Chris Lines

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Chris Lines

Lines playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2012.
Personal information
Full nameChristopher John Lines[1]
Date of birth (1985-11-30) 30 November 1985
Place of birthBristol, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current clubPort Vale
Number18
Youth career
2001–2002Bitton
2002–2004Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004–2011Bristol Rovers168(21)
2011–2013Sheffield Wednesday47(3)
2013→ Milton Keynes Dons (loan)16(0)
2013–Port Vale22(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 2 February 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Christopher John "Chris" Lines (born 30 November 1985) is an English footballer who plays for League One side Port Vale as a midfielder.

He turned professional at Bristol Rovers, and made his first team debut in January 2006. He played in the 2007 Football League Trophy final defeat and was an unused substitute in the League Two play-off final victory, before becoming a first team regular from the 2007–08 season. He was sold on to Sheffield Wednesday for £50,000 in August 2011, and was a key first team player as the "Owls" won promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2011–12 campaign. However he lost his first team place the following season, and was loaned out to Milton Keynes Dons in January 2013. He signed with Port Vale in July 2013.

Career

Bristol Rovers

Born in Bristol, Lines spent a year playing for Bitton as a 16-year-old,[2] before graduating through the Bristol Rovers-backed Bristol Academy of Sport at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He had previously been released from the Bristol Rovers youth programme, but was re-signed at the age of 16.[3]

He made his first team debut for Rovers on 21 January 2006, playing the last five minutes of a 2–1 win over Chester City at the Memorial Stadium.[4] After two further substitute appearances in League Two, he made his first league start on 6 May, in a 3–2 home defeat to Macclesfield Town.[5]

After three appearances in the 2006–07 campaign, he featured in six matches from March onwards, and was an extra-time substitute for Lewis Haldane in the Football League Trophy final defeat to Doncaster Rovers at the Millennium Stadium.[6] He was an unused substitute in the League Two play-off final, as the "Pirates" won promotion with a 3–1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Wembley.[7]

He became a first team regular under manager Paul Trollope in the 2007–08 season, playing 27 League One games and featuring in eight of the "Gasheads" nine FA Cup games en route to the quarter-finals. He put in an "excellent" performance as Rovers beat Premier League Fulham on penalties in the Third Round on 22 January, and was fouled by Dejan Stefanović in an incident which saw the Serbian sent off.[8] He scored his first goal in competitive football on 29 December, heading in the first goal of a 3–0 home win over Carlisle United.[9]

He played 48 games in the 2008–09 season, and missed only one league game due a suspension he picked up whilst celebrating an injury-time equaliser he scored against Swindon Town on 22 November.[10]

Lines was nominated for the League One Player of the Month award in November 2009 after scoring a goal in each of his three league games that month.[11] He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2010, and was described by director of football Lennie Lawrence as "a fundamental part of our plans to take this club forward."[12] This came shortly after he was reported to be a transfer target for Southampton manager Alan Pardew.[13] The transfer rumours continued despite the new contract.[14][15] In total he scored ten goals in 46 appearances in the 2009–10 campaign.

He was sidelined for two weeks with a toe injury in February 2011, but thanked manager Dave Penney after he made an immediate return to the first team.[16] Despite this praise he publicly supported the board's decision to sack Penney the following month, and went on to praise the impact of caretaker-manager Stuart Campbell.[17] Following Rovers' relegation to League Two at the end of the 2010–11 season, Lines had a seven-day trial period with Championship side Crystal Palace in the summer.[18][19] New Rovers boss Paul Buckle admitted that he was unlikely to keep Lines for the following season.[20] He was still at the club though for the 2011–12 season opening victory over AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.[21]

Sheffield Wednesday

"It's all new to me, I had one promotion before but this was amazing, Saturday was amazing, to have that kind of crowd in League One is unreal. There were some mad scenes at the end but it was a great day. I'm proud to be at this club."

— Lines reflecting on the promotion success in May 2012.[22]

In August 2011, Lines joined League One club Sheffield Wednesday on a three-year contract for a £50,000 fee.[23] He went on to score four goals in 47 appearances in the 2011–12 campaign as the "Owls" secured promotion with a second place finish, and was twice named on the League One Team of the Week.[24][25]

He picked up a groin injury at the start of the 2012–13 season, and was out of action for three months.[26] Manager Dave Jones played Lines in six Championship games in the build up to Christmas, though did not play him in the new year. On 22 January 2013, Lines joined League One Milton Keynes Dons on loan for the remainder of the season after manager Karl Robinson admitted that Lines was "a player I have admired for a number of years now".[27] Robinson was in search of midfield options after Luke Chadwick and Stephen Gleeson both picked up injuries.[27] He featured in 18 games for the "Dons", including the 4–2 victory over Premier League side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.[28] After returning from Stadium mk, Lines had his contract at Hillsborough cancelled by mutual consent in July 2013.[29]

Port Vale

Lines signed for newly promoted League One side Port Vale on a one-year deal in July 2013.[30] In the first part of the 2013–14 season he began tracking back to help his defence whilst also being the key playmaker in central midfield, after a discussion with manager Micky Adams.[31] He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" with a "superb free-kick" from 25-yards in a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park on 29 September.[32] He went on to build an impressive partnership in midfield with Anthony Griffith; Griffith providing the tough-tackling and Lines providing the creative playmaking.[33]

Style of play

Lines is an accomplished and patient passer of the ball,[34] described by the Sheffield Star's Paul Thompson as being a "cultured, creative, passing midfielder who gets on the ball and likes to dictate play... he's also very mobile and has decent vision".[30] Port Vale manager Micky Adams described him as a "tall, strong central midfielder".[35] He is considered to be a set-piece specialist.[30]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 January 2014.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bristol Rovers 2005–06[36] League Two 4000000040
2006–07[37] League Two 7000002[lower-alpha 1]090
2007–08[38] League One 27380001[lower-alpha 2]0363
2008–09[39] League One 45410101[lower-alpha 2]0484
2009–10[40] League One 421110201[lower-alpha 2]04611
2010–11[41] League One 42310112[lower-alpha 2]1465
2011–12[42] League Two 1000000010
Total 16821110417119023
Sheffield Wednesday 2011–12[42] League One 413511000474
2012–13[43] Championship 600000—60
Total 473511000534
Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2012–13[43] League One 160200000180
Port Vale 2013–14[44] League One 22141101[lower-alpha 2]0282
Career total 25325222618128929
  1. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, one in League Two play-offs
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy.

Honours

Bristol Rovers

Sheffield Wednesday

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0. 
  2. ↑ Chris Lines (1 August 2011). "Twitter status update". Twitter. Retrieved 1 August 2011. 
  3. ↑ "An Interview With Chris Lines". bristolrovers.vitalfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Bristol Rovers v Chester City, 21 January 2006". 11v11.com. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Bristol Rovers vs. Macclesfield Town 2 – 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  6. ↑ Hughes, Ian (1 April 2007). "Bristol Rovers 2–3 Doncaster AET". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  7. ↑ Bevan, Chris (26 May 2007). "Bristol Rovers 3–1 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  8. ↑ Mercer, Nathan (22 January 2008). "Bristol Rovers 0–0 Fulham (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 3–0 Carlisle". BBC Sport. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 2–2 Swindon". BBC Sport. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Chris Hughton, Lee Clark and Ronnie Moore win awards". BBC Sport. 6 December 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Midfielder Chris Lines signs new Bristol Rovers deal". BBC Sport. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Alan Pardew confirms Southampton double bid". BBC Sport. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Bristol Rovers' Chris Lines plays down transfer rumours". BBC Sport. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Southampton plan double swoop for midfield stars". Daily Mirror. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  16. ↑ "Bristol Rovers' Chris Lines grateful for Penney backing". BBC Sport. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Bristol Rovers' Chris Lines backs exit of Dave Penney". BBC Sport. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  18. ↑ Daniel Jones (13 July 2011). "Lines impressing Freedman on trial in Exeter". This is Croydon (Northcliffe Media Limited). Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
  19. ↑ "Chris Lines committed to Bristol Rovers despite Palace interest". BBC Sport. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  20. ↑ "Boss Buckle unsure if Lines will stay at Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  21. ↑ "AFC Wimbledon 2 -3 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  22. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday's Lines praises Dave Jones impact". BBC Sport. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  23. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday sign Bristol Rovers' Chris Lines". BBC Sport. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  24. ↑ "League 1 Team of the Week". football-league.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  25. ↑ "League 1 Team of the Week". football-league.co.uk. football-league.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  26. ↑ "Injury blow for Sheffield Wednesday's Chris Lines". BBC Sport. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Sheffield Wednesday's Chris Lines joins MK Dons". BBC Sport. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  28. ↑ "QPR 2 – 4 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  29. ↑ "Chris Lines leaves Owls". Sheffield Star. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Pearson, Guy (6 July 2013). "Chris Lines signs one-year deal with Valiants". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 July 2013. 
  31. ↑ "Midfielder Chris Lines benefited from a heart-to-heart with the management team". The Sentinel. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013. 
  32. ↑ "Tranmere 0 - 1 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013. 
  33. ↑ "Lines says Griff is his perfect midfield partner". The Sentinel. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013. 
  34. ↑ "Chris hopes to get along the right Lines in loan spell". football.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  35. ↑ Johnson, Dave. "Vale sign Sheffield Wednesday midfielder". port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  36. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  37. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  38. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  39. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  40. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  41. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 "Games played by Chris Lines in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Games played by Chris Lines in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 
  44. ↑ "Games played by Chris Lines in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013. 

External links

Port Vale F.C. – current squad
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