Michael Kightly
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| Michael Kightly | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael John Kightly | |
| Date of birth | January 24, 1986 | |
| Place of birth | Basildon, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
| Playing position | Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| Number | 7 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 2000–2001 | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2001–2003 2003–2005 2004–2005 2005–2007 2006–2007 2007– |
Basildon United Southend United → Farnborough Town (loan) Grays Athletic → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) Wolverhampton Wanderers |
? (?) 13 (0) 11 (0) 55 (25) 5 (2) 40 (10) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2007– | England U21 | 3 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Michael John Kightly (born January 24, 1986 in Basildon) is an English footballer, currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship.
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[edit] Early years
Kightly started out as a schoolboy for Tottenham Hotspur, but was released and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-league Basildon United. His stay was short and he was soon back in professional football playing for Southend United, where he made his league debut on May 3, 2003 in a 1-0 defeat at Exeter City.
Although featuring in all their cup games of this time, he made only 13 league appearances over 3 different seasons for them. He was loaned out to Farnborough Town in October 2004 and released at the end of the season by Southend manager Steve Tilson.[1]
Conference side Grays Athletic signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season, and won the FA Trophy. He began the 2006-07 season still with Grays, and had scored 10 goals by November. Such form caught the eye of scouts at Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, to whom he completed a two-month emergency loan move on November 17, 2006.[2]
He would subsequently return to play against Grays for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, which was a condition of the permament deal later made between the clubs.[3]
[edit] Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kightly scored his first ever league goal to earn a 1-0 victory at QPR. His for Grays Athletic led him to be dubbed "The Ryan Giggs of non-league football", and it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United.[4] After scoring two goals in five games, his loan move was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half year contract for a nominal fee on New Years Day 2007.[5]
He became a first-team regular in the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the club into a play-off position. His performances made him a fans' favourite, ending up as runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006-07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray. After missing out on promotion, it was reported that he was being tracked by clubs such as Aston Villa, Charlton, Spurs, Portsmouth and Everton.[6] Kightly ended such speculation though by signing a new four-year deal with Wolves in June 2007.[7]
His first full season with the club though was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury suffered in November 2007, from which he twice tried to comeback from into first team football, eventually undergoing surgery in February 2008. He finally returned to play in the final 4 fixtures, as the club narrowly missed out on the play-offs on goal difference.
[edit] International career
Kightly was called into the England U21 squad in August 2007 for a friendly against Romania[8] and went on to make his debut, playing the first half of the game.
[edit] References
- ^ "Kightly released by Southend boss", BBC Sport, 2005-05-31.
- ^ "Kightly completes move to Wolves", BBC Sport, 2006-12-17.
- ^ "Grays reception impresses Kightly", BBC Sport, 2007-07-14.
- ^ "Saturday's football gossip", BBC Sport, 2006-12-30.
- ^ "Wolves sign McIndoe and Kightly", BBC Sport, 2007-01-01.
- ^ "The Screamer ... It's the talk of football", Daily Mail, 2007-03-15.
- ^ "Kightly signs new Wolves contract", BBC Sport, 2007-06-18.
- ^ "Agbonlahor in England U21 squad", BBC Sport, 2007-08-16.
[edit] External links
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