Jamie Forrester

Football player infobox
playername= Jamie Forrester


fullname =
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1974|11|1
cityofbirth = Bradford
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=6
currentclub = Notts County
clubnumber = 9
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991-1992
1992-1995
1994
1995
1995-1997
1997-1999
1999-2000
1999-2000
2000
2000-2003
2003-2004
2004-2006
2006
2006-2008
2008-
clubs = AJ Auxerre
Leeds United
→ Southend United (loan)
→ Grimsby Town (loan)
Grimsby Town
Scunthorpe United
F.C. Utrecht
→ Walsall (loan)
→ Northampton Town (loan)
Northampton Town
Hull City
Bristol Rovers
→ Lincoln City (loan)
Lincoln City
Notts County
Career
caps(goals) = 000 00(0)
009 00(0)
005 00(0)
009 00(1)
041 00(6)
101 0(37)
001 00(0)
005 00(0)
009 00(6)
112 0(39)
032 00(7)
052 00(9)
009 00(5)
083 0(30)
0 0 0 0
468 (140)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = England (Schoolboy)
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 24 March 2008
ntupdate =

Jamie Forrester (born 1 November 1974 in Bradford, West Yorkshire) is a professional footballer currently playing for Notts County. He has represented the English national team at both Youth and Schoolboy levels. For a player who has spent the majority of his playing career in the lower leagues, Forrester has an astounding pedigree, having played for reputable clubs such as Leeds United (when they were in the Premier League), Dutch Premier outfit F.C. Utrecht and French side AJ Auxerre, but never quite made the required impact on their respective first team squads.

In recent times, Forrester has also set up his own Soccer Academy in Lincolnshire, something relatively unusual for a player with a low profile outside of the county he's playing in.

AJ Auxerre

At the age of 16 Forrester moved south of England to France, where he was to ply his trade for AJ Auxerre, a team with unprecedented success for the size of their town. Unfortunately, "after a year of homesickness" [cite news | url=http://www.thejamieforrestersocceracademy.com/Career/index.html | title=Jamie Forrester's Career | publisher=The Jamie Forrester Soccer Academy] , Forrester returned to Leeds in an attempt to break into their first team, after making precisely 0 first team appearances for AJA.

Leeds United

Whilst at Leeds, Forrester had two relatively successful loan spells at Southend United and Grimsby Town, however, only managed to bag 9 first team appearances for The Whites, stating he "was not able to consistently perform at the top level." [cite news | url=http://www.thejamieforrestersocceracademy.com/Career/index.html | title=Jamie Forrester's Career | publisher=The Jamie Forrester Soccer Academy] This eventually lead him to join Grimsby Town on a permanent basis.

His highlight whilst at Elland Road was undoubtedly winning the FA Youth Cup in 1993, helping to defeat a Manchester United squad 4 - 1 on aggregrate over a two-legged final, scoring Leeds' first goals in both their 2 - 0 victory at Old Trafford and their 2 - 1 win at Elland Road. [cite news | url=http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFAYouthCup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/02/FAYouthCup_Leeds93.htm | title=FA Youth Cup 1993 | publisher=The FA] Forrester scored a total of 11 goals in 1993's FA Youth Cup for the Yorkshire outfit. This Manchester United team contained players who were to become household names, including Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Robbie Savage and Keith Gillespie.

Honours

* FA Youth Cup
** Winner: 1993

Grimsby Town

The Mariners had seen enough in Forrester's loan spell to offer him a permanent deal, and in the 1995/96, his contributions to the club were justly recognized as he received the Grimsby Town Supporters Young Player of the Year award. Despite this, his goal:game ratio was somewhat poor, which lead to Forrester joining Grimsby's Lincolnshire rivals, Scunthorpe United.

Honours

* Supporters Young Player of the Year: 1995/96

cunthorpe United

Forrester's spell at The Iron was arguably his most successful spell at a club. He quoted "Joining Scunthorpe was the best football decision I have made because it allowed me to play first team football on a regular basis and this is where I ‘came of age’ as a footballer." [cite news | url=http://www.thejamieforrestersocceracademy.com/Career/index.html | title=Jamie Forrester's Career | publisher=The Jamie Forrester Soccer Academy] Despite being a firm favourite at Scunthorpe, another opportunity for him to play abroad came along, this time at the reasonably successful F.C. Utrecht of Holland.

Honours

* League Two
** Play-Off Winners: 1998/99 (*)

F.C. Utrecht

Those at the Stadion Galgenwaard obviously saw enough potential in Forrester to take him on under the Bosman ruling, however, once again his spell away from home was shortlived, stating "things never really worked out in Holland." [cite news | url=http://www.thejamieforrestersocceracademy.com/Career/index.html | title=Jamie Forrester's Career | publisher=The Jamie Forrester Soccer Academy] And after only one first team appearance to his name, and two short loan spells at Walsall and Northampton Town, Forrester headed back to England to play for Northampton on a permanent basis.

Northampton Town

In terms of success, Forrester's spell at Northampton was very similar to that of Scunthorpe. Scoring a goal every other game and winning promotion with The Cobblers rivalled his success at The Iron. His impressive displays lead Peter Taylor, manager of the uprising Hull City, to hand him a contract.

Honours

* League Two
** Third-Placed: 1999/00 (*)

Hull City

Hull City were by no means like a club who Forrester had played for before, they were playing in the fourth tier of English football, yet according to Forrester, were a "different animal." [cite news | url=http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s261/st127559.htm | title=Jamie Forrester Interview | publisher=TheImps.tk] This was perhaps why Forrester's first team appearances were limited for The Tigers. Being surplus to requirements at the KC Stadium, despite being named in the Hull squad for every game of the 2003/04 season, Forrester soon found a new club, this time Bristol Rovers.

Honours

* League Two
** Runners-Up: 2003/04 (*)

Bristol Rovers

Forrester's time at The Pirates was somewhat frustrating, only managing to bag a handful of goals in 52 appearances. He was farmed out on loan to Lincoln City and scored 5 goals in 9 appearances, helping them reach the League Two Play-Off Semi-Finals. His performances whilst on loan at Sincil Bank won him instant respect, and lead him to sign a permanent deal for the Lincolnshire outfit shortly after.

Lincoln City

Having already played for Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town, Forrester was no stranger to playing football in Lincolnshire. Despite the fact that he has not gained promotion with The Imps, his goal:game ratio is that of a goal every other game and has been a very influential figure in a side which has pushed for promotion for two seasons whilst he has served at the club. During his first full season at the club, the 2006/07 season, Forrester scored three hat-tricks in the opening stages and went on to be the clubs top scorer. As of May 2008, Forrester secured a year long extension to his current Lincoln contract, although this was not accepted and Forrester decided to join League Two rivals Notts County to the dismay of the Lincoln fathful.

Honours

* FourFourTwo Magazine
** 50 Best Players in the Football League: 50th in 2006/07

(*) Then known as Division Three

Notts County

After failing to agree a new contract at the end of the 2007-2008 season, on the 11 June 2008 he signed a contract for Notts County.

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=2606 Jamie Forrester] at Soccerbase
* [http://www.thejamieforrestersocceracademy.com/ The Jamie Forrester Soccer Academy] Jamie's Soccer Academy

Notes