David Wright (footballer)

34
David Wright (footballer) bigraphy, stories - English footballer

David Wright (footballer) : biography

1 May 1980 –

David Wright (born 1 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for Colchester United. Wright began his career at Crewe Alexandra, going on to make over 200 league appearances for the club. He also played over 100 league games for Ipswich Town. He has also represented Wigan Athletic, Norwich City, Crystal Palace and Gillingham.

Career

Crewe Alexandra

Wright rose through the youth team ranks at Crewe Alexandra, where he was youth team captain. He made his debut for Crewe in 1997 was a regular during the 1998–99 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win over West Bromwich Albion. Wright made 211 league appearances scoring three goals between 1997 and 2004 for Crewe.

Wigan Athletic

In the summer of 2004, Wright signed for Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee in the region of £250,000. After a successful first season with the Latics promoted to the Premier League, Wright found himself out of favour in the 2005–06 season and joined Norwich City on a one-month loan deal, where he made five appearances. Following his loan spell, Wright made his first Premier League start for Wigan, replacing Leighton Baines at left back in what was a 2–0 away defeat to Birmingham City.

In December 2006, Wright was involved in an accidental collision with goalkeeper Chris Kirkland during a 1–1 draw with Middlesbrough, leaving Kirkland in hospital having gone into shock.

Ipswich Town

Having made 12 Premier League appearances for Wigan in the 2006–07 season, Wright joined Ipswich Town on a three-and-a-half year contract in January 2007. On 20 January 2007, Wright was sent off in a 3–2 win for Ipswich over neighbours Colchester United for a handball offence in the 90th minute. He scored an equalising goal in the East Anglian derby over former club Norwich in April 2007.

In the 2007–08 season, Wright scored in a 6–0 thrashing of Bristol City and against West Bromwich Albion, and scored an own goal in a 4–1 away defeat to Barnsley.

Although born in Warrington, England, during the 2008–09 season Scotland and former Ipswich manager George Burley was considering calling-up Wright to the national team due to his grandparents Scottish ancestry. However, this never came to fruition.

Wright scored the only goal of the game in a match against Derby County on 31 October 2009 to halt manager Roy Keane’s winless run of 15 games, in what was the team’s first win of the season.

Crystal Palace

Former Scotland manager George Burley signed Wright for his Crystal Palace side on 30 June 2010 on a two-year contract.

In September 2012, Wright signed on a one-month loan for League Two leaders Gillingham. He made seven appearances during the spell, and although the club attempted to extend his loan, the deal fell through as it was not confirmed before a 17:00 GMT transfer deadline on 22 November 2012. Following this loan spell, Wright did not make an appearance for Palace before leaving the club.

Colchester United

On 25 January 2013, Wright signed for Colchester United on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 win over Walsall, a win which marked the first points in nine games for the U’s.

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crewe Alexandra 1997–98 Select season required via dropdown menu. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
1998–99 Select season required via dropdown menu. 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 21 1
1999–2000 Select season required via dropdown menu. 45 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 49 0
2000–01 Select season required via dropdown menu. 42 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 48 0
2001–02 Select season required via dropdown menu. 30 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 34 0
2002–03 Select season required via dropdown menu. 31 1 4 0 1 0 4 0 40 1
2003–04 Select season required via dropdown menu. 40 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 43 1
Total 211 3 12 0 11 0 4 0 238 3
Wigan Athletic 2004–05 Select season required via dropdown menu. 31 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 32 0
2005–06 Select season required via dropdown menu. 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
2006–07 Select season required via dropdown menu. 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 0
Total 45 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 49 0
Norwich City (loan) 2005–06 Select season required via dropdown menu. 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Total 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Ipswich Town 2006–07 Select season required via dropdown menu. 19 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 1
2007–08 Select season required via dropdown menu. 41 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 43 2
2008–09 Select season required via dropdown menu. 34 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 36 1
2009–10 Select season required via dropdown menu. 26 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 29 1
Total 120 5 5 0 3 0 0 0 128 5
Crystal Palace 2010–11 Select season required via dropdown menu. 28 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 29 0
2011–12 Select season required via dropdown menu. 22 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 25 0
2012–13 Select season required via dropdown menu. 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0
Total 51 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 57 0
Gillingham (loan) 2012–13 Select season required via dropdown menu. 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Total 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Colchester United 2012–13 Select season required via dropdown menu. 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
2013–14 Select season required via dropdown menu. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Career totals 451 8 20 0 21 0 4 0 496 8
A.  The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League and Premier League.
B.  The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy.