Andy Wilkinson

Andrew Gordon Wilkinson (born 6 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.

For the American singer-songwriter, see Andy Wilkinson (singer-songwriter).

Andy Wilkinson
Wilkinson playing for Stoke City in 2009
Personal information
Full name Andrew Gordon Wilkinson
Date of birth (1984-08-06) 6 August 1984
Place of birth Yarnfield, Stone, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Right back
Youth career
1997 Stone Dominoes
1998–2001 Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2016 Stoke City 160 (0)
2003–2004 → Telford United (loan) 8 (0)
2004–2005 → Partick Thistle (loan) 12 (1)
2005 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) 9 (0)
2006–2007 → Blackpool (loan) 7 (0)
2014–2015 → Millwall (loan) 9 (0)
Total 205 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Wilkinson joined Stoke City's academy from his local club Stone Dominoes and made his professional debut in October 2001. Since then Wilkinson has gradually worked his way into the first team and after four loan moves and a number of injury problems had restricted his career. He broke into the side during the 2007–08 season in which Stoke were promoted to the Premier League. He helped Stoke establish themselves in the top-flight in 2008–09 and 2009–10 and he played in the 2011 FA Cup Final which Stoke lost 1–0 to Manchester City.

He played in the UEFA Europa League in 2011–12 as Stoke again finished in mid-table. He remained in the side in 2012–13 under Tony Pulis before Mark Hughes was appointed manager in May 2013 and Wilkinson became a fringe member of the squad. After failing to regain his place in the first team in 2014–15, Wilkinson joined Millwall on loan. He retired from football in February 2016 after struggling to recover from a serious head injury.

Career

Stoke City

Wilkinson was born in Stone, Staffordshire, and is a graduate from Stoke City's youth academy. In 2001, he signed his first professional contract with the club. He made his Stoke City debut on 16 October 2001 in a Football League Trophy match against Blackpool, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Clive Clarke.[1] His influence on the first-team may have been greater had it not have been for some unfortunate injuries which ruled him out for the entire 2002–03 season. He had to wait until the 2003–04 season to start playing again, starting the League Cup first-round tie against Rochdale.[2]

In November 2003 Wilkinson joined Conference National side Telford United on an initial one-month loan to gain first team experience.[3] He was sent-off in a 0–0 draw with Shrewsbury in December 2003.[4] Despite this Telford extended his loan to February however he was recalled by Stoke in January.[5] Wilkinson returned to Stoke where he made three appearances in the Football League. These included his league debut against Walsall on 31 January as an 80th-minute substitute for Lewis Neal and his first league start in a 4–1 victory over West Bromwich Albion on 4 May.[6]

For the beginning of the 2004–05 season Wilkinson was loaned to Scottish Division One side Partick Thistle,[7] for whom he scored his only professional goal against Clyde.[8] Returning to Stoke in January 2005, he played one game against Millwall before being sent out on loan again, this time to Football League Two side Shrewsbury Town for the remainder of the season, where he made nine appearances.[9]

In the 2005–06 season Wilkinson, made six first-team appearances before suffering ankle ligament damage playing against Southampton in April 2006, which forced him out of action for several months.[10] In the summer of 2006 Wilkinson signed a new two-year contract keeping him at Stoke until 2008.[11] After he recovered from his injury he was sent out on loan to Blackpool.[12] This deal was thought to be made permanent but he managed to get a run in the Stoke side after he returned from his loan spell. Blackpool did make a £150,000 bid which was however rejected and in the end Wilkinson decided not to move.[13] During the 2007–08 season Wilkinson broke into the first team and made 20 appearances as Stoke City were promoted to the Premier League. During the season Both Wilkinson and fellow academy product Carl Dickinson were an important part of Stoke's promotion.[14]

On 26 December 2008 he was sent off for a second bookable offence in the game against Manchester United, despite this he kept his place in the side at the expense of club captain Andy Griffin and went on to occupy the right back position for the rest of the season. In February 2009 Wilkinson revealed that he would like to stay at Stoke City for the rest of his career.[15] His impressive performances for Stoke led to the club offering him a new contract.[16] On 8 July 2009 Andy Wilkinson signed a new three-year contract which kept him at Stoke until 2012 which he described as another dream.[17]

After the arrival of Robert Huth Wilkinson lost his place in the side and became one of a number first team players stuck on the Stoke bench.[18] He played in the 1–0 win over Portsmouth due to the suspension to Abdoulaye Faye, and he put in a man of the match performance and almost scored his first ever goal for Stoke by beating two Pompey defenders before shooting just over Jamie Ashdown's goal. Wilkinson himself described it has his best Stoke display yet.[19] Wilkinson was sent-off for the second time in his Stoke career when the Potters beat Portsmouth 2–1 at Fratton Park after he committed two bookable offences on Aruna Dindane.[20]

Wilkinson made his 100th senior appearance for Stoke on 26 September 2010 against Newcastle United.[21] He made his 100th league appearance for Stoke on 9 April 2011 against Tottenham Hotspur.[22] After the 5–0 FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton Wanderers Wilkinson signed a new contract keeping him at the Britannia Stadium until 2014.[23][24] He played in the 2011 FA Cup Final against Manchester City as Stoke lost 1–0.[25] Wilkinson scored his first goal in a Stoke shirt during a pre-season friendly against Austrian side SV Thal in July 2011.[26] He almost scored his first senior goal in a match against Manchester United but his powerful shot was deflected onto the post by David de Gea. After the match Wilkinson stated that it was one of the best games he has played in.[27] He celebrated ten years as a Stoke City player on 15 October 2011 with a 2–0 victory over Fulham.[28] He played a major part in Stoke's Europa League run to the knock-out stages playing in eight of the club's 12 European fixtures.

Wilkinson began the 2012–13 season a decent form but was given a retrospective three match ban after an altercation with Mario Balotelli in Stoke's 1–1 draw with Manchester City.[29] Whilst Wilkinson served his suspension new signing Geoff Cameron took his position at right back but due to Marc Wilson breaking his leg Wilkinson filled in at left back.[30] He made his 150th league appearance for Stoke against Newcastle United on 9 March 2013.[31] Wilkinson played in 26 matches in 2012–13 as Stoke finished in 13th position.[32] In May 2013 Tony Pulis was replaced by Mark Hughes and Wilkinson found himself unable to get regular playing time with Hughes playing Geoff Cameron at right-back.[33] Despite his lack to playing time he was offered a new contract by the club in February 2014.[34] Wilkinson signed a one-year extension to his contract on 16 May 2014.[35][36]

On 20 October 2014 Wilkinson joined Millwall on a three-month loan.[37] He played nine times for the Lions before returning to Stoke in January 2015.[38] With Wilkinson leaving Stoke at the end of the 2014–15 season he received a special recognition award for his contribution to Stoke, in total he spent 14 seasons at the Britannia Stadium making 194 appearances.[39] On 29 July 2015 Stoke announced that Wilkinson had signed a short-term contract with the club in order to help him recover from a serious head injury he sustained playing against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.[40] Wilkinson later revealed his injury had caused some damage to his brain.[41] Wilkinson announced his retirement from football in February 2016.[42][43]

Wilkinson was granted a testimonial match by the club, which was played on 16 May 2016 attracting over 16,000 Stoke supporters.[44]

Coaching career

Wilkinson was appointed assistant manager of Stoke City U18s for the 2018–19 season.[45]

Personal life

Born in Stone, Wilkinson grew up supporting his local side Stoke City.[46] He attended Alleyne's High School from 1997 to 2000.[47] His mother Carolyn worked as a nurse for Douglas Macmillan and his brother Gareth is a solicitor.[48] He has a daughter, Eva and a son, William.[49] Wilkinson married his fiancé Emma on 25 May 2011 at local church of Whitmore parish.[50]

Wilkinson and fellow footballer Chris Birchall used to own Zenn nightclub in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, which was closed in July 2008 due to debts.[51] He was best man at Birchall's wedding in June 2012 and is also godfather to his son Ashley.[52]

In 2015 Wilkinson set up his own property company which he called, no.28 properties.[41]

Career statistics

Source:[53]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City 2001–02[54] Second Division 000000—1[lower-alpha 1]010
2002–03[53] First Division 000000——00
2003–04[55] First Division 300010——40
2004–05[56] Championship 100000——10
2005–06[57] Championship 600000——60
2006–07[58] Championship 401000——50
2007–08[59] Championship 2301010——250
2008–09[60] Premier League 2201030——260
2009–10[61] Premier League 2502010——280
2010–11[62] Premier League 2203030——280
2011–12[63] Premier League 25030008[lower-alpha 2]0—360
2012–13[32] Premier League 2402000——260
2013–14[64] Premier League 500010——60
2014–15[65] Premier League 001010——20
Total 160014011080101940
Telford United (loan) 2003–04[55] Football Conference 8010———90
Partick Thistle (loan) 2004–05[56] Scottish First Division 1210020—3[lower-alpha 3]0171
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 2004–05[56] League Two 900000——90
Blackpool (loan) 2006–07[58] League One 700000——70
Millwall (loan) 2014–15[65] Championship 900000——90
Career total 205115013080402451
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup

Honours
Stoke City
gollark: We had space-adapted bees for ages.
gollark: It is "on point", if that point were composed of bees hurtling toward Mercury at 17.4km/s.
gollark: I'm sure you'd like to think so.
gollark: Your company clearly has a poor understanding of apiodynamic theory, given your stated apinator technologies.
gollark: What with your company's poor understanding of apiodynamic theory.

References
  1. "Blackpool 3–2 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. "Stoke 2–1 Rochdale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  3. "Telford seal Wilkinson deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. "Shrewsbury 0–0 Telford". BBC Sport. 9 December 2003. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  5. "Telford extend Wilkinson loan". BBC Sport. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  6. "Stoke 4–1 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  7. "Partick land Wilkinson on loan". BBC.com. BBC Sport. 13 July 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  8. "Clyde 1–1 Partick". Times.co.uk. London: Times Sport. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  9. "Shrews snap up Wilkinson on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  10. "Wilkinson's Word". Stoke City F.C. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  11. "Wilkinson commits future to Stoke". BBC.com. BBC Sport. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  12. "Trio Loaned Out". Stoke City F.C. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  13. "Stoke reject Wilkinson approach". BBC.com. BBC Sport. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  14. "Boss Pulis hails his young stars". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  15. "Wilkinson harbours one-club dream", Retrieved on 23 June 2009
  16. "Wilkinson offered new Stoke deal", Retrieved on 8 July 2009
  17. "New deals for Diao and Wilkinson". BBC.co.uk. BBC Sport. 8 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  18. "Wilkinson eager for Stoke berth". BBC Sport. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  19. "My best Stoke display – Wilkinson ", Retrieved on 24 November 2009
  20. "Portsmouth 1 – 2 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  21. "Newcastle vs Stoke City". stokecityfc.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  22. "Tottenham 3 – 2 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  23. "New Contract For FA Cup Hero". stokecityfc.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  24. "Defender Andy Wilkinson signs new contract with Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  25. "Man City 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  26. "SV Thal 1 Stoke City 3". stokecityfc.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  27. "Wilkinson hails Stoke display against Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  28. "'I Want To Be Here Forever' – Wilkinson". stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  29. "Stoke's Andy Wilkinson banned after Mario Balotelli clash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  30. "Andy Wilkinson ready to fill left-back position for Potters". The Sentinel. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  31. "Andy Wilkinson urges fans to keep the faith". The Sentinel. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  32. "Games played by Andy Wilkinson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  33. "Club ready to offer Andy Wilkinson a new deal". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  34. "Andy Wilkinson says he's fit and ready to fight for a place in the first team". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  35. "Wilkinson Signs On". Stoke City FC. 16 May 2014.
  36. "Andy Wilkinson signs one-year deal". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  37. "Wilkinson Joins Millwall". Stoke City F.C. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  38. "Wilkinson returns to Stoke". Millwall F.C. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  39. "Nzonzi Steals The Show". Stoke City. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  40. "Short-Term Deal For Wilkinson". Stoke City. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  41. "Andy Wilkinson determined to play on". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  42. "Andy Wilkinson announces retirement from football". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  43. "Andy Wilkinson announces retirement after concussion injury". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  44. "Over 16,000 fans salute GOAL scoring hero Andy Wilkinson at testimonial". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  45. "Academy coaching details confirmed". Stoke City. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  46. "Andy Wilkinson revels in Stoke's FA Cup semi-final win". BBC Sport. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  47. "Stoke City star Andy Wilkinson and Nick Hancock open new open-air gym". The Sentinel. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  48. "Last shift for sister Carolyn". The Sentinel. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  49. "We need to unleash our 'A' game on Wigan, says Wilko". The Sentinel. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  50. "Stoke's local hero Andy Wilkinson driven by priceless ambition". express.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  51. "Football stars lose as Zenn club in Hanley collapses" Archived 8 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on 23 June 2009
  52. Cody, Sharrett. "Wilkinson looking forward to mixing it up with Birchall". Columbus Crew. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  53. "Andy Wilkinson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  54. "Games played by Andy Wilkinson in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
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  56. "Games played by Andy Wilkinson in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
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  64. "Games played by Andy Wilkinson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  65. "Games played by Andy Wilkinson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
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