Liam Lawrence
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| Liam Lawrence | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liam Lawrence | |
| Date of birth | December 14, 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Retford, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Stoke City | |
| Number | 7 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999–2004 2004–2007 2006–2007 2007– |
Mansfield Town Sunderland → Stoke City (loan) Stoke City |
136 (35) 73 (10) 8 (2) 60 (17) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Liam Lawrence (December 14, 1981 in Retford, England) is a football right winger, who currently plays for Stoke City.
Sunderland signed Lawrence from Mansfield Town in 2004 and he quickly won the fans over with his determined and committed style of play. Despite missing a penalty for Mansfield in the Division 3 Play-off final, it was clear that Lawrence was a great prospect and was spotted by Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy and his scouting staff. Lawrence had a promising first season at Sunderland, scoring 6 goals in 20 starts and 12 substitute appearances, including two superb strikes against Wolves at the Stadium of Light. He also helped create one of the most important goals in Sunderland's season, scored by Marcus Stewart, against Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium.
Following Sunderland's promotion to the Premiership in 2005, Lawrence found himself in and out of the first team squad for the first few months of the 05/06 season. Despite this, Lawrence still made 23 starts and 10 substitute appearances for the club, scoring stunning goals against Fulham, Chelsea, and Sunderland's bitter rivals Newcastle United at St James' Park. Although the season ended in disaster for Sunderland, who were relegated with a then record low of 15 points; Lawrence ended the season as runner up to team-mate Dean Whitehead for the annual Player of the Year award, and was seen as one of Sunderland's better performers.
On February 16, 2006, Lawrence received his first international call-up, for the Republic of Ireland. in their friendly game against Sweden on March 3. He was one of four young Premiership players to receive their first international call-ups in Steve Staunton's first squad as Republic of Ireland manager, however, was only named as an unused substitute. Despite being a regular in Staunton's squads, he has yet to be capped by his country. On August 1, 2006, Lawrence signed a new contract until 2010.
In the January 2007 transfer window, Sunderland sold Lawrence to Stoke for an initial fee of £500,000.[1] Lawrence has become a popular player at Stoke after he gelled quickly with other on loan players and has also weighed in with some important goals. Lawrence scored a hat-trick including two penalties against Barnsley F.C. in a 3-3 draw. He also won Stoke City Player Of The Year for the 2007-08 season.
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