- Ian Ashbee
Football player infobox
playername = Ian Ashbee
fullname = Ian Ashbee
nickname = Ash
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|9|6
cityofbirth =Birmingham
countryofbirth =England
height = 6'1' (185 cm)
currentclub = Hull City
position =Midfielder
clubnumber = 4
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1994–19961996–20022002-
clubs = Derby CountyCambridge UnitedHull City
caps(goals) = 001 0(0)193 (11)200 0(8)
pcupdate = 21:01, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =Ian Ashbee (born
September 6 1976 inBirmingham ) is an English professional footballer currently playing for Hull City. He previously played for Derby County and Cambridge United, and has also played inIceland , on loan toIR Knattspyrnudeild .Purchased by manager
Jan Mølby in June 2002 in League Two he suffered a nightmare start to his Hull career as he was sent off on his debut. This was, however, due to his no-nonsense approach on the pitch and he soon became a firm favourite with Tigers fans and management alike, with both Mølby and Peter Taylor making him Captain.The goal he scored against Yeovil Town was the goal that promoted Hull to League One and he was also instrumental in the Tigers' successful promotion campaign to the
Football League Championship in the following season.Ashbee was, however, cursed by an old injury in the subsequent Championship campaign, being ruled out for the majority of the 2005-06 season with an osteochondral defect, a degenerative bone condition in his
femur . Nevertheless, he remained a favourite amongst many Tigers fans, receiving a standing ovation at the last game of the season against Watford despite being sidelined.He was also retained as captain by Hull City's next manager,
Phil Parkinson , and his replacement, Phil Brown. But with a poor team performance in their second season inThe Championship , finishing just one place outside the relegation zone, Ashbee as captain received a large share of fans' criticisms that were aimed at the team, despite the outgoing Chairman Adam Pearson suggesting him as a potential Player of the Season. Whenever two or more fans discuss Ashbee's merits as player and captain, views are seemingly always polarised and deeply entrenched, but the fact remains that the four different managers he has played under at City have all made him captain.The 2007-08 season saw vastly improved performances from the team as a whole, culminating in the club reaching its first ever Wembley final, taking on Bristol City for a place in The
Premier League , a game which they won 1-0. This means that Ashbee has captained City to promotion from the bottom division of the Football League to the top.Andy Dawson ,Boaz Myhill andRyan France are the other players to have helped take Hull up through the four divisions. [ [http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=95180 tribalfootball.com - Hull's Dawson happy joining brother Michael in Premiership ] ] On 16 August 2008 Ashbee was captain of the Hull City side that won its first ever top-flight game 2-1 against Fulham, completing an achievement thought to be unique in English football: captaining the same team in all four divisions of the Football League, bottom to top. [cite web|url=http://www.sporthull.co.uk/football/hull_city/tigers_news/displayarticle.php?ID=7820|title=Ash to lead from the front|date=2008-08-17|publisher=Hull Daily Mail]Honours
* Division 3 (IV): Runner-up 1999, 2004
*Football League Trophy : Runner-up 2002
*Football League One (III): Runner-up 2005
*Football League Championship (II): Playoffs 2008References
External links
* [http://www.hullcityafc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10338~9026,00.html Ian Ashbee profile] on Hull City official website
*soccerbase|id=254|name=Ian AshbeePersondata
NAME= Ashbee, Ian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Ashbee, Ian
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 1976-9-6
PLACE OF BIRTH=Birmingham ,England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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