Mikele Leigertwood

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Mikele Leigertwood

Leigertwood playing for Reading in 2011
Personal information
Full nameMikele Benjamin Leigertwood
Date of birth (1982-11-12) 12 November 1982
Place of birthEnfield, London, England
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionDefensive midfielder
Club information
Current clubReading
Number8
Youth career
Wimbledon
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2001–2004Wimbledon56(2)
2002→ Leyton Orient (loan)8(0)
2004–2006Crystal Palace63(1)
2006–2007Sheffield United21(0)
2007–2011Queens Park Rangers131(12)
2010–2011→ Reading (loan)22(1)
2011–Reading71(6)
National team‡
2008–Antigua and Barbuda11(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:29, 7 June 2013 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:02, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Mikele Benjamin Leigertwood (born 12 November 1982 in Enfield) is an English-born Antiguan footballer who plays for Reading in the Championship. He also plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national football team.

Club career

Leigertwood began his career with Wimbledon, but he made his professional debut while on loan to Leyton Orient in November 2001. He got his first game at Wimbledon at the end of the 2001–2002 season, in a 1–0 defeat against Barnsley. While at Wimbledon, he played 65 games, scoring just three times in games against Norwich,[1] Watford[2] and Portsmouth in the League Cup.[3]

He transferred to Crystal Palace for £155,000 in January 2004, becoming the first permanent signing of Iain Dowie, and played in 10 league games for the remainder of the 2003–2004 season, helping to secure Palace's promotion to the FA Premier League. In the 2004–2005 season, he made 23 appearances for Palace, including his first goal for the club against Tottenham Hotspur.[4]

After the relegation of his club Crystal Palace, he joined Sheffield United on a three-year deal after the Blades paid a £600,000 compensation fee. Although Leigertwood was out of contract, a fee was due as he was under 24 years of age at the time. Leigertwood joined Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £900,000 in August 2007.[5]

During his time at Queens Park Rangers, he made 141 appearances and 12 goals for Queens Park Rangers. Leigertwood went on loan to Reading in November 2010 after being out of favour with Neil Warnock. After a series of consistently good performances, this was extended to the end of the 2011 season, including the playoffs should it be needed. He scored his first goal for the club against Stevenage in the FA Cup on 29 January 2011. A week later Leigertwood added another goal to his tally with a 21st minute deflected strike against Cardiff City in a 2–2 draw.

In May 2011, it was announced that Reading had signed Leigertwood on a three-year contract. Leigertwood's first goal of the 2011/12 season came at home to Southampton in a 1–1 draw. His second goal of the campaign came at home to Leicester in a 3–1 win, and this was followed up with strikes against Blackpool and West Ham United as Reading surged towards promotion with an incredible run of games of which Leigertwood was an important figure in. The key role Leigertwood had played was rewarded when he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory at home to Nottingham Forest which secured Reading's promotion back to the top flight after a four-year absence. He scored his first Premier League goal for Reading in a 3–3 draw with Fulham with a superb strike from 20 yards.

International career

Leigertwood is eligible to represent Antigua and Barbuda. Willie Donachie, Antigua and Barbuda's manager, tried to get Leigertwood into the squad for a World Cup Qualifier in June 2008, but Leigertwood had a wedding to attend.[6] Leigertwood received a red card and four match ban in a match against Birmingham City on 28 October 2008, for a challenge on Lee Carsley. During this ban, he accepted a call up for the 2008 Caribbean Championship to represent Antigua and Barbuda. He made his national debut on 5 November 2008 in a 3–2 loss against Trinidad and Tobago and scored his first goal in their next match against Guyana. In November 2010 he returned to the national team and participated in the second stage of the 2010 Caribbean Championship, playing in all three matches.

Career statistics

As of match played 6 April 2013.
Club Season League[A] FA Cup League Cup Other[B] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wimbledon 2001–02[7] 1000000010
2002–03[8] 280203100331
2003–04[9] 272301000312
Total 562504100653
Leyton Orient (loan) 2001–02[10] 80200000100
Total 80200000100
Crystal Palace 2003–04[11] 120000030150
2004–05[12]
 201102000231
2005–06[13]
 270101010300
Total 591203040681
Sheffield United
2006–07[14]
 190000000190
2007–08[15]
 2000200040
Total 210002000230
Queens Park Rangers
2007–08[16]
 405000000405
2008–09[17]
 422202000462
2009–10[18] 405203000455
2010–11[19] 90001000100
Total 1311240600014112
Reading 2010–11[20] 221410030292
2011–12[21] 415100000425
2012–13 301212100343
Total 93772213010510
Career totals 368212021727041225
A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Premier League and the Football League.
B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the play-offs.

International goals

Mikele Leigertwood: International Goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 November 2008 Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, Trinidad and Tobago  Guyana 2–1 Win 2008 Caribbean Championship

Honours

Club

Queens Park Rangers
Reading

References

  1. ↑ "Norwich 3–2 Wimbledon". BBC. 26 August 2003. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
  2. ↑ "Wimbledon 1–3 Watford". BBC. 25 October 2003. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
  3. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–3 Wimbledon". BBC. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Crystal Palace 3–0 Tottenham". BBC. 22 January 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
  5. ↑ "QPR complete Leigertwood transfer". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007. 
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Mark (30 September 2008). "Willie Donachie attempts success with Antigua". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2008. 
  7. ↑ "MK Dons 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  8. ↑ "MK Dons 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  9. ↑ "MK Dons 2003/2004 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Leyton Orient 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  11. ↑ "C Palace 2003/2004 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  12. ↑ "C Palace 2004/2005 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  13. ↑ "C Palace 2005/2006 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Sheff Utd 2006/2007 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  15. ↑ "Sheff Utd 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  16. ↑ "QPR 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  17. ↑ "QPR 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  18. ↑ "QPR 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  19. ↑ "QPR 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  20. ↑ "Reading 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  21. ↑ "Reading 2011/2012 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mikele Leigertwood.
Reading F.C. – current squad
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