Jamie Lawrence
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Hubert Lawrence | ||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Balham, England | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender, Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Cobham | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Cowes Sports | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1994 | Sunderland | 4 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Doncaster Rovers | 25 | (3) |
| 1995–1997 | Leicester City | 47 | (2) |
| 1997–2003 | Bradford City | 156 | (12) |
| 2003 | Walsall | 22 | (1) |
| 2003 | Wigan Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 2004 | Grimsby Town | 5 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Brentford | 14 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Worthing | ||
| 2007–2009 | Harrow Borough | 32 | (2) |
| 2009 | Margate | 2 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Ashford Town | 12 | (0) |
| 2010 | Sutherland Sharks | 10 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Ashford Town | 40 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Cobham | ||
| 2012- | Tooting & Mitcham United | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000–2004 | Jamaica | 24 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009–2011 | Ashford Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
James Hubert Lawrence (born 8 March 1970 in Battersea, London) is an English-born Jamaican professional footballer and former manager of Southern League side Ashford Town. He is currently signed as a player for Tooting & Mitcham United.
He notably played Premier League football for both Leicester City and Bradford City, having also played as a professional for Sunderland, Doncaster Rovers, Walsall, Wigan Athletic, Grimsby Town and Brentford before playing in the Non-League game for Worthing, Harrow Borough and Margate. He also represented Jamaica 24 times.[1]
Club career
Lawrence was, as a youth, involved in crime and in 1990 received a four-year prison sentence for a bank robbery. While playing for his prison side he was spotted by Cowes Sports, and then while playing for them spotted by Sunderland manager Terry Butcher.[2]
A brief spell at Doncaster Rovers followed, before he joined Premier League strugglers Leicester City in the 1994–95 season and just before leaving in 1997 he helped them win the Football League Cup, coming on as an extra time substitute during the replay.[3] Further to his contribution in the final, he also scored two goals (one in each leg) against Scarborough in an earlier round of the competition.[4] Although he was unable to save them from Premier League relegation in his first season at Filbert Street, Lawrence helped Leicester City win promotion at the first attempt via the Division One Football League play-offs.
He cost Bradford City manager Chris Kamara just £50,000 when he signed from Leicester City in 1997. Lawrence played a part in Bradford's promotion to the Premier League. Lawrence was also well known for his multi-coloured hair often drawing comparisons to the famous basketball player Dennis Rodman. He also helped Bradford City win promotion to the Premier League as Division One runners-up in 1999, though they lasted just two seasons in the top flight, and he remained with them until finally leaving in 2003, by which time he was one of their longest-serving players. After brief spells with Walsall, scoring once against Nottingham Forest,[5] and Wigan Athletic, his next port of call was to sign for Grimsby Town for the final few months of the 2003–2004 season, scoring on his debut against Chesterfield.[6] However, when The Mariners were relegated at the end of the season, Lawrence, and Town striker Isaiah Rankin signed for Brentford.
After making only 14 league appearances for Brentford during the 2004–2005 season, Lawrence departed at the end of the season. He remained a free agent throughout the 2005–2006 campaign, and in this year, he became the author of his own autobiography From Prison to the Premiership, published in 2006, which was co-authored with Ron Shillingford. At the start of the 2006–2007 season, he signed with non league outfit Worthing,where he remained for one season. He then went on to play for Harrow Borough during the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 seasons. On 9 December 2008, Lawrence was carried off the pitch during a Middlesex Senior Cup between Harrow and Enfield Town following a collision with another player. Following the incident, he underwent surgery for treatment on a cut in his right knee; surgeons left two stitches in the wound, and as a result Lawrence contracted the MRSA superbug.[7][8] whilst at Harrow he also opened a football school in Tooting, London.[9]
Managerial career
He joined Margate at the start of the 2009–10 season. He made two appearances for Margate before being appointed player–manager of Ashford Town.[10] Jamie combined playing with his position as the club's manager making 52 appearances and scoring twice while also leading the club to winning the Southern Combination Cup. However, league form was disappointing and Jamie Lawrence resigned as manager at Ashford in June 2011. In September 2011, he signed for Cobham as a player.
International career
His debut for Jamaica came in a 1–0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on 28 February 2001.[11]
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2001 | Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States |  United States | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2002 World Cup Qualifier | [12] |
Honours
- Leicester City
References
- ↑ "Jamie Lawrence". National Football Teams. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ↑ "JFF – Digicel CFU Caribbean Cup". Jamaicafootballfederation.com. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ↑ Moore, Glenn (17 April 1997). "Claridge's five-star silver service". London: The Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ↑ Moore, Glenn (5 April 1997). "Leicester rely on heart to counter international art". London: The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ "Nottm Forest 3–3 Walsall". BBC. 14 February 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ "Chesterfield 4–4 Grimsby". BBC. 27 March 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Edwards, Tim (2009-01-22). "Star midfielder Jamie Lawrence out after superbug". Harrow Observer. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ↑ Edwards, Tim (2009-01-22). "Harrow Borough star in MRSA scare". Harrow Observer. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ↑ Alistair Magowan (2008-03-11). "Ex-pro Lawrence back at school". BBC. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ↑ Gareth Coates (2012-07-01). "International Footballers to have played for the club". Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ↑ Melton Williams (2001-03-01). "Reggae Boyz dismiss T&T". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ↑ "USA – Jamaica". FIFA. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
External links
| |||||||
|