Jerel Ifil

Football player infobox
playername = Jerel Ifil


fullname = Jerel Ifil
height = height|ft=6|in=1
nickname = "The beast"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|6|27
cityofbirth = Wembley
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Swindon Town
clubnumber = 5
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2001-2004
2002
2003
2003
2003-2004
2004-
clubs = Watford
→ Huddersfield Town (loan)
→ Swindon Town (loan)
→ Swindon Town (loan)
→ Swindon Town (loan)
Swindon Town
caps(goals) = 11 (0)
2 (0)
9 (0)
10 (0)
10 (0)
157 (3)
nationalyears = 2008-
nationalteam = St. Lucia
nationalcaps(goals) = 0 (0)
pcupdate = 23/09/2006
ntupdate =
pcupdate = 07 October 2008
ntupdate =
pcupdate = 10:45, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Jerel Ifil (born June 27, 1982 in Wembley) is an English-born Saint Lucian professional football (soccer) player. He is a defender and plays for Swindon Town. He is the elder brother of Colchester United defender Philip Ifil.

Career

Jerel started his career at Watford. He made his debut in Watford's 2-0 win over Derby County in the 2002-03 season. Initially, he went on loan to Huddersfield Town, where he played 4 times. He came back to Watford to make 11 appearances.

Ifil originally signed for Swindon Town on a three month loan deal from Watford in January 2003, making a total of nine league appearances, four as a substitute. During this period, Ifil mainly appeared on the right side of defence.

At the start of the 2003-2004 season, and with the Town's defence severely lacking in pace, Andy King re-signed Ifil in September 2003, again on loan, this time in order to fill a central defensive role. He immediately impressed in this new position, and with Watford struggling at the bottom of the First Division, they refused Town's request for an extension, and recalled him.

Within a week of Ifil's return to Vicarage Road, King made an offer to sign him on a permanent basis which Watford turned down - and responded by offering Ifil an extended contract, which he signed. Despite this, he made just one substitute appearance for Watford before he was allowed to return for a third loan spell at the County Ground. When the loan period ended, Ifil managed to break into the Watford first team for a short period, but by the end of the season, he found himself in the reserves again.

The long-running saga was finally ended in June 2004, when £75,000 bids from Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United for Ifil prompted King to join the race for his signature. Ifil immediately pledged that Swindon were the only Second Division side he would sign for - and with Watford needing cash to replace other players that had left, they accepted the Town's £70,000 bid, which included a sell-on clause. Ifil signed a two year deal, commencing on July 1, with an option for a third year extension in 2006.

A thigh injury kept Ifil out of the season's opening two games (which were both lost), but he slotted into the centre of defence for the third match against Milton Keynes Dons, and the Town went on a four-game winning run, and he didn't lose his place until early December, when a petulant headbutt on Pawel Abbott of Huddersfield Town earned Ifil a red card and a three game suspension. On the fourth match of his return, another red card - this time for a professional foul against Bradford City, led to another spell on the sidelines.

Though his man-marking was excellent, Ifil suffered from frequent lapses in concentration, and many goals throughout the season were attributed to his mistakes. In February, he lost his place for the first time, being kept out by Matt Heywood - and he remained on the bench for the best part of two months - returning only for two games in this time, a 3-1 defeat at Luton Town, and a 3-0 defeat at Hartlepool United. He did however regain his place for the final five games of the season, when his form improved - Ifil doing great marking jobs on Leroy Lita of Bristol City, Craig Fagan of Hull City, and Iain Hume of Tranmere Rovers - some of the best forward players in the division.

Unfortunately, Ifil's inconsistency showed itself again on the opening day of the 2005-06 season, when he gave a poor performance and was responsible for Barnsley's first goal in their 2-0 victory - and as Swindon slumped to the bottom of the league in September and October with a long run of defeats, Ifil was one of the more nervy performers, often pumping the ball forward aimlessly instead of keeping possession. Clumsiness also led to a last minute sending off at Doncaster Rovers at the end of September - and after he served his suspension, he repeated the feat at Brentford in his second game back, when he was harshly shown red for an innoculous clash with a Brentford forward player. His disciplinary record improved after his return, and his form improved also, with some great last-ditch tackles and blocks as the Town battled to get themselves out of relegation trouble.

After a decent start to 2006 though, Ifil's inconsistency began to creep back into his game, and yet more clumsy bookings led to yet another dismissal - this time with the Town 6-0 down at Nottingham Forest, in a match they went on to lose 7-1 - Ifil himself admitting it was the lowest point in his career. Ifil's suspension period lasted for exactly a month, and though he came back into the side for a crucial home game against Hartlepool, manager Iffy Onuora dropped him for four matches in the Town's run in. By the time Ifil returned to the starting eleven, Swindon were all but relegated to League Two - the relegation being confirmed on his next game back, in a 1-1 draw at Bristol City. Nevertheless, Ifil agreed to sign a year's extension to his contract.

The departure of Iffy Onoura and Arrival of Dennis Wise turned Ifil around. Throughout the 2006-2007 season, Ifil's performances were key to Swindon's promotion and a new confident, fitter Jerel Ifil formed a formidable partnership at centre half with Ady Williams. The Ifil and Williams combinations were amongst the meanest backlines in League Two. Despite injury ending Williams' season, Ifil carried on at centre back with Jamie Vincent and continuted putting in some excellent performances. He was a strong contender for player of the season, but narrowly missed out to Lee Peacock.

External links

*soccerbase|id=26826|name=Jerel Ifil
* [http://www.4thegame.com/club/swindon-town-fc/player-profile/5921/jerelifil.html Jered Ifil at 4thegame.com]