Harry Forrester (footballer)

Harry Lee Forrester (born 2 January 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays for Orange County SC in the USL Championship.

Harry Forrester
Forrester with Tractor in 2018
Personal information
Full name Harry Lee Forrester[1]
Date of birth (1991-01-02) 2 January 1991
Place of birth Milton Keynes, England
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Orange County SC
Number 11
Youth career
–2000 Northampton Town
2000–2007 Watford
2007–2010 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Aston Villa 0 (10)
2010–2011 → Kilmarnock (loan) 10 (0)
2011–2013 Brentford 55 (8)
2013–2016 Doncaster Rovers 54 (8)
2016–2018 Rangers 32 (7)
2017–2018 → AFC Wimbledon (loan) 36 (3)
2018–2019 Tractor 2 (0)
2018–2019 → Machine Sazi (loan) 0 (0)
2019– Orange County SC 32 (3)
National team
2006–2007 England U16 5 (0)
2007–2008 England U17 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:27, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Forrester came through the youth teams of Watford and Aston Villa and has been capped at youth level for England. He has also had spells at Kilmarnock, Brentford, Doncaster Rovers, AFC Wimbledon and Rangers. Although primarily an attacking midfielder, he can be deployed in a number of positions including on the left wing.

Club career

Watford

In 2000, Forrester joined Watford from Northampton Town. As Forrester was only ten years old, Watford paid Northampton £13,000 in compensation.

Aston Villa

In summer 2007, Aston Villa signed Forrester from Watford, despite reported interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United for the highly rated teen.[2] A transfer tribunal ruled in December 2007, on the compensation due to Watford as Forrester was only 16-years-old at the time he signed for Villa. An initial fee of £250,000 was set which could have potentially risen to £1.2 million as well as a percentage of the sell-on fee.[3] After joining, he immediately helped Villa's under-18 team to FA Premier Academy League glory in the 2007–08 season. He also started for Villa's reserve team who in the 2009–10 season, won the Reserve League South title for a third consecutive time. However, he was an unused sub as Villa went on to lose the Play-off Final against Manchester United, champions of the Reserve League North. He was released by Villa in May 2011 after his contract expired.[4]

Kilmarnock (loan)

In August 2010, Forrester signed on loan with Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock.[5] He made his Scottish Premier League debut in the 2–1 win against St Mirren on 11 September.[6] Forrester claimed his first assist in a 2–1 loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 23 October, crossing to Rui Miguel who scored with a header. He played a total of eight games in all competitions for Kilmarnock, before returning to Aston Villa in January 2011.[6]

Brentford

Despite being released by Aston Villa, there was still much speculation surrounding Forrester's future, with reported interest from Championship side Barnsley and Dutch champions Ajax.[7][8] Forrester later joined up with the latter on trial, playing with their reserve side Jong Ajax, and received praise from manager Frank de Boer.[9] He scored a hat-trick for Jong Ajax in a 5–2 pre-season victory over VV Goes on 27 July 2011.[10]

Forrester then decided to turn down a move to Ajax to join League One club Brentford, managed by Uwe Rösler, on 4 August 2011 on a two-year contract.[11] He made his Bees debut as an injury time substitute in the 2–1 win at Exeter City on 16 August 2011.[12] On 30 August, he started his first game for Brentford in a 3–3 draw against Milton Keynes Dons in the first round of the Football League Trophy before being replaced by Sam Wood after 78 minutes.[12] On 27 January 2013, Forrester earned his side a 2–2 draw and a replay against Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup by converting a penalty won by Tom Adeyemi in the 73rd minute.[13]

Doncaster Rovers

On 30 June 2013, Forrester left Brentford after his contract expired, opting instead to sign for newly promoted Championship club Doncaster Rovers.[14] On 4 January 2014, Forrester scored his first goal for Rovers in an FA Cup third round defeat at home to Stevenage.[15] A series of injuries restricted Forrester to just 9 appearances (seven in the League) during the 2013–14 season, of which just three were starts.[15]

On 8 August 2015, Forrester scored a controversial goal for Rovers against Bury on the opening day of the 2015–16 season, in injury-time, after the referee ordered the ball to be passed back to the Bury keeper to restart play, Forrester accidentally volleyed the ball into Bury's goal. Doncaster manager Paul Dickov ordered his team to let Bury score an equaliser from the restart of play with Bury striker Leon Clarke allowed to walk the ball into the Doncaster goal to level the match at 1–1.[16]

Rangers

On 31 December 2015, Forrester signed for Rangers on an initial six-month deal.[17] Forrester said that it was a privilege to join 'one of the biggest teams in Europe' and that he wanted to stay longer than his initial six-month deal.[18] Harry also said that he wanted to develop further as a player by learning from the more experienced players at the club, for example Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller.[19] Forrester made his debut for Rangers on 10 January 2016 in a 5–1 win over Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup.[20] On 27 February, Forrester scored his first goal for the club, netting the winner with four minutes remaining in a 1–0 league victory over St Mirren after coming on as a substitute.[20] On 10 April while playing in the 2016 Scottish Challenge Cup Final against Peterhead, Forrester was substituted because of injury and limped off the park,[21] it was revealed later he had suffered a hairline fracture which ultimately ended his season. However, two days later, on 12 April, he signed a new three-year contract with Rangers.[22] On 13 June 2017, Forrester was told to stay away from training and to find a new club by Pedro Caixinha.[23]

Tractor

In July 2018, Forrester's contract with Rangers was cancelled by mutual consent and he joined Iranian club Tractor, signing a two-year contract.[24]

Machine Sazi (loan)

On 30 August 2018, after two appearances for Tractor, Forrester joined Tabriz rivals Machine Sazi on loan.[25][26]

Orange County SC

On 18 January 2019, it was announced that Forrester was signed by USL Championship side Orange County SC ahead of the 2019 season.[27]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 August 2019
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Kilmarnock (loan)2010–11[6]Scottish Premier League70—10—80
Brentford2011–12[12]League One19000001[lower-alpha 1]0200
2012–13[28]36873105[lower-alpha 2]04911
Total 5587331606911
Doncaster Rovers2013–14[15]Championship701110—91
2014–15[29]League One40740212[lower-alpha 1]1489
2015–16[20]7100101[lower-alpha 1]091
Total 5485141316611
Rangers2015–16[20]Scottish Championship11441—1[lower-alpha 3]0165
2016–17[30]Scottish Premiership2131060—283
Total 327516010448
AFC Wimbledon (loan) 2017–18[31][31] League One 36 3 3 0 — 4[lower-alpha 1] 0 43 3
Tractor 2018–19[32] Persian Gulf Pro League 2 0 — — — 2 0
Machine Sazi (loan) 2018–19[32] Persian Gulf Pro League 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Orange County SC 2019[32] USL Championship 31 3 1 0 — — 32 3
Career total 2172921514114126636
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. 3 appearances in League One play-offs, 2 appearances in EFL Trophy
  3. Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup

Honours
Rangers
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References
  1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. "Watford youngster signs for Villa". BBC. BBC Sport. 11 July 2007.
  3. "Tribunal rules on Forrester move". BBC. BBC Sport. 21 December 2007.
  4. "Farewell to Reo-Coker and Carew as released list announced". Aston Villa F.C. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  5. "Kilmarnock capture Aston Villa striker on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  6. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  7. "Tykes target Villa youngster". Sky Sports. 26 April 2011.
  8. "Ajax eye ex-Villa starlet". Sky Sports. 20 May 2011.
  9. "Forrester on brink of Ajax deal". Sky Sports. 23 July 2011.
  10. "Goes 'wint' in tweede helft Jong Ajax" [Goes 'beats' Young Ajax in second half] (in Dutch). VV GOES. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  11. "Brentford sign Ajax target Harry Forrester". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  12. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  13. McNulty, Phil (27 January 2013). "Brentford 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. BBC.
  14. "Doncaster Rovers: Harry Forrester moves to Keepmoat". BBC. BBC Sport. 3 July 2013.
  15. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  16. "Doncaster Rovers: Harry Forrester wants quiet life after controversial goal". The Star. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  17. "Gers Confirm Forrester Signing". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 31 December 2015.
  18. Thomson, Nick. "Forrester: Privileged To Be Here". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  19. Thomson, Nick. "Experienced Boys Can Help Me". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  20. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  21. English, Tom (10 April 2016). "Rangers 4–0 Peterhead". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  22. "Forrester Signs New Contract". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  23. Jackson, Keith (14 June 2017). "Pedro Caixinha gets tough as he warns Harry Forrester to stay away from training". Daily Record.
  24. "Harry Forrester seals Tractor deal after Rangers release". Daily Record. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  25. https://varzesh3.com/news/1550154
  26. McDougall, Mark (1 September 2018). "Transfer Deadline Aftermath Live: All the reaction after a busy summer". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 September 2018. New club for Forrester
  27. "Orange County SC Signs Former Rangers FC Forward Harry Forrester". OrangeCountySC.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  28. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  29. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  30. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  31. "Games played by Harry Forrester in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  32. Harry Forrester at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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