Josh Meekings

Josh Meekings
Personal information
Full nameJosh Meekings
Date of birth2 September 1992
Place of birthBury St Edmunds, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Number6
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2010–2011Ipswich Town0(0)
2011–Inverness Caledonian Thistle120(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 April 2015.
† Appearances (Goals).

Josh Meekings (born 2 August 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Career

As a youth, Meekings captained the under-18s at Ipswich Town. However, in the summer of 2011 he was released by the club without having played for the first-team.

He was due to sign a deal with Stevenage but the deal fell through and instead, on 4 July 2011 he agreed to join Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a two-year deal.[1] Shortly after moving to Inverness, Meekings revealed that the prospect of developing under manager Terry Butcher was influential in his decision to sign.[2]

After months of being an unused substitute for Inverness, Meekings made his debut after coming on for Thomas Piermayr in the 66th minute during a 1–1 draw against Dunfermline Athletic. In November 2011, he provided the 'assist' for Grégory Tadé to score – to make 3–1 – against Kilmarnock. The match ended with Inverness winning 6–3. On 24 March 2012, Meekings received a red card for the first time in his career after a second bookable offence in a 1–0 win over Aberdeen.

Meekings become a regular starter for the club, playing in either central defence or right-back. Ultimately, he settled into a regular, central pairing with Gary Warren. In October 2012, Meekings was in the team that beat Rangers 3–0 away, in the quarter-final of the 2012–13 Scottish League Cup. He also played in the team that beat Celtic 1–0 away, the following month.
On 15 December 2012, he scored an own goal in a 4–4 draw against Dundee United.[3] Nevertheless, a few days later, Meekings along with Graeme Shinnie, signed two-year contract extensions, keeping them at the club until 2015,[4] as Terry Butcher demonstrated his desire to keep the squad intact.[5]

Meekings' excellent season and consistent form was recognised with the award of SPL Young Player of the Month for March 2013.[6]

Despite being sent off in the semi-final of the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup, Meekings was cleared to play in the final after a successful appeal.[7] However, Inverness lost the match against Aberdeen, on penalties.

He scored the first goal of his career in September 2014, heading the opening goal for Inverness, in a 3–2 defeat by Aberdeen.[8] Meekings made his 100th league appearance for the club in a 4–2 win over Hamilton Accies in November 2014.

In February 2015, he signed an extension to his contract, agreeing to remain with Inverness until the summer of 2017.[9]

Meekings became the subject of much national and international interest in the aftermath of ICTs 2014-15 Scottish Cup semi-final win against Celtic. During the game, television pictures and replays clearly showed that he ‘handled’ the ball in the penalty area, preventing a certain goal - however, the incident was ‘missed’ by the match officials.

In an unprecedented move, Meekings was retrospectively cited by the SFA's Compliance Officer to face a charge of 'preventing a goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball'. He was offered a one-match-ban, but Inverness contested this and a date was set for the case to be heard.

On the day of the hearing, it transpired that he should not actually have been cited, as the referee had subsequently confirmed that he had indeed seen the ‘incident' but not the alleged ‘offence’. As a result, the case did not proceed and the charge against Meekings was dropped, with the SFA confirming that he would be eligible to play in the final.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Double Capture". Inverness Caledonian Thistle Official Website. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "New Inverness signing Josh Meekings: Sure Terry Butcher was a big hero.. for my grandad". Daily Record. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Dundee United 4 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4: United and Thistle share eight goals and a point in a cracker at Tannadice.". Daily Record. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Graeme Shinnie & Josh Meekings sign new Inverness deals". BBC Sport. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Inverness offer stars new deals as Terry Butcher reveals he's keen to keep high-flying side intact". Daily Record. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Inverness CT player Josh Meekings wins young player award". BBC Sport (BBC). 19 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Josh Meekings's red card overturned for final". BBC Sport. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "Aberdeen 3–2 Inverness CT". BBC Sport (BBC). 27 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Josh Meekings signs new Inverness deal until 2017". BBC Sport (BBC). 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Josh Meekings: Judicial panel were "not entitled" to enforce ban". BBC Sport (BBC). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Inverness defender Josh Meekings cleared for Scottish Cup final". BBC Sport (BBC). 23 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Josh Meekings: Vincent Lunny shocked by panel decision". BBC Sport (BBC). 23 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.

External links