Sam Vokes

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Sam Vokes
Personal information
Full nameSamuel Michael Vokes[1]
Date of birth (1989-10-21) 21 October 1989
Place of birthSouthampton, England
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current clubBurnley
Number9
Youth career
2005–2006Bournemouth
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2006–2008Bournemouth54(16)
2008–2012Wolverhampton Wanderers47(6)
2009→ Leeds United (loan)8(1)
2010–2011→ Bristol City (loan)1(0)
2011→ Sheffield United (loan)6(1)
2011→ Norwich City (loan)4(1)
2011–2012→ Burnley (loan)9(2)
2012→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)14(3)
2012–Burnley74(18)
National team‡
2007–2010Wales U2114(4)
2008–Wales30(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:21, 1 February 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:23, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Samuel Michael "Sam" Vokes (born 21 October 1989) is a Welsh International footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Burnley.

Vokes began his professional career at then-struggling Bournemouth, making his debut in 2006. His form there earned a move to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he helped them win promotion to the Premier League in his first season.

He has become an established member of the Welsh national team, who he has also represented at under-21 level. Although born in England, Vokes is eligible to represent Wales through a Welsh-born grandfather.[2]

Club career

Early career

Born in Southampton and raised in Lymington,[3] Vokes stepped up into Bournemouth's first team on 5 December 2006 in a 2–0 victory over Nottingham Forest. His first senior goal came in a 1–1 draw at Gillingham on 16 December. This form saw the club give him a three-and-a-half-year professional contract during the following month.[4]

The striker remained at Bournemouth during the 2007–08 season, despite being linked to several other clubs, including Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Everton and Celtic.[5] The youngster was a bright spark in an otherwise tumultuous season for the Cherries as they were embroiled in a club ownership saga. His 12 goal tally could not prevent Bournemouth from being relegated to League Two.[6]

Wolves

He eventually signed a four-year contract with Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 23 May 2008.[7] Vokes marked his debut for the club by coming off the bench to equalise in a 2–2 draw at Plymouth Argyle on the opening day of the 2008–09 season.[8]

With the goalscoring form of Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake firing the club to the top of the table – that they led for almost the entire season – Vokes was mostly only employed as a substitute. Nonetheless he contributed a number of vital goals to help the team win promotion to the Premier League as champions.

To gain playing time, Vokes moved to League One side Leeds United in October 2009 on loan until the New Year,[9] making his Leeds debut in a 2–1 victory over Norwich City on 19 October. He scored once for the club against Bristol Rovers[10] but competition between Leeds strikers meant Vokes returned to Wolves when the deal ended.

Vokes went out on loan once more in August 2010 when he moved to Championship side Bristol City.[11] He endured a miserable stay, tearing his hamstring within minutes of making his debut in a game against Millwall and re-aggravating the injury in a reserve match in December.[12] He returned to Wolves when his loan expired in January having played just 13 minutes of first team football.

Once again fit, he moved on a month-long loan to another Championship side, Sheffield United, in February 2011[13] and made his début the same evening in a 1–1 draw with Reading. With their other attacking options regaining fitness, the Blades elected not to extend Vokes' loan period,[14] meaning he was instead signed up by promotion-chasing Norwich City on 23 March on an emergency loan for the rest of the season.[15] However, an injury to Wolves' leading goalscorer Kevin Doyle saw the club recall him after just four appearances for the Canaries, during which he scored once.[16] Back at Molineux, he made two substitute appearances for the team during the run-in as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day.

During the 2011–12 season, he made four Premier League appearances for Wolves, but did not start a league game. In November 2011 he once more went out on loan to a Championship side, this time joining Burnley until 15 January.[17]

On 30 January 2012, Vokes joined Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until the end of the season.[18] He scored on his full home debut in a 2–2 draw with Millwall on 14 February 2012. He scored three goals in total during his 14 appearances for the Seagulls.

Burnley

On 31 July 2012, Vokes joined Championship side Burnley permanently signing a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £350k.[19][20] On 2 December Vokes scored an equalising goal for Burnley in the 89th minute against their fierce rivals Blackburn Rover's a game which ended 1–1. Despite this goal, Vokes struggled to establish himself in the first eleven and was used predominantly as a substitute. This was mainly down to the form of top scorer Charlie Austin, with Manager Sean Dyche often opting to partner Austin with fellow strikers Martin Paterson or Danny Ings, both being quicker and more mobile than Vokes.

On the eve of the 2013 – 2014 SkyBet Championship season, Burnley agreed a deal with Queens Park Rangers for the Transfer of Charlie Austin,[21] who had attracted lots of attention from Premier League teams throughout the summer. With Austin moving out of the club, this gave Vokes his long awaited chance in the starting eleven, and he began the season with 9 goals and 3 assists in 14 games.

International career

Although born in England, Vokes is eligible to represent Wales through a Welsh-born grandfather.[2] Upon discovering Vokes' eligibility, Wales U21 coach Brian Flynn called him up to the Welsh under-21 team, and he made his debut against Northern Ireland U21 on 6 February 2007. The seventeen-year-old made an instant impression by scoring after 36 seconds, a team record, in a 4–0 victory.[3] He remained in the team and featured in their European U-21 Championship qualifying campaign.

He was soon called up to the senior squad and made his debut in a 1–0 friendly win in Iceland on 28 May 2008. Vokes scored his first senior international goal when he netted the winner in a 1–0 win over Azerbaijan in their opening 2010 World Cup qualifier on 6 September 2008; his second international goal arrived in a friendly against Montenegro on 12 August 2009. In November 2011 Vokes came on as an 85th-minute substitute and scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Norway.

International goals

Wales' goal tally first

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2008 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Azerbaijan 1 – 0 1–0 2010 World Cup qualifying
2. 12 August 2009 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro 1 – 2 1–2 Friendly
3. 12 November 2011 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Norway 3 – 1 4–1 Friendly
4. 12 November 2011 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Norway 4 – 1 4–1 Friendly
5. 6 February 2013 Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales  Austria 2 – 0 2–1 Friendly

Career statistics

As of 1 February 2014.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bournemouth
2006–07[22]
 League One 134100000144
2007–08[23]
 League One 411210102[lower-alpha 1]04512
Total 54162010205916
Wolverhampton Wanderers
2008–09[24]
 Championship 3662210—398
2009–10[25] Premier League 503010—90
2010–11[26] Premier League 202000—40
2011–12[27] Premier League 400031—71
Total 4767251—599
Leeds United (loan)
2009–10[28]
 League One 8100002[lower-alpha 1]0101
Bristol City (loan)
2010–11[29]
 Championship 100000—10
Sheffield United (loan)
2010–11[30]
 Championship 610000—61
Norwich City (loan)
2010–11[31]
 Championship 410000—41
Burnley (loan)
2011–12[32]
 Championship 920000—92
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)
2011–12[33]
 Championship 1431000—153
Burnley 2012–13[34] Championship 4641020—494
2013–14[35] Championship 28141140—3315
Total 74182160—8219
Career totals 217481231214024552
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Appearances in Football League Trophy

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 200861
200981
201020
201132
201250
201361
Total305

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers

References

  1. ↑ "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 10. Retrieved 10 September 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vokes looking forward to an England test". Bournemouth Echo. 15 May 2008. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Sam impresses all with superb debut". Dorset Echo. 7 February 2007. 
  4. ↑ "Vokes hailed after earning deal". BBC Sport. 22 January 2007. 
  5. ↑ "Vokes unfazed by big club scouts". BBC Sport. 24 March 2008. 
  6. ↑ "Mum's the word for Vokes". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 3 March 2008. 
  7. ↑ "Vokes joins Wolves from Cherries". BBC Sport. 23 May 2008. 
  8. ↑ "Plymouth 2–2 Wolves". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008. 
  9. ↑ "Leeds sign Wolves' Vokes on loan". BBC Sport. 19 October 2009. 
  10. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 0–4 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 27 October 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Bristol City sign Wolves striker Sam Vokes on loan". BBC Sport. 5 August 2010. 
  12. ↑ "Vokes suffers new setback". Bristol City. 15 December 2010. 
  13. ↑ "Bjorn Helge Riise and Sam Vokes loaned to Blades". BBC Sport. 15 February 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Vokes exit as Blades have change of heart". Sheffield Telegraph. 23 March 2011. 
  15. ↑ "Dani Pacheco and Sam Vokes Norwich City bound". BBC Sport. 24 March 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Play it again Sam". wolves.co.uk. 22 April 2011. 
  17. ↑ "Burnley sign Wolves striker Sam Vokes". BBC Sport. 18 November 2011. 
  18. ↑ "Seagulls swoop for Sam". Wolves FC. 30 January 2012. 
  19. ↑ http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0,,10413~2866164,00.html
  20. ↑ http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2012/07/31/wolves-reject-10m-bid-for-fletcher/
  21. ↑ "Charlie Austin: QPR sign Burnley striker for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 
  22. ↑ "Bournemouth 2006/2007 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  23. ↑ "Bournemouth 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  24. ↑ "Wolves 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  25. ↑ "Wolves 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  26. ↑ "Wolves 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  27. ↑ "Wolves 2011/2012 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  28. ↑ "Leeds 2009/2010 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  29. ↑ "Bristol C 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  30. ↑ "Sheff Utd 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  31. ↑ "Norwich 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  32. ↑ "Burnley 2011/2012 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  33. ↑ "Brighton 2011/2012 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  34. ↑ "Burnley 2012/2013 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 June 2012. 
  35. ↑ "Burnley 2013/2014 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 June 2012. 

External links

Burnley F.C. – current squad
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