Chris Llewellyn
 Llewellyn (in red) playing for Wrexham in 2008. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Mark Llewellyn | ||
| Date of birth | 29 August 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Merthyr Tydfil, Wales | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder / Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Swansea City (Under 21s Manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2003 | Norwich City | 142 | (17) |
| 2003 | → Bristol Rovers (loan) | 14 | (3) |
| 2003–2005 | Wrexham | 91 | (15) |
| 2005–2006 | Hartlepool United | 29 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Wrexham | 79 | (12) |
| 2008–2009 | Grimsby Town | 28 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Neath | 34 | (9) |
| 2010–2012 | Llanelli | 14 | (3) |
| 2012 | → Aberystwyth Town (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | West End | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Wales U21 | 14 | (?) | |
| Wales B | 1 | (?) | |
| 1998–2006 | Wales | 6 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2014– | Swansea City (U21's) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:58, 5 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Christopher Mark "Chris" Llewellyn (born 28 August 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is U21 manager of Premier League side Swansea City.
He has made over 350 appearances in the Football League for Norwich City, Bristol Rovers, Wrexham, Hartlepool United and Grimsby Town, before joining Welsh Premier League sides Neath, Llanelli and Aberystwyth Town. He earned 6 full international caps for Wales, scoring once from between 1998 and 2006. He also previously earned 14 caps for the Wales U21 team.
Club career
Norwich City
A product of the Norwich City youth team, Chris broke into the first team at Norwich in the 1997–1998 season making a total of 16 appearances with 4 goals. After injury in the 2002–03 season, he lost his place and went on loan to Bristol Rovers; he was released in June 2003 from Norwich.
In the 6 years that Llewellyn spent in the first team it was rumoured that on more than one occasion an unknown Premiership club had had an offer of 3 million pound plus rejected by Norwich, who were keen to keep hold of the player dubbed, 'The New Giggs.' It was this title that earnt him cult hero status at Norwich, indeed a group of supporters known as, 'The Barclay Boys,' regularly sang a song about their Welsh Wizard to visiting supporters, 'Try and spell his effing name, effing name, effing name, try and spell his effing name, Chris Llewellyn.'
Wrexham
Chris signed for Wrexham and a strong 2003–04 season saw him recalled to the Welsh squad in May 2004 and come on a sub to win his third cap against Norway.
Hartlepool United
Later, he signed for Hartlepool United but only stayed one season and returned on a free to Wrexham on 29 June 2006.
Return to Wrexham
On the final day of the 2006–2007 season, Wrexham needed to avoid defeat against Boston United to avoid relegation to the Conference National. After coming from 1–0 down, Chris Llewellyn scored the goal which handed the Red Dragons a 2–1 lead before they eventually winning 3–1 and preserving their Football League Two status. He was released by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference.[1]
Grimsby Town
He joined Grimsby Town on a two-year contract in July 2008.[2] He made his league debut in the opening game of the season, in the goalless draw with Rochdale. He made 32 appearances in all competitions for Grimsby, 17 as substitute.[3]
Neath
Llewellyn was released by Grimsby at the end of the 2008–09 season and joined Welsh Premier League side Neath Athletic.[3] After scoring five times in the opening five games of the season, Neath manager Andrew Dyer praised Llewellyn's performances and described him as "the best striker in the league".[4] However, he scored just four times during the rest of the season.
Llanelli
In June 2010, he left Neath by mutual consent to sign for Llanelli.[5] Llewellyn scored in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League second leg tie against FK Tauras Tauragė.
He joined Aberystwyth Town on loan in January 2012. He left Llanelli in June 2012 after being released.[6]
West End
In June 2012, Llewellyn was appointed player-assistant manager at Welsh Football League side West End alongside manager Anthony Wright.
Coaching career
In December 2012, Llewellyn joined Swansea City as a full-time youth coach.[7] In February 2014, Llewellyn became temporary manager of Swansea City Under 21s. Llewellyn replaced Kristian O'Leary who was promoted to the role of Assistant First Team Coach.[8]
International career
He gained Welsh B and under-21 honours. He later won full honours and made his Welsh debut against Malta in 1998. He was recalled to the full Wales squad in May 2004 and come on a sub to win his 3rd cap against Norway. Chris scored his first international goal for Wales against Liechtenstein in November 2006 alongside his ex Norwich City strike partner Craig Bellamy.
References
- ↑ "Roberts and Llewellyn leave Reds". BBC Sport. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ↑ "Grimsby sign midfielder Llewellyn". BBC Sport. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Llewellyn leaves Mariners". Sky Sports (BSkyB). 17 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ↑ "Llewellyn best striker in league says Dyer". welsh-premier.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ↑ "Reds sign Llewellyn as Griffiths stays". Welsh-premier.com. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ↑ "Bowen and Kellaway sign for the Reds". Welsh Premier League. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ↑ "Former Norwich City and Wales star Chris Llewellyn has finally joined Swansea City". South Wales Evening Post. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ↑ "Llewellyn targets top-two finish". Swansea City A.F.C. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
External links
- Chris Llewellyn career statistics at Soccerbase
- Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
- Welsh Premier profile