Will Hoskins

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Personal information
Will Hoskins
Full name	William Hoskins
Date of birth	6 May 1986
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	5'9" (175cm)
Position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Rotherham United
Number	10
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07	Rotherham United Rotherham United Rotherham United Rotherham United	0 (2) 6 (2) 7 (4) 20 (13)
National team**
2004 2004 2005	England U18 England U19 England U20	1 (0) 1 (0) 2 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 Nov 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 1 Nov 2006.

Will Hoskins, born 6 May 1986 in Nottingham, is an English football striker who currently plays for Rotherham United F.C. in Football League One. Hoskins is currently the second highest goalscorer in League 1, with 13 goals in 20 appearances. He won the player of the month award for October 2006.

At 5ft 9in, Hoskins is decent in the air and excellent in positioning himself for crosses. He has a great first touch and is outstanding on the edge of the box, slipping away from defenders and rattling off shots at a rate rarely seen. He has lightening pace, making unselfish runs that open up space for team-mates and hunting the ball down with great enthusiasm when required. His exceptional skill and eye for goal make him a player that you want to see on the ball as much as possible.

Will is one of the young players on whom Rotherham United will be relying to turn their fortunes round after the recent seasons of turmoil. He has come through the youth scheme at Millmoor and has represented England at many levels up to Under 20.

1 England Youth
2 Rotherham United
3 The 2006/07 Season
4 Quotes
5 References

[edit] England Youth

Hoskins made an immediate impact when first introduced into the England U-18 squad, setting up the winning goal against Sweden on the 29th April 2004. [1] He made his full first team debut for the international U20's side in the 4-0 defeat to Russia on the 16th August 2005 in Moscow.

[edit] Rotherham United

Hoskins was heralded as a Boy Wonder when at just 17 he came in to the first team fold at Rotherham and made a huge impact scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Wigan Athletic in December 2003. Since then he has had a stop start Rotherham career and prior to this season had only made 13 starts, all but one of those under Alan Knill. Previous manager Ronnie Moore failed to notice the potential of the youngster and despite many impressive performances, he refused to give Hoskins a run in the first team. Ultimatley, Rotherham United were relegated from The Championship and Moore was relieved of his managerial duties. However, Moore's successor Mick Harford also appeared to overlook Hoskins in his team selections, raising many questions amongst supporters.

Alan Knill took over as manager half way through the 2005/06 season and saved the club from a second successive relegation. Knill rates Hoskins as one of the best prospects in the game and has always had faith in the youngster, bringing him up through the youth ranks at Milmoor. Despite the lack of faith shown in him by previous managers, Hoskins showed tremendous loyalty to Knill and Rotherham United by being the only one of six out-of-contract players at the end of the 2005/06 season to sign an immediate contract renewal. Knill offered the youngster an initial one year deal, stating that should Will prove himself in the first team, he would be rewarded with a new contract before Christmas.

[edit] The 2006/07 Season

Hoskins Goal

Hoskins had an excellent pre-season alongside his new strike partner Delroy Facey, notably scoring twice against Scottish Cup finallists Gretna. However, he suffered a slight injury before the first match of the season and Dave Hibbert had to step up to take his place. Will returned to the squad less than a week later, coming on as a second half substitute against Huddersfield Town. The following week he came off the bench to score the winner against Blackpool, securing his place in the starting eleven for the millers. He has been in the team consistently since his introduction in early August, but has never had a regular strike partner due to injuries. He has started 17 league games since then and has netted an impressive 12 goals, 7 of those in successive away games.

Due to his consistent excellent performances he was awarded the Player of the Month award in October and was valued at an estimated £750,000+ by The Guardian. Many clubs have made enquiries about the Millers starlet, notably Celtic, Middlesborough, Everton and Ipswich Town. He is currently the second highest goalscorer in Coca-Cola League 1 and is proving himself to be the player most Millers could see he was three years ago.

As promised, Alan Knill offered Hoskins a contract extension with improved terms at the start of December as a reward for all his hard work and commitment. On the 14th December, Hoskins unexpectedly rejected this new offer, despite recently saying how much he was enjoying his time at Rotherham. Alan was diappointed with the news, as he felt it was a good offer and that it would be better for him to continue his development at Rotherham than to sit on the bench at a bigger club. Reports imply that rather than being a case of money, Will and his agent simply do not want to commit to a contract with Rotherham United and that they are leaving their options open. Although Hoskins departure from Milmoor was always inevitable, millers fans will be disappointed should they lose him so soon. Just five months (and those famous 45 minutes at Wigan) of true brilliance from potentially one of the biggest stars to sport the millers' shirt would understandably leave Rotherham fans feeling short changed. Knill insists that he is under no pressure to sell Hoskins in January and Millers can only hope that Will reconsiders in the meantime.

[edit] Quotes

"Take 10 points off us, we're not bothered, we'll stay up." - Will Hoskins
"I'm not sure there's a better striker in the league. Everything he hits seems to go in!" - Alan Knill
"I enjoy playing with Will, I think we link up well and the defenders can't handle it." - Dave Hibbert
"You can't help but be impressed by Will Hoskins. It appears the wait for him to fulfil his undoubted talent is finally over." - Steve Claridge
"Hoskins is a player we like. We watched him on Saturday and we have talked about him - he is a player we are looking closely at." - Jim Magilton

[edit] References

Rotherham United F.C. - Current Squad
1 Montgomery \| 2 Worrell \| 3 Hurst \| 4 Keane \| 5 Sharps \| 6 Murdock \| 7 Partridge \| 8 Mills \| 9 Facey \| 10 Hoskins \| 11 Robertson \| 12 Cochrane \| 14 Wiseman \| 15 Williamson \| 16 Brogan \| 17 Newsham \| 18 Duncum \| 19 King \| 20 Taylor \| 21 Pritchard \| 22 Cutler \| 23 Woods \| 24 Hibbert \| 25 Bopp \| Manager: Knill