.com.
  12. ^ "HE'S BACK: Leadbitter comes home". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Leadbitter starts, Honeyman returns". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  14. ^ Association, The Football. "The website for the English football association, the Emirates FA Cup and the England football team". www.thefa.com.
  15. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  18. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  23. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  24. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2014/2015". Suganonymous. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  27. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2015/2016". Suganonymous. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  28. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2016/2017". Suganonymous. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  29. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2016/2017". Suganonymous. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  30. ^ "Games played by Grant Leadbitter in 2016/2017". Suganonymous. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
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