Jlloyd Samuel

Jlloyd Tafari Samuel (pronounced "Jay-Lloyd",^[4] born 29 March 1981) is a professional footballer who last played as a defender and midfielder for Paykan in the Iran Pro League and represented Trinidad and Tobago at international level.^[5] Samuel played in the Premier League for both Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers earlier in his career having come through the Charlton Athletic youth academy.

Club career

Aston Villa

Samuel playing for Bolton Wanderers

Born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, Samuel attended St Joseph's Academy, Blackheath through the 1990s where he was a valuable member of the school football teams as well as the London Schoolboys teams. He spent his youth football at Charlton Athletic before signing a professional contract with Aston Villa. There was a dispute with Charlton concerning "poaching" of their youth system by Aston Villa; at the FA tribunal which was set up in response to the charges, Villa manager John Gregory was famously quoted as saying that he'd signed Samuel and did not expect him to play for the first team.

As a youth, Samuel supported Manchester United and played for the Sunday league team Senrab^[6] and West Ham United. He was released from the Hammers on the same day as Paul Konchesky, Lee Bowyer, Bobby Zamora (All three have since returned to the Hammers) and Fitz Hall, now of Watford.^[7]

Samuel's Aston Villa debut came after 51 minutes of a second-leg League Cup match against Chester City on 21 September 1999, which finished 5–0 in Aston Villa's favour.

At the beginning of his Aston Villa career, Samuel was loaned out to Gillingham, where he made seven full appearances and one substitute appearance between 25 October and 3 December 2001.

Though looking set for the 2002 European Under-21 Championships, Samuel picked up a groin injury which ensured his being out of action for a sustained period of time.

When Graham Taylor took over the reins at Villa, Samuel became more assured of a place on the team despite his nervousness on the pitch. His best season, however, was 2003–04, as, under newly appointed Villa boss David O'Leary, he rose to become one of the best left-backs in the Premier League and was selected in the England squad for the game against Sweden, although his involvement only went as far as being an unused substitute. It was also during this season that he scored his first league goals for Villa, his first coming at home to Charlton,^[8] and then his second against the same team in the corresponding away match.^[9] That season he also scored for Villa in their League Cup semi final defeat to Samuel's future club Bolton Wanderers.^[10]

He claimed that he wanted to change back to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 World Cup, but the application rejected by FIFA.^[11]

However, in 2004–05, Samuel's place in the team was less assured due to a severe lack of options in the squad rather than his own form as he soon began to look like the player he had been earlier on in his career – nervous and indecisive on the ball. Samuel lost his place in the team to Netherlands international defender Wilfred Bouma, who signed from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven at the start of the 2005–06 season, though, throughout the few appearances Samuel did make during this season due to Bouma's severe lack of basic match fitness, he showed promise that he was gaining in confidence and game awareness once again.

In March 2007, he hinted on his personal website that his time with Aston Villa could be about to come to an end due to lack of recent opportunities. Samuel had been a professional at Villa for the previous decade but the signing of Bouma and various injury problems limited his playing time over the last two years.

Bolton Wanderers

He signed a four-year contract with Bolton Wanderers on 1 July 2007. He was former Wanderers' boss, Sammy Lee's first signing.^[12] He played in every Bolton match in the 2008/09 season. He made seventy one league appearances with the club before leaving.

Cardiff City

On 24 March 2011, Samuel joined Football League Championship side Cardiff City on loan until the end of the season wearing shirt number 21, as cover for the injured Mark Hudson. He had not played a game for Wanderers' during the 2010–11 season due to injury,^[13] and was released at the end of the season, bringing his four years at the club to an end.^[14]

Trials

Samuel joined Leeds United, managed by his former Aston Villa teammate Simon Grayson, on trial on 19 July 2011.^[15] He was included in the squad against Rochdale the same evening. He came off the bench at the start of the second-half in a match Leeds won by a single first half goal from Max Gradel. Samuel was released from the trial after picking up an injury.^[16] On 30 July 2011, Samuel played for 79 minutes on trial for West Ham United in their final pre-season game against Real Zaragoza which West Ham won 2–0.^[17] However, West Ham decided against offering him a permanent contract.^[18]

Esteghlal

Samuel playing for Esteghlal, AFC Champions League match against Al-Ain

On 31 December 2011, he joined Iran Pro League side, Esteghlal, where he was re-united with his former Bolton team mate Andranik Teymourian. Samuel signed a two-year contract with the club on 9 January 2012, making his debut against Damash on the following day. He spent half a season at Esteghlal but, after the end of the season, Esteghlal's new head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, placed him on the transfer list. However, after meeting with club's chairman, he extended his contract and also got his favoured number 3 shirt, which was available after the transfer of Mehdi Amirabadi. Esteghlal fans nicknamed him The Black Diamond after his good form in the 2012–13 season. He won the Iran Pro League title with Esteghlal in his second season at the club, scoring six times during the season of which three were in the AFC Champions League. He extended his contract with Esteghlal on 12 July 2013, keeping him at the club until 2014.^[19] Samuel left Esteghlal in June 2014 after claiming the club citing a five-month pay dispute with the club.^[20]

Paykan

Samuel signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Paykan on 23 June 2014, making him the club's fifth big signing after Mehdi Rahmati, Saeid Daghighi, Mohammad Nosrati and Amir Hossein Feshangchi. The transfer was made effective from 1 July, after transfer window opens.^[21] He played his first game for Paykan in a friendly match against Astra Giurgiu, which he scored a goal in a 2–2 draw. He made his official debut for Paykan on 1 August 2014, where his team lost 2–0 to Sepahan during the league's first week.

Club career statistics

As of 6 November 2014

International career

On 7 August 2009, it was revealed that Bobby Zamora and Samuel had received their Trinidadian passports making them eligible to play for the national team.^[24] Samuel made his debut for the Soca Warriors in a 4–1 defeat to Honduras on 6 September.

Samuel had previously received a call up for the England team in the spring of 2004 whilst enjoying a spell of good form domestically at Aston Villa, but in the end he was not selected to play by then manager Sven-Göran Eriksson against Sweden^[25] and ultimately chose to play for the country of his birth.

Honours

Aston Villa

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000–01

Esteghlal

• Iran Pro League: 2012–13
• Hazfi Cup: 2011–12

References

External links

• Official website
• Jlloyd Samuel Stats at PersianLeague.com
• Jlloyd Samuel career statistics at Soccerbase
• Jlloyd Samuel at National-Football-Teams.com