Jake Speight

Jake Carl Speight (born 28 September 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He now works as a football agent.

Jake Speight
Personal information
Full name Jake Carl Speight[1]
Date of birth (1985-09-28) 28 September 1985
Place of birth Sheffield, England
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Forward
Youth career
Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Sheffield United 0 (0)
2005 → Leigh RMI (loan)
2005 Scarborough 8 (2)
2005–2007 Bury 29 (2)
2007–2008 Northwich Victoria 4 (0)
2008–2009 Farsley Celtic
2009 Droylsden 16 (5)
2009–2010 Mansfield Town 33 (17)
2010–2011 Bradford City 28 (4)
2010 → Port Vale (loan) 4 (1)
2011–2012 Wrexham 38 (21)
2012–2014 Mansfield Town 29 (7)
2013–2014 → Alfreton Town (loan) 4 (3)
2014–2015 Harrogate Town 22 (2)
2015 → Alfreton Town (loan) 8 (0)
2015 King's Lynn Town 9 (0)
Total 232 (64)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Starting his career working through the Sheffield United youth team, in 2005 he signed with Scarborough, and later Bury. He dropped down to Conference football between 2007 and 2010, playing for Northwich Victoria, Farsley Celtic, Droylsden, and Mansfield Town. In 2010, he was signed by Bradford City, and was quickly sent out on loan to Port Vale, before signing permanently for Wrexham the following year. He returned to Mansfield Town in July 2012, and helped the club to the Conference Premier title in 2012–13. He was loaned out to Alfreton Town in October 2013. He signed with Harrogate Town in July 2014, and returned to Alfreton Town on loan in March 2015 before he was transferred to King's Lynn Town in August 2015.

Playing career

Early career

Speight began his career at Sheffield United, and was loaned out to Conference Premier side Leigh RMI in March 2005 to gain experience, along with Colin Marrison.[3] He joined Scarborough on work experience in August 2005,[4] scoring in both his first two appearances for the club, and impressing manager Nick Henry.[5] He was allowed to join the "Seadogs" permanently, and therefore never made an appearance for the "Blades".[6] Three months later he switched to Bury, of League Two.[7] On 13 January 2006, he scored his first and second league goals, in a 3–2 victory over Torquay United.[8] He finished the season with two goals in seventeen appearances. He made another seventeen appearances for Bury in 2006–07, mostly as a substitute, and failed to find the net all season. He was released by the club in June 2007.

Following his release from Bury, Speight dropped back into non-league football, signing for Northwich Victoria.[9] He joined Conference North club Farsley Celtic in the summer of 2008, and then moved to Droylsden in March 2009. In May 2009, Speight joined Mansfield Town.[10] He played 33 games, and scored 17 goals, becoming the club's top scorer despite having made most of his appearances as a substitute.[11]

Bradford City

In June 2010, Bradford City bought Speight for £25,000, offering the player a two-year contract.[12] "Stags" fans were disappointed at the fee, many had expected it to be much higher.[13] He started his spell with his new club by receiving a jail sentence for assault – without having informed the club beforehand that he had a court case.[14] His work rate on the pitch made him popular with supporters,[15] but he found just one goal in twelve appearances.[16] On 29 October 2010 he joined League Two promotion chasers Port Vale on a one-month loan.[17] Manager Micky Adams had looked to sign the player permanently before he went to Bradford.[18] His appearance in a goalless draw at the Pirelli Stadium with Burton Albion on 2 November 2010 earned Speight the honour of being the 1,000th player to play for Port Vale in the Football League.[19] After scoring in a 5–0 win over Stockport County, Speight's loan spell was extended for a second month.[20] He returned to Bradford in the new year.[21]

Wrexham

In June 2011, he signed a two-year contract with Conference side Wrexham for an undisclosed fee.[22] Manager Dean Saunders hoped he would prove an adequate replacement for outgoing striker Andrew Mangan.[23] After failing to score in his first four games, he opened his goal account for the "Reds" with a hat-trick over Alfreton Town in a 4–1 win at North Street.[24] From 30 November to 18 February he scored in seven out of eight league appearances, and from 10 March to 14 April he hit seven goals in six games. He ended the season with 21 goals in 38 Conference games to become Wrexham's top scorer and the sixth most prolific scorer in the Conference. Wrexham picked up 98 points and finished second, but failed to win promotion after losing to Luton Town in the play-offs. His record led to him becoming a target of Lincoln City manager David Holdsworth.[25]

Mansfield Town

Speight re-joined former club Mansfield Town in July 2012 for an undisclosed fee.[26] He was reported to have requested the transfer so as to be closer to his Sheffield home.[27] Though Speight said that claims he handed in a transfer request were "a complete lie".[28] He scored twice in his first game back at Field Mill, in a 4–3 defeat to Newport County.[29] Mansfield won promotion into the Football League as Conference champions in 2012–13, though Speight missed the second half of the campaign after damaging cartilage in his knee.[30]

In October 2013, he joined Alfreton Town on a one-month loan deal.[31] He scored four goals in five games for the "Reds", and manager Nicky Law was disappointed when his loan spell at North Street was cut short by Mansfield the following month.[32] However, he picked up a serious knee injury midway through the 2013–14 season and was ruled out of action until late March.[33] Speight was released by Mansfield manager Paul Cox at the end of the 2013–14 season.[34]

Non-league

In July 2014, Speight dropped down two divisions to the Conference North to join Harrogate Town in a move that reunited him with manager Simon Weaver, his former teammate at Scarborough.[35] He was unable to take part in pre-season training due to injury.[36] On 20 March 2015, Speight re-joined Alfreton Town on a loan deal keeping him at the club until the end of the 2014–15 season.[37]

In August 2015, Speight dropped down a division to the Southern League to join Gary Setchell's King's Lynn Town.[38][39] Setchell said that Speight would prove to be a "very, very valuable acquisition".[40] He left King's Lynn in October 2015; manager Gary Setchell stated that "he will probably retire now and he is also putting a lot of time into a new business venture".[41]

Personal life

In July 2010 Speight was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to assault.[42] Speight appealed his sentence a week later and he was released from prison; a Crown Court judge ordered his sentence to be suspended for 18 months and that Speight conduct 100 hours of community work.[43]

In 2015, he became a sports agent, licensed by The Football Association.[44]

Career statistics
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sheffield United2002–03[45]First Division0000000000
2003–04[45]First Division0000000000
2004–05[45]Championship0000000000
Total 0000000000
Scarborough2005–06[46]Conference Premier8200000082
Bury2005–06[46]League Two172000000172
2006–07[47]League Two12040001[lower-alpha 1]0170
Total 292400010342
Northwich Victoria2007–08[46]Conference Premier4000000040
Droylsden2008–09[45]Conference North165000000165
Mansfield Town2009–10[48]Conference Premier33172000003517
Bradford City2010–11[49]League Two28400211[lower-alpha 1]0315
Port Vale (loan)2010–11[49]League Two4100000041
Wrexham2011–12[50]Conference Premier382140001[lower-alpha 2]04321
Mansfield Town2012–13[51]Conference Premier196200000216
2013–14[52]League Two101001000111
Total 297201000327
Alfreton Town (loan)2013–14[52]Conference Premier4311000054
Harrogate Town2014–15[53]Conference North222000000222
Alfreton Town (loan)2014–15[54]Conference Premier8000000080
King's Lynn Town2014–15[45]Southern League Premier Division90100000100
Career total[lower-alpha 3] 23264141313025266
  1. Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.
  2. Appearance/s in the play-offs.
  3. Statistics for Leigh RMI and Farsley Celtic not known.
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References
  1. "Jake Speight". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2010/11". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. "Leigh snap up trio of youngsters". BBC Sport. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  4. "Seasiders sign Blades midfielder". BBC Sport. 19 August 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  5. "Seasiders hope to tie up Speight". BBC Sport. 30 August 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  6. "Speight earns deal with Seadogs". BBC Sport. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  7. "Boro's Speight makes Bury switch". BBC Sport. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  8. "Bury 3-2 Torquay". BBC Sport. 13 January 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  9. "Northwich snap up ex-Bury striker". BBC Sport. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  10. "Holdsworth rebuilds for new term". BBC Sport. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  11. "Mansfield Town offer new contract to Jake Speight". BBC Sport. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  12. "Bradford City sign Mansfield Town striker Jake Speight". BBC Sport. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  13. "Stags chairman explains reasons for £25,000 sale of striker Speight". Nottingham Post. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  14. "Jake Speight". bradfordcityfc.co.uk. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  15. "Speight loaned to Port Vale". bradfordcityfc.co.uk. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  16. "Breaking News: Port Vale sign Jake Speight on loan". The Sentinel. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  17. "Bradford City's Jake Speight joins Port Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  18. Shaw, Steve; Spinks, Martin (30 October 2010). "Port Vale: Adams captures Jake Speight at second attempt". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  19. Shaw, Steve (3 November 2010). "Port Vale: Boss Micky Adams happy with away-day point at Burton". The Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  20. Owen, Jon (25 November 2010). "Port Vale: There's nothing sub-standard about my team, says Adams". The Sentinel. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  21. "Jake Speight Departs". www.port-vale.co.uk. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  22. "Jake Speight joins Wrexham from Bradford City". BBC Sport. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  23. "Wrexham's Dean Saunders backs Jake Speight goal touch". BBC Sport. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  24. "Alfreton Town 1-4 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  25. "David Holdsworth targets Lincoln City move for Wrexham striker Jake Speight". Lincolnshire Echo. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  26. "Jake Speight re-joins Mansfield Town from Wrexham". BBC Sport. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  27. "Striker Jake Speight requests transfer from Wrexham". BBC Sport. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  28. Griffiths, Rob (5 July 2012). "I had to leave Wrexham FC for my family says Jake Speight". Daily Post. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  29. "Newport County got the new season off to a flying start with a win at promotion hopefuls Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  30. "Stags striker Jake Speight is ruled out for the season". Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  31. "Jake Speight: Mansfield Town striker joins Alfreton on loan". BBC Sport. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  32. "Alfreton Town: Nicky Law says Jake Speight recall is a blow". BBC Sport. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  33. "Mansfield Town hoping on double striker injury boost". Chad. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  34. "Six players offered new deals at One Call Stadium…". mansfieldtown.net. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  35. White, Ed (1 July 2014). "Harrogate Town agree terms with Mansfield Town's Jake Speight". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  36. White, Ed (20 March 2015). "Harrogate Town striker Jake Speight joins Alfreton Town on loan". Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  37. "Jake Speight: Alfreton Town sign Harrogate striker". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  38. "Setchell Adds Striker Jake Speight". kltown.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  39. "Jack Speight signs for Kings Lynn Town". harrogatetownafc.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  40. "King's Lynn expect Speight of goals from new signing". Lynn News. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  41. "King's Lynn Town in fitness battle for the visit of high-flying Bluebirds". Lynn News. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  42. "Bradford City striker Jake Speight jailed for 12 weeks". BBC Sport. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  43. "Speight to return to training". Yahoo Sport. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  44. "FA Registered Intermediaries". thefa.com. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  45. "Jake Speight Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  46. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  47. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  48. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  49. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  50. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  51. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  52. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  53. Jake Speight at Soccerway
  54. "Games played by Jake Speight in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
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