Jermaine Wright

Jermaine Malaki Wright (born 21 October 1975 in Greenwich) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and could also operate as a defender.

Jermaine Wright
Personal information
Full name Jermaine Malaki Wright[1]
Date of birth (1975-10-21) 21 October 1975[1]
Place of birth Greenwich, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position(s) Midfielder, Defender
Youth career
000?–1992 Millwall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 Millwall 0 (0)
1994–1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers 20 (0)
1996 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 13 (0)
1998–1999 Crewe Alexandra 49 (5)
1999–2004 Ipswich Town 184 (10)
2004–2006 Leeds United 38 (3)
2005 → Millwall (loan) 15 (2)
2006 → Southampton (loan) 13 (0)
2006–2008 Southampton 78 (1)
2008–2009 Blackpool 3 (0)
2010 Croydon Athletic 0 (0)
2010–2011 Lewes 26 (0)
Total 439 (21)
National team
1993 England U18 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Wright started his career at Millwall as a trainee, but moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1994.[2] At Wolves he scored once; his goal coming in a League Cup tie against Fulham in September 1995.[3] After a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers he joined Crewe Alexandra in February 1998 for a fee of £50,000. At Crewe, his career took off under the guidance of Dario Gradi, who switched him from the right wing to a creative role in the centre of midfield.

In July 1999, after rejecting the offer of a new contract, he was transferred for a fee of £500,000 to Ipswich, where George Burley saw him as a replacement for Kieron Dyer, who had just been sold to Newcastle United. His career thrived under the guidance of Burley but then stalled after he surprisingly opted to move to relegated Leeds United rather than Everton in July 2004.

However, he fell out of favour at Leeds in 2005 and was loaned out first to Millwall (where he had started his career) and then, in January 2006, to Southampton, where he linked up with Burley once more. It took a few weeks for him to regain match fitness but he then shone during the successful run at the tail-end of the 2005–06 season.

After his loan spell ended, he returned to Elland Road where the remaining year of his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. He returned to Southampton for a trial during pre-season training and signed with the club on 10 July 2006 on a two-year deal keeping him at St Mary's until June 2008.[4] He scored his only Saints goal in the 2–1 home defeat by QPR on 30 September 2006.[5]

Wright was released by Southampton on 2 July 2008. During his two years at St Mary's, Wright made exactly 100 appearances, either in midfield or more often at right-back.

On 11 July 2008, Wright signed for Blackpool on a one-year deal with the option of a second.[6] He made his debut for the Seasiders on 9 August 2008 in a 1–0 home defeat to Bristol City. However, he suffered an Achilles tendon injury in his third league match for the club against Sheffield United on 23 August and a month later he underwent an operation which kept him on the sidelines for more than four months and he never managed to establish himself in the side on his return.[7]

On 9 June 2009, Blackpool confirmed that Wright had not been offered a new deal and that he was being released.[8] In July 2010 newly-promoted Isthmian League Premier Division side Croydon Athletic signed Wright for the new season. Following allegations that Croydon owner Mazhar Majeed was using the club for money laundering purposes, Wright followed former Crydon boss Tim O'Shea to Lewes in October 2010.[9] Wright played an important role in helping Lewes recover from being adrift in last place but the team fell just short by one point of staying up and Wright retired at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Personal life

Wright is the cousin of former Arsenal star Ian Wright,[2] and played alongside Ian's son, Bradley, at Southampton. Meanwhile, Jermaine's own son, Drey, plays for St Johnstone.[10]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1994–95 First Division 6000001[lower-alpha 1]070
1995–96 First Division 700021—91
1996–97[11] First Division 4000200060
1997–98[12] First Division 400000—40
Total 210004110261
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 1995–96 Third Division 130000000130
Crewe Alexandra 1997–98[12] First Division 500000—50
1998–99[13] First Division 4451050—505
Total 495105000555
Ipswich Town 1999–00[14] First Division 34110301[lower-alpha 1]0391
2000–01[15] Premier League 3722170—463
2001–02[16] Premier League 29120205[lower-alpha 2]0381
2002–03[17] First Division 39120303[lower-alpha 2]0471
2003–04[18] First Division 45520202[lower-alpha 1]0515
Total 184109117011022111
Leeds United 2004–05[19] Championship 3531010—373
2005–06[20] Championship 3000000030
Total 383101000403
Millwall (loan) 2005–06[20] Championship 1520010—162
Southampton (loan) 2005–06[20] Championship 1301000—140
Southampton 2006–07[21] Championship 421202000461
2007–08[22] Championship 3603010—400
Total 9116030001001
Blackpool 2008–09[23] Championship 300010—40
Career total 4142117132112047523
  1. Appearance(s) in First Division play-offs
  2. Appearances in UEFA Cup

Honours

Ipswich Town

Individual

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J. (ed) (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. Moore, Glenn (24 December 1994). "FA set to bring in Howe". The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  3. "From the archive - rare League Cup success". expressandstar.com. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. "Happy to be here". Southampton F.C. 10 July 2006.
  5. "Southampton 1-2 QPR". BBC Sport. 30 September 2006. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  6. "Blackpool sign Wright". BBC Sport. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  7. "Midfield Blow For Pool". Blackpool F.C. 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  8. "Eight Released As Retained List Is Announced". Blackpool F.C. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  9. "Dawn of a new era". Lewes FC. 29 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  10. Nicolson, Eric (27 June 2018). "Drey Wright had his heart set on a move to St Johnstone". The Courier. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  11. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  14. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  15. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  16. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  17. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  18. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  19. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  20. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  21. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  22. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  23. "Games played by Jermaine Wright in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  24. "Ipswich triumph at last". BBC News. 29 May 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  25. "Jamma Players' Choice". twtd.co.uk (Those Were The Days). 8 May 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
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