Lindon Meikle

Lindon Meikle

Meikle playing for York City in 2014
Personal information
Full name Lindon Levi Meikle[1]
Date of birth (1988-03-21) 21 March 1988[2]
Place of birth Nottingham, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Playing position Winger / Striker
Club information
Current team
 Alfreton Town
Youth career
0000–2004 Eastwood Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2011 Eastwood Town[lower-alpha 1] 79 (21)
2011–2014 Mansfield Town 113 (12)
2014–2015 York City 28 (0)
2015 Macclesfield Town 6 (0)
2015– Alfreton Town 0 (0)
National team
2011–2012 England C 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Lindon Levi Meikle (born 21 March 1988) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a winger or a striker for National League North club Alfreton Town.

Meikle started his career with Vernon Colts before joining Eastwood Town's youth system, and made his first team debut aged 16 in 2004. He helped Eastwood to promotion via the Northern Premier League First Division in 2007 and by winning the Northern Premier League Premier Division title in 2009. He played for them in the Conference North for two season before moving to Conference Premier club Mansfield Town in 2011, and helped them reach the play-offs in his first season. Meikle was a member of the Mansfield team that won the Conference Premier title in 2013, and played for them for one season in League Two before joining divisional rivals York City.

Club career

Eastwood Town

Meikle started his career with Vernon Colts before going on trial with Eastwood Town, after his father suggested he join his brother Deon at the club.[3] He joined the club's youth system under Paul Cox.[3] He graduated from the youth system and made his first team as a 16-year-old during the 2004–05 season.[3][4][5] Meikle helped Eastwood to promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division via the Northern Premier League First Division play-offs in the 2006–07 season, and around this time had trials with Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Yeovil Town.[3][6]

He established himself as a first team regular under Cox in the 2007–08 season before helping Eastwood to the Northern Premier League Premier Division title, and so promotion to the Conference North, in the 2008–09 season.[7][8] During this season, Meikle scored with a 25-yard shot in Eastwood's 2–0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers in the second round of the 2011–12 FA Cup on 29 November 2008, which saw the club reach the third round for the first time in its history.[9] He was named the FA Cup Player of the Round for his performance in this match.[9]

Meikle scored 11 goals in 44 appearances in the 2009–10 season, after which he was named the Supporters' Player of the Year, the chairman's Player of the Year and the Manager's Player of the Year.[10][11] He helped Eastwood into a play-off position the following season, although they were unable to play in them as their ground was not deemed good enough for the Conference Premier.[8][12] He made 43 appearances and scored 11 goals in the 2010–11 season.[13]

Mansfield Town

Meikle playing for Mansfield Town in 2013

Less than a week after Cox's appointment as manager of Mansfield Town, Meikle followed him to the Conference Premier club after signing a one-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 24 May 2011.[14][15] He made his debut as a 76th-minute substitute for Matt Green in a 1–1 home draw with Bath City on 13 August 2011.[16] His first goal for the club was the 81st-minute winner in a 3–1 away win over Barrow, which came after he paced past two defenders before he calmly finished with a shot into the bottom corner.[17][18] Meikle played a vital role in Mansfield reaching the play-offs, and he played in both semi-final matches against York City, which the team lost 2–1 on aggregate.[19][20] He finished his first season at Mansfield with seven goals in 47 appearances[20] and was offered a new contract by the club in May 2012.[21]

Meikle made 50 appearances and scored four goals in the 2012–13 season to help Mansfield to the Conference Premier title, and therefore promotion to League Two.[13] He was handed a new contract with the club in May 2013.[22] Meikle played in Mansfield's first Football League match for five years,[23] entering the 2–0 away defeat to Scunthorpe United on 3 August 2013 as a 51st-minute substitute for Lee Stevenson.[24] His first goal at this level was the equaliser in a 2–2 home draw with Portsmouth on 24 August 2013, with a close range finish in the 72nd-minute.[24][25] Meikle scored once in 32 appearances in the 2013–14 season,[24] although he was mostly used as a substitute as the formation employed by Mansfield did not include wingers.[26]

York City

Meikle turned down a new contract with Mansfield to sign for their League Two rivals York City on a two-year contract on 1 July 2014.[27][28] He made his debut in York's 1–1 away draw with Tranmere Rovers in the opening match of the 2014–15 season on 9 August 2014.[29] Meikle's season was described by The Press as "miserable", and his chances in the team were limited towards the end of the season.[30] In total he made 32 appearances[29] as York finished 18th in League Two,[31] and was transfer listed by manager Russ Wilcox in May 2015.[32] Having failed to make a matchday squad in the opening first five matches of the 2015–16 season, he was released by York by mutual consent on 24 August 2015.[33]

Macclesfield Town and Alfreton Town

Meikle signed for National League club Macclesfield Town on non-contract terms on 25 September 2015,[34] and made his debut a day later as a 67th-minute substitute for Danny Rowe in a 3–0 away win over Aldershot Town.[13] He was released by Macclesfield in November 2015 after making seven appearances for the club, and was denied a move to Barrow by the Football Association as he could not join a third club at that stage of the season.[13][35] Meikle joined Alfreton Town of the National League North on 3 December 2015.[36]

International career

Meikle made his debut for the England C team in a 3–1 away defeat to Gibraltar in a friendly on 11 November 2011.[37] He earned three caps for England C from 2011 to 2012.[37][38] He qualifies for Jamaica through his father.[4]

Style of play

Meikle primarily plays as a winger and can also play as a striker.[39] He is known for his high workrate, on which Cox commented that "He works so hard and is full of energy".[40] When signing for York in 2014 manager Nigel Worthington commented that he has "pace and that directness to get at defenders".[4]

Personal life

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire,[13] Meikle is from the Hyson Green area of the city and attended Djanogly City Academy.[3] He worked in a clothes shop while playing semi-professionally for Eastwood, but left this role after turning professional when joining Mansfield in 2011.[41]

Career statistics

Meikle playing for Mansfield Town in 2014
As of match played 31 October 2015.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eastwood Town 2009–10[10] Conference North 401130—1[lower-alpha 2]04411
2010–11[13] Conference North 391021—2[lower-alpha 2]04311
Total[lower-alpha 1] 792151—308722
Mansfield Town 2011–12[20] Conference Premier 42720—3[lower-alpha 3]0477
2012–13[13] Conference Premier 43460—1[lower-alpha 2]0504
2013–14[24] League Two 281301000321
Total 11312110104012912
York City 2014–15[29] League Two 28020101[lower-alpha 4]0320
Macclesfield Town 2015–16[13] National League 6010——70
Alfreton Town 2015–16[13] National League North 00———00
Career total 22633191208025534
  1. 1 2 The Eastwood Town appearances and goals only cover the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons.
  2. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ↑ One appearance in FA Trophy, two in Conference Premier play-offs
  4. ↑ Appearance in Football League Trophy

Honours

Eastwood Town

Mansfield Town

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Lindon Meikle". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Mansfield Town FC Player Profiles". Mansfield Town F.C. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Eastwood paceman in hurry to hit the top". Nottingham Post. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Flett, Dave (1 July 2014). "New signing Lindon Meikle adds pace to York City ranks". The Press (York). Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Cruddas, Ian (13 December 2004). "Luckless Romans are hit for six". Burton Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Glovers Get Narrow Worcester Win". Ciderspace. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Solihull Moors F.C. match programme". 24 August 2010. p. 11. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Lindon Meikle: I’ll Make The Big Time In The Face Of Tragedy". The Non-League Paper (London). 16 September 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Lindon's burning". The Football Association. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 Williams, Tony; Wright, James, eds. (2010). Non-League Club Directory 2011. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 196–197. ISBN 9-781869-833688.
  11. 1 2 "Eastwood winger lands awards treble". Nottingham Post. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Blue Square Bet North play-off blow for Eastwood Town". BBC Sport. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "L. Meikle". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Mansfield Town appoint Paul Cox as manager". BBC Sport. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Mansfield Town sign Eastwood's Stevenson and Meikle". BBC Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Lindon Meikle in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Barrow 2–3 Mansfield Town, Saturday 17th September". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Barrow 2–3 Mansfield". BBC Sport. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Mansfield Town winger Lindon Meikle looks to put last season's Eastwood Town disappointment behind him". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
  21. ↑ "Six Stags shown the door". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Mansfield Town announce retained list for 2013/2014 League Two campaign". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Scunthorpe 2–0 Mansfield". BBC Sport. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Lindon Meikle in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Mansfield Town 2 Portsmouth 2, 24th August 2013". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "York City signing Lindon Meikle eager for return to 4–4–2". The Press (York). 2 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  27. ↑ "Mansfield Town: Alan Marriott one of six offered new contracts". BBC Sport. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  28. ↑ "York City sign former Mansfield forward Lindon Meikle". BBC Sport. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  29. 1 2 3 "Games played by Lindon Meikle in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  30. ↑ Flett, Dave (9 May 2015). "Who performed? Who bombed?: We run the rule over all of York City's 32 players during the 2014/15 campaign". The Press (York). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  31. ↑ "League Two: 2014/2015: Regular Season". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  32. ↑ Flett, Dave (7 May 2015). "Wes Fletcher released by York City along with Lewis Montrose and Ryan Jarvis". The Press (York). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  33. ↑ Flett, Dave (24 August 2015). "Lindon Meikle leaves York City". The Press (York). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  34. ↑ Lowe, Alex (25 September 2015). "Lindon Meikle Joins Macclesfield". Macclesfield Town F.C. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "Barrow AFC blocked in attempt to sign Meikle". North-West Evening Mail (Barrow-in-Furness). 27 November 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "Alfreton Town: Reds sign former Mansfield, York and Macclesfield winger". Derby Telegraph. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  37. 1 2 Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 1003, 1008. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
  38. ↑ "Lindon Meikle". The Football Association. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  39. ↑ "Lindon Meikle Signs For City". York City F.C. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  40. ↑ "Mansfield Town boss Paul Cox backs Lindon Meikle to star in the Football League". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  41. ↑ "Consistency the key for Mansfield Town winger Lindon Meikle". Nottingham Post. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lindon Meikle.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, December 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.