Luke Varney

Infobox Football biography
playername = Luke Varney


fullname = Luke Ivan Varney
height = 5 ft 11 in
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|9|28
cityofbirth = Leicester
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Charlton Athletic
clubnumber = 12
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2000–2003
2003–2007
2007–
clubs = Quorn
Crewe Alexandra
Charlton Athletic
caps(goals) = 0? (25)
95 (27)
48 (10)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 15:14, 1st October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Luke Ivan Varney (born September 28 1982 in Leicester) is an English professional footballer. He is a forward and currently plays with Charlton Athletic. Varney began his career as a professional footballer at non-league level with Quorn before being spotted by Crewe's assistant manager Neil Baker. The Englishman signed for the Railwaymen in 2003 and spent four years at the club, appearing in 95 league games and scoring 35 goals.

Club career

Crewe Alexandra

Varney signed for Crewe Alexandra from Midland Football Alliance club Quorn F.C. in 2003 for £50,000, becoming the first ever player to command a fee at Quorn's level.Fact|date=February 2007 Varney's deal also had a 20% sell-on clause with the Leicestershire club. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The stakes are high as Reds meet Quorn|url=http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/feature.php?feature_id=137 |work= |publisher=F.C. United of Manchester Official website |date= |accessdate=2007-03-14 ] Whilst at Quorn, he worked as a quality controller at a factory. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Luke Varney lives up to star billing as Charlton defeat Reading|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/championship/2614977/Luke-Varney-lives-up-to-star-billing-as-Charlton-defeat-Reading---Football.html |work= |publisher=Daily Telegraph |date=24 August 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-24 ] Varney made his Crewe debut five months later in a 3-1 away defeat to Wimbledon. The young Englishman also managed to get his first goal for the club four games after his debut in Crewe's 3-1 away win over Crystal Palace, Dean Ashton scoring the other two goals for The Railwaymen. Unfortunately, Varney picked up a shoulder injury during January 2004, denying him a chance of making any further appearances during the rest of the 2003-04 season.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Varney Completes Charlton Switch|url=http://www.crewealex.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10414~1027870,00.html |work= |publisher=Official Crewe Alexandra F.C. website |date=May 21, 2007 |accessdate=2007-05-22 ]

Varney recovered from his injury in time for the following season, making 26 appearances for Crewe, scoring four goals in those appearances. The striker also picked up two yellow cards during the course of the year. He became more involved in the first team during the 2004–05 season, making 27 appearances and scoring five goals.

In 2006, Crewe Alexandra relegated to League One. Varney would make his name during the 2006–07 season, scoring 25 goals in all competitions during the season, which saw the Englishman take the honour of the League's third top goalscorer. Varney also formed a notable partnership with Nicky Maynard, as the two became League One's most productive partnership, scoring a total of 44 goals between them.

However, it was Varney's performance against Manchester United that got noticed by the bigger clubs as during the weeks following the game, which saw Varney score the goal which forced extra time, Premiership clubs such as Portsmouth were reported to be interested in signing the Englishman. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6095938.stm Sunday's (29 October, 2006) football gossip] " BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2007] On the contrary, however, Varney himself played down any talk of him moving clubs. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/crewe_alexandra/6088672.stm "Varney brushes off transfer talk"] " BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2007] Varney's season however was cut short in March 2007 after breaking his toe in Crewe's 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Charlton Athletic

Varney completed a move to Charlton Athletic for £2 million in May 2007 with a percentage of the fee going to Quorn, although the fee may increase to £2.5 million depending on appearances.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Addicks Wrap Up Striker Deals|url=http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=467732&CPID=10&clid=99&lid=2&title=Addicks+wrap+up+striker+deals&channel=football_home& |work= |publisher=Sky Sports |date=May 21, 2007 |accessdate=2007-05-21 ] Charlton manager Alan Pardew commented that "Luke is an exciting young player and perfectly fits the mould of a Charlton player". "The deal was done very quickly" Dario Gradi recalled,cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Deal Was Done Quickly |url=http://www.crewealex.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10414~1028406,00.html |work= |publisher=Official Crewe Alexandra F.C. website |date=May 22 2007 |accessdate=2007-05-22 ] "Alan [Pardew] rang me out of the blue really and asked me about Luke. It was a surprise because I had no indication that they were interested before. I said what we wanted for him and then we discussed his strengths and his weaknesses" he added. Varney's first goal for the Addicks came against Leicester City in September 2007, the club he had supported as a boy. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Late starter eyes early goal |url=http://www.cafc.co.uk/newsview.ink?nid=31287&newstype=x |work= |publisher=Charlton Athletic F.C. |date=September 21, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-24 ]

Club stats

:"Correct as of 24 August 2008"

Career honours and achievements

;Crewe Alexandra
*Runner up
**2006-07 Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Section

;Individual
*2006-07 League One "Team of the Year"

References

External links

* [http://www.cafc.co.uk/playerdisplay.ink?skip=29&season=2007/2008 Luke Varney player profile] at cafc.co.uk
* [http://www.crewealex.net/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10414~23693,00.html Luke Varney player profile] at crewealex.net
*soccerbase|id=35554|name=Luke Varney