| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luke Nightingale | ||
| Date of birth | 22 December 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Portsmouth, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2003 | Portsmouth | 44 | (4) |
| 2002–2003 | → Swindon Town (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Southend United | 4 | (0) |
| 2004 | Weymouth | ||
| 2004–2008 | Bognor Regis Town | 164 | (77) |
| 2008–2010 | Havant & Waterlooville | 46 | (12) |
| 2010–2011 | Bognor Regis Town | 39 | (27) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Luke Nightingale (born 22 December 1980 in Portsmouth) is a retired footballer. Having previously played for Portsmouth, Swindon, Weymouth and Southend he moved to Bognor Regis Town in 2004. He scored over 70 goals for Bognor in his four year spell. However, on 28 March 2008, he was sold by Bognor Regis Town to Havant & Waterlooville in a player swap with Phil Warner. In January 2010 he returned to Bognor Regis Town, on loan for the remainder of the season, although a knee injury ended his season prematurely. Back to full fitness, he then re-joined Bognor Regis Town on a permanent basis for season 2010–11. Having started the 2011–12 season at Bognor, Nightingale announced his retirement in October 2011 after a series of leg injuries.
Nightingale began his football career at the South Coast club Portsmouth at the age of 18. Having started the season in the youth team, he rapidly moved into the reserves and earned his place by repeatedly scoring goals.
His first team debut came later that season as he was included in the squad to face West Bromwich Albion. Having replaced the injured John Aloisi during the first half, Nightingale scored twice to secure a 2–1 victory.[1]
In front of millions of BBC viewers, he also opened the scoring for Pompey in an FA Cup tie at home to Leeds United in January 1999, although the Yorkshire club hit back to win 5–1. He later left Portsmouth and had unsuccessful spells at Southend United and Swindon Town. He then moved to Weymouth before signing for Bognor Regis Town in the summer of 2004.
In his opening season with Bognor Regis Town (2004–05), he was the Conference South's leading scorer with 28 goals. The following season continued in similar vein until an injury suffered in November caused him to miss much of the season. He eventually returned, scoring 19 goals in total but had it not been for the injury.
However, after four seasons of service with Bognor Regis Town, he was sold to Conference South rivals Havant & Waterlooville in March 2008, making his debut on 29 March 2008 in the 1–0 defeat against St Albans City. Following limited first team opportunities at Havant he rejoined Bognor Regis Town for the remainder of the 2010 season, then signing for the Rocks on a permanent basis for 2010–11, scoring 26 goals in 38 starts (plus 11 appearances as substitute). Nightingale announced his retirement in October 2011 after a series of leg injuries.