Ross Draper

Ross Draper
Personal information
Full nameRoss James Draper[1]
Date of birth20 October 1988
Place of birthWolverhampton, England
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing positionCentral Midfielder[2]
Club information
Current team
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Number8
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2006–2007Shrewsbury Town0(0)
2007–2008Stafford Rangers31(0)
2008–2009Hednesford Town38(5)
2009–2012Macclesfield Town97(10)
2012–Inverness Caledonian Thistle97(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 April 2015.
† Appearances (Goals).

Ross James Draper (born 20 October 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Draper has previously played for Shrewsbury Town, Stafford Rangers, Hednesford Town and Macclesfield Town.

Career

Draper started his career as a trainee at Shrewsbury Town, before moving to Conference National club Stafford Rangers in August 2007.[3] He made his debut for Stafford on 10 September, in the 3–0 away defeat in the Conference National to Stevenage Borough.[4] He made a total of 31 appearances during the 2007–08 season.[5]
Draper revealed he worked in a range of jobs while playing part-time, quoting: "When I was at Hednesford I had a job at Birmingham Midshires. I worked with mortgages then in administration before I moved into the collections department."[6]

Macclesfield Town

Draper went on to join Northern Premier League Premier Division club Hednesford Town, before signing for League Two side Macclesfield Town in July 2009.[7] He revealed he had offers from clubs in the Conference National, but wanted to play in the Football League.[8] He made his debut for Macclesfield on 8 August, in the 0–0 away draw against Northampton Town in League Two.[9][10] He scored his first goal in the Football League in the 2–2 draw against Morecambe on 22 August.[11] Later that season, on 3 March 2010, Manager Keith Alexander died suddenly at home following the club's away match with Notts County.

Draper signed a two-year contract extension with Macclesfield in April 2010[12] and at the end of the season, he had made twenty-nine appearances, scoring once. The 2010/11 season, under new manager Gary Simpson – who had previously been Alexander's assistant at Lincoln City and Peterborough United, saw Draper become a first team regular. He made forty appearances and scored five times.

In August 2011, at the start of the 2011–12 season, Draper attracted national news attention after scoring from close to the halfway line against Hereford United. Macclesfield went on to win the League Two match 4–0.[13] Afterwards, Draper conceded that he would never score another goal like it in his career.[14]
On 9 October 2011, he scored and provided an assist for George Donnelly during a 2–1 win over Aldershot.[15] Later that month, the club opened contract extension negotiations with Draper.[16]

On 25 November 2011, he received a straight red card – for the first time in his Macclesfield career – after a serious foul on Michael Hector in a 2–1 loss against Barnet. After the match, the club appealed his sending off.[17] However, the FA rejected this appeal and confirmed a ban for three matches.[18]
In the early part of the season, Draper had found some goalscoring form but this was halted when he sustained a fractured metatarsal during a 2–1 win over Port Vale.[19]This injury kept him sidelined between December and March.
Meanwhile, the club had slipped into a losing streak, which ultimately led to relegation and ended fifteen consecutive seasons in the Football League.[20] As a result, Macclesfield undertook a severe cost-cutting exercise and released twenty-one players, with Draper being the only incumbent player to be offered a new contract.[21] During the subsequent negotiations, he reportedly attracted interest from other clubs 'wanting his signature'.[22]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

After rejecting a new contract at Macclesfield Town, Draper signed for Scottish Premier League club Inverness Caledonian Thistle in July 2012, on a one-year contract.[23] His move to Scotland left manager Steve King upset, as it was ruled that there would be no compensation from Inverness.[24]
Draper made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 2–2 draw against St. Mirren. Three weeks later, he scored his first goals for his new club, netting twice – in only his second home appearance, during a 4–2 defeat by Celtic.[25] He went on to score in the Highland derby and then notched another against Hibernian.

Having established himself in the first team, playing in central midfield, Draper signed a new contract with the club, in conjunction with Billy McKay, who had also agreed to an extension.[26] He later commented that agreeing to the new one-year deal had been an easy decision to make. Another goal later in the campaign meant that Draper finished his first season with Inverness with forty appearances and five goals.

In the 2013–14 season, Draper scored his first goal during the quarter-final of the League Cup. The goal proved to be the winner in the 2–1 win over Dundee United, sending the club into the semi-finals.[27] He received his first red-card as an Inverness player when he was dismissed for a second bookable offence against Ross County on 1 January 2014.[28]

Draper helped the club reach the League Cup final after scoring the winning penalty during the shoot-out against Hearts in the semi-final.[29] After the match, he revealed that manager John Hughes had organised mock shoot-outs ahead of the game.
He also disclosed that due to his previous occupation as a 'debt collector', his team-mates had given him the nickname The Bailiff.[30]

In the final of the League Cup, Draper expertly performed his role during the game, by effectively smothering Aberdeen in midfield. However, the match ended scoreless, and after extra-time, Inverness lost on penalties.
Despite his team losing, he was named the 'Man-of-the-Match'. Draper grudgingly accepted the award, explaining: "It's nice to get an award like that to show the kids when I'm older but it doesn't mean a great deal at the moment after the way we were beaten. And maybe I didn't deserve it. I'll take it, but it means nothing without a winner's medal to back it up."[31]

On 19 March 2014, Draper signed a new two-year contract extension with Caley Thistle.[32]

At the beginning of season 2014–15, Draper's impressive early performances led to him receiving the award of SPFL Player of the Month for August.[33]

Individual Awards

Player Award Month
England Ross Draper SPFL Player of the Month[33] August 2014

References

  1. ↑ "Search results: Ross Draper". findmypast.com. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  2. ↑ "First Team". Macclesfield Town F.C. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "Rangers unveil five new players". BBC Sport. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Fixtures/results: Stevenage 3–0 Stafford". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Players: Ross Draper". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  6. ↑ "Draper can deliver cup to Inverness". Scottish Daily Express. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Midfielder Draper joins Silkmen". BBC Sport. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "Draper completes Silkmen move". Non-League Daily. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Fixtures/results: Northampton 0–0 Macclesfield". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  10. ↑ "Northampton 0 – 0 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  11. ↑ Glendinning, Mike (22 August 2009). "Morecambe 2 Macclesfield 2". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  12. ↑ "Ross Draper signs new Macclesfield Town contract". BBC Sport. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Hereford 0–4 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  14. ↑ "Ross Draper revels in long distance Macclesfield Town strike". BBC Sport. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  15. ↑ "Simpson relieved after victory". Sky Sports. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Ross Draper in contract talks with Macclesfield Town". BBC Sport. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "Silkmen to contest Draper red". Sky Sports. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "FA reject Draper ban appeal". Sky Sports. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "Donnelly's double delight". Macclesfield Express. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  20. ↑ "Simpson urges more from Draper". Sky Sports. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  21. ↑ "Macclesfield Town release 21 players following relegation". BBC Sport. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  22. ↑ "Draper weighs up options". Sky Sports. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  23. ↑ "Inverness Caley Thistle sign Macclesfield's Ross Draper". BBC Sport (BBC). 6 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Draper move upsets Macclesfield manager King". Macclesfield Express. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "Inverness CT 2–4 Celtic]]". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  26. ↑ "SPL: Inverness midfielder Ross Draper delighted to sign new deal". Sky Sports. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  27. ↑ "Inverness CT 2 Dundee United 1: Last-gasp Ross Draper header in extra time sends Caley into League Cup semi-finals". Daily Record. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  28. ↑ "Inverness CT 1 – 2 Ross County". BBC Sport. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  29. ↑ "Inverness star Ross Draper reveals mock penalty shoot-out helped nine-man Caley Thistle reach League Cup Final". Daily Record. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  30. ↑ "Inverness star Ross Draper reveals he is nicknamed the Bailiff by his team-mates and says he's ready to take possession of League Cup trophy". Daily Record. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  31. ↑ "'It was a great achievement for us as players just to get here ...'". Herald Scotland. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  32. ↑ "Ross Draper signs new contract". Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC. 19 March 2014.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Inverness CT win trio of SPFL monthly awards". BBC Sport (BBC). 11 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

External links