Stephen Bywater

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Stephen Bywater
Stephen Bywater
Personal information
Full name Stephen Michael Bywater
Date of birth June 7, 1981 (1981-06-07) (age 27)
Place of birth    Manchester, England
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Derby County
Number 43
Youth clubs
 ????–1997 Rochdale
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997–1998
1998–2006
1999
1999–2000
2001
2002
2005
2006
2006–
2008		 Rochdale
West Ham United
→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)
→ Hull City (loan)
→ Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan)
→ Cardiff City (loan)
→ Coventry City (loan)
→ Derby County (loan)
Derby County
→ Ipswich Town (loan)		 00 (0)
59 (0)
02 (0)
04 (0)
00 (0)
00 (0)
14 (0)
02 (0)
53 (0)
17 (0)   
National team2
2001–2003 England U21 06 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 17:05, 11 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 13:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Stephen Michael Bywater,[1], (born June 7, 1981 in Manchester) is an English professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Derby County. He has made appearances for seven clubs, most notably West Ham United, where he spent eight seasons and made over 60 appearance, and Derby County, where he has made over 50 appearances. He is also a former England Under-21 international.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] West Ham United

Bywater started his career in August 1997 with Rochdale and was brought to West Ham as a 17 year old by Harry Redknapp in February 1998 for £250,000, rising to £1.75m depending on performances and achievements. He graduated through the youth set-up and featured in West Ham's 1999 FA Youth Cup winning team along with Joe Cole and Michael Carrick.[2]

He spent the next two seasons learning from former Manchester United, Aston Villa and Coventry City goalkeeper Les Sealey and sitting in the pecking order behind Craig Forrest, Bernard Lama and Shaka Hislop. With first team opportunities limited, Bywater joined Wycombe Wanderers on loan in September 1999, making two appearances, and then went to Hull City on loan in November 1999, making four appearances.[3] A broken leg for Shaka Hislop meant a debut for Bywater at the age of 19 against Bradford City in February 2000, in a game that saw Bradford score four times but which West Ham eventually won 5-4.[4] Bywater also appeared in the final three games of the 1999-00 season, against Arsenal, Sunderland and Leeds United and made a single appearance in the following season against Bradford in February 2001.[3]

Wolves signed Bywater on loan in July 2001 to ease a goalkeeping crisis[5] but he returned to West Ham the following month having not made an appearance for Wolves other than on the bench in the opening game of the season against Portsmouth.[6] His chances to move up the pecking order were limited with the club signing David James in July 2001 and the retention of Shaka Hislop as James was injured on international duty in August 2001,[7] and he did not make a single appearance for West Ham in the 2001/02 season nor in the 2002/03 season.[3] He joined Cardiff City on a one-month loan at the end of March 2003 but made no appearance there.[3]

Eventually, after the club was relegated in 2002-03 and David James moved to Manchester City in January 2004,[8] Bywater became a regular starter in the first-team, making 23 appearances as West Ham reached the First Division play-off final, where they were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace.[3][9] He signed a three-year contract extension in June 2004, saying "I am very pleased to have signed on for another three years at West Ham. We were very unlucky last year and I am sure that we will start next season with a squad capable of challenging for promotion again. The club have invested a lot in my career and the manager showed great faith in me last season. I am determined to repay everyone at the club by helping the team back into the Premiership."[10]

He soon had to share the role of the club's primary keeper with Jimmy Walker who was brought in from Walsall in June 2004 to provide competition for Bywater.[11] Bywater made 39 league and cup appearances in the 2004-05 season for West Ham as the club were promoted to the Premiership,[3] and appeared in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in May 2005, coming on as a late substitute for the injured Jimmy Walker in the 1-0 victory over Preston North End.[12]

The signing of Roy Carroll in June 2005[13] and the re-signing of Shaka Hislop on a one-year contract in July 2005[14] once again limited Bywater's first-team opportunities and he joined Coventry City in August 2005, on loan until the end of the year,[15] where he made 14 appearances.[3] An injury to Carroll however led to Bywater being recalled from Coventry in October 2005.[16] He made a single appearance for West Ham in the remainder of the 2005/06 season, against West Bromwich Albion in November 2005.[3]

[edit] Derby County

Bywater in 2007.
Bywater in 2007.

Bywater joined Derby County in August 2006 on an initial emergency loan deal for two weeks and signed a permanent three-year deal two weeks later for a fee of £225,000.[17][3] He wears the number 43 shirt at Derby as a tribute to his mentor and former goalkeeping coach Les Sealey, who died at the age of 43 in 2001, saying, "Les looked after me most of the time. He took me to training every day, coached me and advised me on life. I know he is watching over me and that he wants me to do well, so that was for him."[18] Bywater made 43 league and cup appearances in the 2006/07 season[3] as Derby reached the Championship play-off final, where they beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 to secure a place in the Premier League.[19]

In June 2007, Bywater reiterated his desire to play for England and his hopes to be noticed in the 2007-08 season, saying "I grew up with a few of the lads like Paul Robinson, Rob Green and Chris Kirkland and they are good but I don't think they are anything special. I do believe if I play well and have a good season, I will be up there in contention. I am confident but not cocky."[20] After a first half of the season that saw Derby County rooted to the foot of the Premier League, Bywater joined Ipswich Town on loan in January 2008 for the rest of the season.[21] Jim Magilton, manager of Ipswich Town, described him as, "...a young, ambitious keeper who knows what is needed to win promotion from this division."[21] He made his debut for Ipswich Town against Sheffield Wednesday in February 2008 and made 17 appearances in the remainder of the 2007–08 season as Ipswich finished below the play-off places.[22]

[edit] International career

Bywater made his England U19 debut during 1999 and rotated in the role with both Paul Robinson and Chris Kirkland. He later progressed to the U21 team with the same group of players though by that time both Kirkland and Robinson had become established league players. Injuries had limited his opportunities with both a broken finger and later on a fractured wrist holding up his development and limiting his opportunities. He made six appearances for the U21 team.[23]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bywater's full name. Player History. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
  2. ^ Barber, David. "The class of '99", TheFA.com, 2006-01-01. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stephen Bywater. Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
  4. ^ "Flair and farce in equal measures", BBC Sport, 2000-06-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  5. ^ "Wolves turn to Bywater", BBC Sport, 2001-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-06. 
  6. ^ "Wolves 2-2 Portsmouth", BBC Sport, 2001-08-11. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  7. ^ "England duo face fitness wait", BBC Sport, 2001-08-16. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  8. ^ "James seals Man City deal", BBC Sport, 2004-01-14. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  9. ^ "Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham", BBC Sport, 2004-05-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  10. ^ "Bywater nets new deal", BBC Sport, 2004-06-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  11. ^ "Walker sad to leave Walsall", BBC Sport, 2004-06-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  12. ^ "West Ham 1-0 Preston", BBC Sport, 2005-05-30. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  13. ^ "Carroll completes West Ham move", BBC Sport, 2005-06-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  14. ^ "Keeper Hislop signs for West Ham", BBC Sport, 2005-07-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  15. ^ "Bywater seals Coventry loan move", BBC Sport, 2005-08-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  16. ^ "Hammers recall Bywater from loan", BBC Sport, 2005-10-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  17. ^ "Derby capture goalkeeper Bywater", BBC Sport, 2005-08-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  18. ^ "Bywater eyes top-flight return", BBC Sport, 2007-02-27. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. 
  19. ^ "Derby 1-0 West Brom", BBC Sport, 2007-05-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  20. ^ "Friday's gossip column", BBC Sport, June 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-01. 
  21. ^ a b "Bywater and Colgan join Ipswich", BBC Sport, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-05-11. 
  22. ^ Games played by Stephen Bywater in 2007/2008. Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  23. ^ England U21 Caps, 1976-present. Football Association. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.

[edit] External links

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Derby County F.C. – current squad

1 Price • 3 Camara • 4 McEveley • 5 Leacock • 7 Jones • 8 Stubbs • 9 Villa • 11 Fagan • 15 Lewis • 16 Teale • 17 Todd • 19 Davis • 21 Sterjovski • 22 Feilhaber • 23 Moore • 24 Mears • 25 Pearson • 28 Barnes • 30 Nyatanga • 31 Carroll • 32 Addison • 33 Hanson • 34 Richards • 35 Beardsley • 41 Simmons • 43 Bywater • 44 Savage • –– Commons • –– Connolly • –– Davies • –– Ellington • –– Green • –– Stewart • –– Zadkovich • Manager: Jewell


Persondata
NAME Bywater, Stephen Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bywater, Stephen
SHORT DESCRIPTION Football (soccer) player
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Manchester, Greater Manchester, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH