Luke Steele (footballer)

Luke Steele
Personal information
Full name Luke David Steele
Date of birth 24 September 1984 (1984-09-24) (age 27)
Place of birth Peterborough, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Barnsley
Number 1
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Peterborough United 2 (0)
2002 Manchester United (loan) 0 (0)
2002–2006 Manchester United 0 (0)
2004–2005 Coventry City (loan) 32 (0)
2006 Coventry City (loan) 0 (0)
2006–2008 West Bromwich Albion 2 (0)
2006–2007 Coventry City (loan) 5 (0)
2008 Barnsley (loan) 14 (0)
2008– Barnsley 114 (0)
National team
2002 England U18 1 (0)
2002–2003 England U19 9 (0)
2004–2005 England U20 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:21, 9 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:38, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Luke David Steele (born 24 September 1984 in Peterborough) is an English football player. He is a goalkeeper currently playing for Barnsley.

Football career

Steele went to school at Arthur Mellows Village College, Glinton, Peterborough, where he is still involved in various charity events. He started his career at local side Peterborough United. On 8 June 2002 he signed for Manchester United for £500,000. He was loaned to Coventry City for part of the 2004–05 season.

For the 2005–06 season he returned to Old Trafford and, following the departures of Ricardo and Roy Carroll, was third choice keeper for the senior side behind Edwin van der Sar and Tim Howard.

In 2002–03, Steele kept goal for United in their FA Youth Cup triumph.

In summer 2006, Steele joined West Bromwich Albion, as part of the deal that took Tomasz Kuszczak to Manchester. However, he was initially loaned to Coventry City for the season only to be recalled after less than a week and no appearances. On 23 December 2006, he once again joined Coventry on a seven-day emergency loan.[1] This was subsequently extended to the remainder of the season.[2] Steele made his Albion debut in a 2–1 win away at Leicester City on 8 December 2007.[3]

In February 2008 he joined Barnsley on an emergency loan for one month. They required a goalkeeper for their fifth round FA Cup tie with Liverpool, as Heinz Müller was injured, whilst on loan Tony Warner was cup-tied.[4] Steele delivered a Man of the Match performance on his debut in a surprise victory over the Premier League side at Anfield, allowing Barnsley to progress to the quarter finals.[5] He also won the FA Cup Player of the Round award for his performance in the game.[6] He then helped Barnsley reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup by keeping a clean sheet against Chelsea in a game which they won 1–0.

On 17 March 2008 Steele returned from his loan, with talks deadlocked over who should pay his wages during a proposed extended loan period. He rejoined Barnsley three days later, after the two clubs agreed a further loan period until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent transfer.[7] Steele represented Barnsley in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium, where they lost 1–0 against Cardiff City.[8] His permanent transfer to Barnsley was completed on 21 May 2008, with Steele signing a one-year contract.[9]

On 9 July 2008, Steele was fined £1,000 by the FA for breaching shirt sponsorship rules; during the 2007–08 season he had regularly worn an undergarment which had a logo that was visible above the collar of his official goalkeeping kit. The FA warned him various times of this misconduct but Steele continued to wear the undergarment and was subsequently fined.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Coventry seal Steele loan switch". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 23 December 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/6206193.stm. Retrieved 21 May 2008. 
  2. ^ "Coventry extend Steele loan deal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 5 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/6235053.stm. Retrieved 7 May 2007. 
  3. ^ "Leicester City vs WBA". wba.co.uk (West Bromwich Albion FC). 8 December 2007. http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~37260,00.html. Retrieved 8 December 2007. 
  4. ^ "Steele joins Tykes on loan". wba.co.uk (West Bromwich Albion FC). 14 February 2008. http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1240818,00.html. Retrieved 15 February 2008. 
  5. ^ Bevan, Chris (16 February 2008). "Liverpool 1–2 Barnsley". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7224063.stm. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 
  6. ^ "Barnsley keeper wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7256251.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2008. 
  7. ^ "Cup hero Steele re-joins Barnsley". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 20 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7300927.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2008. 
  8. ^ McKenzie, Andrew (6 April 2008). "Barnsley 0–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7326118.stm. Retrieved 9 April 2008. 
  9. ^ "Barnsley complete Steele signing". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 21 May 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnsley/7412476.stm. Retrieved 21 May 2008. 
  10. ^ "Steele fined for kit rule breach". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 9 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnsley/7498009.stm. Retrieved 9 July 2008. 

External links