Joe Bennett (footballer)

Joe Bennett
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Bennett[1]
Date of birth28 March 1990[1]
Place of birthRochdale, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing positionLeft back
Club information
Current team
Brighton & Hove Albion
(on loan from Aston Villa)
Number30
Youth career
2000–2001Northallerton Town
2001–2008Middlesbrough
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2012Middlesbrough85(1)
2012–Aston Villa30(0)
2014–→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)22(1)
National team‡
2009England U195(0)
2009England U201(0)
2011England U213(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:12, 26 October 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:55, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Joseph "Joe" Bennett (born 28 March 1990) is an English footballer who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion, on loan from Aston Villa. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with Middlesbrough prior to the 2008–09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back. He completed his move to Aston Villa on 29 August 2012 for an undisclosed fee.[3] He has been capped at U-19, U-20 and U-21 for England.

Club career

Middlesbrough

Bennett was born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester but moved to the North East when he was 10. He attended Great Ayton primary school and Stokesley secondary school. He was spotted by Boro scouts while playing for Hungry Jacks of Northallerton as a schoolboy. However, he suffered a setback when being essentially dropped by Boro when in the Under-15s. He had an unsuccessful trial with Newcastle United and after a year back in Sunday league football he was signed on again at the Riverside.[4][5]

Following some impressive performances in the reserves and the pre-season, Bennett secured a two-year professional deal and named in the senior squad for the first time. His progress continued and after appearing in the summer Algarve tournament he was named on the bench for a number of Premier League fixtures. He made his first team debut away to West Ham United in the final game of the 2008–09 season and he was handed a new three-year contract extension in August 2009.

Now a member of the first team, Bennett made his first appearance for the 2009–10 season in the away loss at Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute in extra time and started his first match, at left back, away at Coventry City.[6] During Gordon Strachan's era as manager at Middlesbrough, Bennett admitted to feeling down with his football. He asked to leave the club on loan but his request was turned down.[7] The arrival of Tony Mowbray saw him become a regular in the first 11, as Mowbray sought Bennett to play a Clichy/Cole role at Middlesbrough.[7] Bennett signed a new 4 and a half-year deal in January 2011, extending his stay until June 2015.[8]

Aston Villa

On 29 August 2012, after making 84 starts for Middlesbrough in 4 years at the Riverside Stadium,[9] Joe Bennett completed his transfer to Premier League club Aston Villa. The Daily Mail newspaper reported the fee to be £2.75 million.[10] In an interview with the official Aston Villa website Bennett stated this was a dream come true in joining a massive club with a massive fanbase in Aston Villa and was looking forward to playing in front of the Villa Park crowd.[11] He made his debut on 22 September 2012, coming on as a substitute for Eric Lichaj against Southampton.[12]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 21 August 2014, Bennett joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan.[13]

International career

Bennett was part of the England under-19 squad at the 2009 European Championships in Ukraine in the summer of 2009. During the group stage matches, he started out on the bench but earned a place in the starting eleven after some strong performances and started in the last group stage match, the semifinal and final. He was due to participate in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup but did not because of club commitments.[14] Bennett received his first U-21 call up after a series of impressive first team performances on 2 February 2011. He went into the squad for the game against Italy U21s.[15]

Career statistics

As of 11 May 2013.[16]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Middlesbrough 2008–09 1000000010
2009–10 120001000130
2010–11 310101000330
2011–12 411202000451
Aston Villa 2012–13 250202000290
2013–14 5000100060
Career total 11515070001421

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile". web page. Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Defender Bennett completes move to Villa on four-year deal". avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "TEN THINGS: Joe Bennett". Mfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Boro Academy star Joe Bennett looks to the future". Evening Gazette. 6 December 2008.
  6. ↑ "COventry 2 Boro 2". Evening Gazette. 27 September 2009.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Joe Bennett Loan no-go was blessing in disguise". Evening Gazette. 27 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Joe Bennett signs new deal with Boro". Evening Gazette. 25 January 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2904133,00.html
  10. ↑ "Lambert move for Boro defender Bennett pushes Warnock towards Villa exit". Daily Mail. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2905425,00.html
  12. ↑ "Southampton 4–1 Aston Villa" BBC Sport. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Joe Bennett: Aston Villa left-back joins Brighton on loan". BBC Sport. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Two Lions In, One Lion Out". MFC.co.uk. 15 September 2009.
  15. ↑ "Pearce Names Squad". The Fa. 2 February 2011.
  16. ↑ Joe Bennett career statistics at Soccerbase

External links