Craig Westcarr
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig Naptali Westcarr | ||
| Date of birth | 29 January 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Walsall | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2005 | Nottingham Forest | 23 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2005 | → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Cambridge United | 31 | (8) |
| 2006–2009 | Kettering Town | 102 | (23) |
| 2009–2011 | Notts County | 87 | (21) |
| 2011–2013 | Chesterfield | 53 | (10) |
| 2012 | → Walsall (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2013– | Walsall | 36 | (12) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 December 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Craig Naptali Westcarr (born 29 January 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Walsall.
Career
Nottingham Forest
Born in Nottingham, Westcarr played for Nottingham Forest as a youth, and he regularly played for their reserves as well as the England youth teams, from Under-16s up to the Under-21s.
While at Forest, Westcarr became the youngest player to ever play for them, aged 16. He went on to make 23 appearances in a Forest shirt, scoring once, before moving to Cambridge United in 2005.
Cambridge United
Westcarr's first and only season with Cambridge proved to be a successful one, as he made 31 appearances, and scored a total of eight goals. He was offered a contract extension at the end of the season, but he decided to move on, and signed for Kettering Town. This was a major coup for Conference North side Kettering, who also managed to sign Andre Boucaud from Peterborough United that summer.
Kettering Town
Westcarr spent two successful seasons at Kettering. Westcarr made an instant impact, winning Conference North Player of the Month in the first few weeks of the season. Westcarr went on to finish the season with many assists, with Kettering finally finishing second, and losing in the promotion play-offs.
In Westcarr's second season, he was played mostly as a winger, but as Kettering's striking situation got desperate, Westcarr was on hand to step in, finishing the season as the club's top goalscorer, in a season that saw them win the league in April to clinch promotion to the Conference National.
After impressing that season, Westcarr caught the eyes of Conference Premier side Stevenage Borough. Westcarr later joined Stevenage for an undisclosed fee.
Stevenage Borough
Westcarr featured during pre-season for Stevenage, scoring twice, but then news came through that Stevenage striker Steve Morison would in fact not be leaving; this left Westcarr in background, and suddenly not able to get a game. Upon Westcarr unsettling, Kettering boss Mark Cooper threw his ex-player a lifeline, which Westcarr grabbed with both hands, returning to his former club.
Return to Kettering Town
Westcarr re-joined his former club, and vowed to 're-pay' the fans, for leaving in the first place. He began well, helping in Kettering's climb to the top of the Conference Premier in mid-October 2008. Westcarr scored twice in the FA Cup fourth round against Premier League side Fulham as Kettering twice pulled level before losing 4–2.[1] He was released by Kettering in May 2009.[2]
Notts County
Upon his release from The Poppies, Westcarr opted to join Ian McParland's League Two team Notts County on 21 May 2009.[3]
Westcarr originally joined on a one-year deal to prove himself upon his return to the Football League, and after helping Notts County to win the League Two Championship, he committed to a 2-year extension.[4]
Chesterfield
Westcarr signed on a two-year contract for Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee in August 2011. He scored the second goal for Chesterfield at Wembley Stadium in the 2012 Football League Trophy Final in the 90th minute to win 2–0.
Walsall
After being transfer listed by Chesterfield, Westcarr joined League One club Walsall on a temporary loan deal.[5] On 29 January 2013, Walsall completed a permanent deal for Westcarr. The forward was released by Chesterfield.[6] He scored his first goal for the saddlers against rivals Shrewsbury Town.[7] He then continued his fine form by scoring a 30-yard thunderbolt against fellow play-off hopefuls Tranmere Rovers,[8] which won the club's Goal of the Season award.[9] Westcarr started the 2013–14 season well in another game against Tranmere, bagging a brace and creating a goal in a 3–1 home victory over the Merseyside club.[10]
Career statistics
- As of 2 January 2013
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2001–02 | Division 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | Division 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Division 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lincoln City (loan) | 2004–05 | League Two | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Milton Keynes Dons (loan) | 2004–05 | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Nottingham Forest Total | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Cambridge United | 2005–06 | Conference | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| Total | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 8 | ||
| Kettering Town | 2006–07 | Conference North | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | Conference North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Conference | 39 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 8 | |
| Total | 39 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 8 | ||
| Notts County | 2009–10 | League Two | 42 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 11 |
| 2010–11 | League One | 41 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 13 | |
| 2011–12 | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 87 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 104 | 25 | ||
| Chesterfield | 2011–12 | League One | 38 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 11 |
| 2012–13 | League Two | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | |
| Total | 53 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 61 | 14 | ||
| Walsall | 2012–13 | League One | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 |
| Walsall | 2013–14 | League One | 20 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 9 |
| Total | 44 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 14 | ||
| Career totals | 291 | 58 | 21 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 320 | 70 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including substitutes) in the Football League Trophy and FA Trophy.
Honours
- Conference North (1): 2007–08
References
- ↑ "Kettering 2–4 Fulham". BBC Sport. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
- ↑ "Trio are shown Poppies exit door". BBC Sport. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
- ↑ "Notts County net striker Westcarr". BBC Sport. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- ↑ "Notts County – Craig Westcarr". Notts County FC. 4 January 2011.
- ↑ "Chesterfield's Craig Westcarr signs on loan". 22 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Westcarr completes permanent Saddlers move". 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ "Walsall 3–1 Shrewsbury". 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ↑ "Walsall 2–0 Tranmere". 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ "END OF SEASON AWARDS 2012/13". 29 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
- ↑ "Walsall 3–1 Tranmere". 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ↑ "Craig Westcarr Stats". Soccerbase.
External links
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