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Jeff Whitley

Jeffrey Whitley (born 28 January 1979) is a former professional footballer who now works for the Professional Footballers Association as a player wellbeing executive.

Jeff Whitley
Personal information
Full name Jeffrey Whitley
Date of birth (1979-01-28) 28 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Ndola, Zambia
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1989–1996 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2003 Manchester City 116 (6)
1999 → Wrexham (loan) 9 (2)
2002 → Notts County (loan) 6 (0)
2002–2003 → Notts County (loan) 12 (0)
2003–2005 Sunderland 68 (2)
2005–2007 Cardiff City 34 (1)
2006 → Stoke City (loan) 3 (0)
2007 → Wrexham (loan) 11 (1)
2008 Wrexham 11 (0)
2009 Woodley Sports 7 (0)
2009–2010 Northwich Victoria 2 (0)
2013 Droylsden
Total 279 (12)
International career‡
1998–2000 Northern Ireland U21 17 (1)
1997–2005 Northern Ireland 20 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:40, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:35, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

As a player he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Manchester City. He also played in the Football League for Wrexham, Notts County, Cardiff City, Stoke City and Sunderland, as well as for non-league sides Woodley Sports, Northwich Victoria and Droylsden. Born in Zambia, he was the first black player to represent Northern Ireland, earning 20 caps.

Club career

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Whitley was a product of the Manchester City youth scheme[1] which he joined as a ten-year-old and began his club career as a trainee in 1996, making over 120 league and cup appearances for the first-team.[2] He had a two-month loan spell at Wrexham in the 1998–99 season.[2] and in March 2002, having fallen out of favour at Manchester City, joined Notts County on loan for the remainder of the 2001–02 season.[3] He had a three-month loan spell at Notts County in the 2002–03 season, returning to Manchester City in January 2003[4] but was released by the club in March 2003 as he did not feature in manager Kevin Keegan's plans.[5]

After a trial[6] and impressing in pre-season, he signed a contract with Sunderland in August 2003.[7] He made over 70 league and cup appearances for Sunderland,[2] helping the club to the Football League Championship play-offs at the end of the 2003–04 season. In the play-off semi final against Crystal Palace, Whitley attempted a Panenka during the penalty shootout which was saved. Crystal Palace converted the following spot kick to defeat Sunderland and reach the play-off final.[8][9] Whitley later helped Sunderland to the Football League Championship title in 2005.[10] In July 2005, he joined Cardiff City on a free transfer[11] and made 38 league and cup appearances for the club in the 2005–06 season,[12] scoring once against Watford in the league.[13] Whitley joined Stoke City on loan in August 2006[14] but made only four appearances[15] in an unsuccessful loan spell.[16] Cardiff made him available for transfer but he did not take up offers to talk with Millwall and Rotherham[16] and joined Wrexham in February 2007 on loan for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.[17] He scored the winning goal against Bristol Rovers in a 1–0 away victory in March 2007.[18] He was released by Cardiff and signed for Wrexham on non-contract terms in January 2008[19] but was released by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference.[20] He joined Northern Premier League Division One North side Woodley Sports in an effort to gain match fitness, before signing for Northwich Victoria on 7 March 2009.[21]

International career

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Despite being Zambian born, due to Whitley living in England since he was a child, he was eligible to, and played for the England under-17 team. As his father was born in Belfast, he was also eligible to play for Northern Ireland and made his debut for them in 1997,[22] becoming the first black player to play for Northern Ireland.[23]

Personal life

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His brother, Jim was also a professional footballer, with both brothers playing for Manchester City at the same time; Jeff wore his full name on the back of his shirt for a time to differentiate between the two, who also shared the same initials.

Whitley has spent time at the Sporting Chance clinic after becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs. It affected him greatly and said "at times I would just be praying just to die".[24] Whitley previously worked as a car salesman in the Stockport area whilst training to become a qualified Counsellor. He now works for the Professional Footballers' Association.[25]

Career statistics

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Club

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Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester City 1996–97 First Division 23 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 24 1
1997–98 First Division 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 1
1998–99 Second Division 8 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 13 0
1999–2000 First Division 42 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 46 4
2000–01 Premier League 31 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 37 1
2001–02 First Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 116 6 4 0 9 0 4 0 133 6
Wrexham (loan) 1998–99 Second Division 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2
Notts County (loan) 2001–02 Second Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2002–03 Second Division 12 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 14 0
Total 18 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 20 0
Sunderland 2003–04 First Division 33 2 5 0 2 0 2 0 42 2
2004–05 Championship 34 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 2
Total 67 4 6 0 2 0 2 0 76 4
Cardiff City 2005–06 Championship 34 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 38 1
2006–07 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 34 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 38 1
Stoke City (loan) 2006–07 Championship 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Wrexham 2006–07 League Two 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1
2007–08 League Two 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Total 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 1
Career Total 269 14 11 0 15 0 7 0 302 14
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

International

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Source:[27]

National team Year Apps Goals
Northern Ireland 1997 2 0
1998 1 0
1999 1 1
2000 2 0
2001 1 0
2003 1 0
2004 8 1
2005 4 0
Total 20 2

References

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  1. ^ Manchester City save best till last[dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b c "Jeff Whitley". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Whitley joins Notts County". BBC Sport. 20 March 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  4. ^ "Whitley returns to City". BBC Sport. 21 January 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  5. ^ "Whitley leaves Maine Road". BBC Sport. 7 March 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  6. ^ "Whitley wants Black cats deal". BBC Sport. 25 March 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Whitley joins Sunderland". BBC Sport. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  8. ^ "The man behind the dinked penalty". www.irishexaminer.com.
  9. ^ "Whitley signs new contract". BBC Sport. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  10. ^ "Whitley completes Cardiff switch". BBC Sport. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Whitley completes Cardiff switch". BBC Sport. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  12. ^ "Games played by Jeff Whitley in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  13. ^ "Watford 2–1 Cardiff". BBC. 25 February 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Whitley joins Stoke in loan deal". BBC Sport. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  15. ^ "Games played by Jeff Whitley in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Cardiff fret over missing Whitley". BBC Sport. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  17. ^ "Whitley makes Wrexham loan move". BBC Sport. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  18. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0–1 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  19. ^ "Quartet join Wrexham with one out". BBC Sport. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  20. ^ "Roberts and Llewellyn leave Reds". BBC Sport. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  21. ^ "Northwich complete double signing". BBC Sport. 7 March 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  22. ^ "Jeff Whitley". Squad Profiles – Legends of the Game. Irish Football Association. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  23. ^ "Jeff's Irish ambition". Evening Chronicle. 1 February 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Former Man City player Jeff Whitley reveals drug battle". BBC Sport. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  25. ^ "Meet the Team".
  26. ^ Jeff Whitley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  27. ^ Jeff Whitley at National-Football-Teams.com
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