Daniel Leadbitter
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Daniel William Leadbitter[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 7 October 1990||
Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne,[1] England | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Newport County | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
1998–2011 | Newcastle United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2013 | Torquay United | 15 | (0) |
2013–2014 | Hereford United | 38 | (0) |
2014–2019 | Bristol Rovers | 115 | (1) |
2019– | Newport County | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:08, 12 February 2020 (UTC) |
Daniel William Leadbitter (born 7 October 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays for League Two club Newport County. He is primarily a right-back and he is also capable of operating all across the defence. Leadbitter is a product of the Newcastle United youth system having joined at the age of 9 but left for Torquay in 2011 to sign a two-year deal, in pursuit of first team football.
Career
Newcastle United
Leadbitter joined local club Wide Open Juniors aged seven. He first played for Newcastle United's academy a year later.[2] Initially a centre-back, Leadbitter was converted to a right-back aged 15 due to being shorter than most of his peers; reflecting on the positional change in 2012, he said: "I was too small to stay at centre-back, so I switched to right-back and I've found a home there now." He signed a contract with Newcastle in July 2007, having made his debut for the Newcastle Academy U18s against Middlesbrough in March of that year. His first goal for the academy arrived in October, in a match against Leeds United.[3] He went on to play for Newcastle's reserve side after graduating from the club's Little Benton Academy,[4] However, he was released in June 2011 without making a first-team appearance.[5]
Torquay United
Torquay United manager Martin Ling became aware of Leadbitter after watching him playing for Newcastle's Reserves whilst scouting for Hibernian and Walsall.[6] Upon his release from Newcastle, Ling signed him on a two-year contract on 28 June 2011,[7]
Leadbitter's league debut for Torquay was delayed due to a hamstring injury and he missed most of the first few months, but finally made his debut for Torquay on 8 October 2011 at the Valley Parade in the Gulls' 1–0 loss to Bradford City. He made his first league start for Torquay in the 2–1 victory over Gillingham.[8][9] Despite Oastler being available for selection after his suspension expired, Leadbitter retained his place for United's 1–0 win over Morecambe F.C on 27 October 2012; he was voted Man of the match by the match sponsors.[10] The defender was restored to Torquay's starting line-up for the 1–0 loss at Bradford City on 8 December 2012 due to Oastler's suspension; the fixture came a year and two months to the day after Leadbitter's club debut at the same ground, with an identical scoreline.[11] Leadbitter played in United's 1–0 defeat against Fleetwood Town on 9 February 2013; assistant manager Shaun Taylor later claimed Leadbitter's performance was "probably his best game for the club."[12][13] The right-back retained his place for the 3–1 loss to Rotherham United on 12 February and went on to make 11 more appearances before his release in May 2012.
Hereford United
On 1 August 2013, Leadbitter signed a one-year deal with Hereford.[14][15] The right-back made his debut for Hereford on the opening day of the season against Braintree Town on 10 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw.[16] He made a good start to his Hereford career, quickly establishing himself as a first-team regular, and by October a Sky Sports publication claimed that "a number of clubs from the Football League have been keeping tabs on Daniel...he is really flourishing under the management of Martin Foyle."[17]
Bristol Rovers
Leadbitter joined relegated Conference Premier side Bristol Rovers prior to the 2014–15 season. He scored his first professional goal on 13 September 2014 in a 2–3 away win at Lincoln. The team went on to miss out on the Conference Premier league title on the final day by 1 point but earned promotion via the playoffs, triumphing on penalties against Grimsby Town, securing a return to the football league at the first time of asking.[18]
He was offered a new contract by Bristol Rovers at the end of the 2017–18 season.[19]
On 8 May 2019, Leadbitter was announced to be one of 9 players who wouldn't be retained at the end of their contracts bringing his five-season spell at the club, during which he gained two promotions to an end.[20][21]
Newport County
On 20 June 2019 Leadbitter joined Newport County on a 2-year contract.[22] He made his debut for Newport on 13 August 2019 in the starting line up for the EFL Cup first round win against Gillingham.[23]
Personal life
Leadbitter was born in Newcastle with a mixed English / Jamaican background. He attended Gosforth High School prior to playing for hometown club Newcastle United. At school, he excelled at athletics, reaching the finals of the 400m event at the English Schools Championships.[24] The defender comes from a family of footballers: his uncle, Roger Palmer, played for Manchester City before becoming Oldham Athletic's all-time leading goalscorer, while his cousins Marcus Wood (currently with Southport)[25] and Tyrell Palmer played in the English Lower League Pyramid after coming through the Academy at Bolton Wanderers.[26]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2018-19 season
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | Discipline | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Torquay United | 2011–12[27] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2012–13[28] | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Total | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Hereford United | 2013–14[29] | Conference Premier | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Total | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Bristol Rovers | 2014–15[30] | Conference Premier | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2015–16[31] | League Two | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
2016–17[32] | League One | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
2017–18[33] | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
2018-19[34] | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 115 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 137 | 1 | 12 | 2 | ||
Career Total | 168 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 195 | 1 | 19 | 2 |
- ^ a b Appearances in the Football League Trophy
- ^ a b Appearances in the FA Trophy
- ^ a b c Appearances in the EFL Trophy
References
- ^ a b c "Daniel Leadbitter". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
- ^ Wideopen Juniors: Roll of Honour Wideopen Juniors F.C. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ Greater London Online: Daniel Leadbitter looking to impress Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ Newcastle United FC – Dan's the man for Gulls Archived 2 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Newcastle United F.C. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ Torquay United – Team Profiles – Daniel Leadbitter Torquay United F.C.. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ This Is South Devon – Oastler and Leadbitter clinch 1 year deals Archived 31 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 August 2011
- ^ Daniel Leadbitter at Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 August 2011
- ^ Leadbitter poised to make first Torquay start against league leaders ThisisCornwall.co.uk. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Match Stats: Torquay United 2–1 Gillingham The Guardian. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ United 1 Morecambe 0 Torquay United F.C. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Step Forward Danny: Leadbitter replaces suspended Oastler Archived 10 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Torquay United F.C. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ League Two – Torquay 0–1 Fleetwood BBC Sport. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Danny's Best Game Archived 10 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Torquay United F.C. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Trialists Trio Sign For Bulls Archived 5 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine Hereford United F.C. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ Hereford United: James, Evans, Leadbitter, Artus and Gwynne join BBC Sport. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ Conference – Hereford 1–1 Braintree Town BBC Sport. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ Hereford's Leadbitter watched by several clubs Sky Sports. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- ^ Bristol Rovers Twitter. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers: Ryan Broom, Jonny Burn and Byron Moore released". BBC Sport. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- ^ "Retained List". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 8 May 2019.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers: Chris Lines heads list of nine players to leave League One club". BBC Sport. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ Leadbitter joins Newport
- ^ Leadbitter Newport debut
- ^ Newcastle United FC – Daniel Leadbitter profile. Retrieved 11 August 2011
- ^ "thefootballarchives.com". www.thefootballarchives.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ What Happened To Roger Palmer? BBC Football – 606 Phone-In. 1 January 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ Daniel Leadbitter at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Games played by Daniel Leadbitter in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
External links
- Daniel Leadbitter at Soccerbase
- 1991 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne
- English footballers
- Association football defenders
- Newcastle United F.C. players
- Torquay United F.C. players
- Hereford United F.C. players
- Bristol Rovers F.C. players
- Newport County A.F.C. players
- English Football League players
- National League (English football) players