Mikele Leigertwood

Mikele Leigertwood

Personal information
Full name	Mikele Benjamin Leigertwood
Date of birth	12 November 1982 (1982-11-12) (age 29)
Place of birth	Enfield, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Reading
Number	8
Youth career
	Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2004	Wimbledon	56	(2)
2002	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	8	(0)
2004–2006	Crystal Palace	63	(1)
2006–2007	Sheffield United	21	(0)
2007–2011	Queens Park Rangers	131	(12)
2010-2011	→ Reading (loan)	22	(1)
2011-	Reading	13	(1)
National team‡
2008–	Antigua and Barbuda	8	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:45, 11:09, 23 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:27, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

Mikele Benjamin Leigertwood (born 12 November 1982 in Enfield) is an English-born Antiguan footballer who plays for Reading in the Football League Championship. He also plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national football team.

Club career

Leigertwood began his career with Wimbledon, but he made his professional debut while on loan to Leyton Orient in November 2001. He got his first game at Wimbledon at the end of the 2001–2002 season, in a 1–0 defeat against Barnsley. While at Wimbledon, he played 65 games, scoring just three times in games against Norwich,^[1] Watford^[2] and Portsmouth in the League Cup.^[3]

He transferred to Crystal Palace for £155,000 in January 2004, becoming the first permanent signing of Iain Dowie, and played in 10 league games for the remainder of the 2003–2004 season, helping to secure Palace's promotion to the FA Premier League. In the 2004–2005 season, he made 23 appearances for Palace, including his first goal for the club against Tottenham Hotspur.^[4]

After the relegation of his club Crystal Palace, he joined Sheffield United on a three year deal after the Blades paid a £600,000 compensation fee. Although Leigertwood was out of contract, a fee was due as he was under 24 years of age at the time. Leigertwood joined Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £900,000 in August 2007.^[5]

During his time at Queens Park Rangers, he made 141 appearances and 12 goals for Queens Park Rangers. Leigertwood went on loan to Reading in November 2010 after being out of favour with Neil Warnock. After a series of consistently good performances, this was extended to the end of the 2011 season, including the playoffs should it be needed. He scored his first goal for the club against Stevenage in the FA Cup on 29 January 2011. A week later Leigertwood added another goal to his tally with a 21st minute deflected strike against Cardiff City in a 2-2 draw.

In May 2011, it was announced that Reading had signed Leigertwood on a three-year contract, the deal going through on 1 June with the opening of the domestic transfer window.^[6]

International career

Leigertwood is eligible to represent Antigua and Barbuda. Willie Donachie, Antigua and Barbuda's manager, tried to get Leigertwood into the squad for a World Cup Qualifier in June 2008, but Leigertwood had a wedding to attend.^[7] Leigertwood received a red card and four match ban in a match against Birmingham City on 28 October 2008, for a challenge on Lee Carsley. During this ban, he accepted a call up for the Caribbean Championship to represent Antigua and Barbuda. He made his national debut on 5 November 2008 in a 3–2 loss against Trinidad and Tobago and scored his first goal in their next match against Guyana. In November 2010 he returned to the national team and participated in the second stage of the Caribbean Championship, playing in all three matches.

International goals

Mikele Leigertwood: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 November 2008	Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, Trinidad and Tobago	Guyana	2–1	Win	2008 Caribbean Championship

Honours

Club

Queens Park Rangers

• Npower Championship: 2010–11

References

1. ^ "Norwich 3–2 Wimbledon". BBC. 26 August 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3156143.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
2. ^ "Wimbledon 1–3 Watford". BBC. 25 October 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3203096.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
3. ^ "Portsmouth 1–3 Wimbledon". BBC. 1 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2281371.stm. Retrieved 3 November 2009. 
4. ^ "Crystal Palace 3–0 Tottenham". BBC. 22 January 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4177027.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
5. ^ "QPR complete Leigertwood transfer". BBC Sport. 2007-08-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_utd/6971831.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 
6. ^ "Permanent Leigertwood deal agreed". Reading Football Club. 26 May 2011. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~2366989,00.html. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 
7. ^ Armstrong, Mark (2008-09-30). "Willie Donachie attempts success with Antigua". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2301893/Willie-Donachie-attempts-success-with-Antigua.html. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 

External links

• Official profile at SUFC
• Official profile at QPR
• Mikele Leigertwood career stats at Soccerbase
• Mikele Leigertwood Official Website at Icons.com
• International Statistics at CaribbeanFootballDatabase

Persondata
Name	Leigertwood, Mikele Benjamin
Alternative names	Leigertwood, Mikele
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	1982-11-12
Place of birth	Enfield , England
Date of death
Place of death