Jamie Lawrence

James Hubert Lawrence (born 8 March 1970) is a Jamaican former professional footballer.

Jamie Lawrence
Personal information
Full name James Hubert Lawrence[1]
Date of birth (1970-03-08) 8 March 1970
Place of birth Balham, London, England
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Right winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Cowes Sports
1993–1994 Sunderland 4 (0)
1994–1995 Doncaster Rovers 25 (3)
1995–1997 Leicester City 47 (1)
1997–2002 Bradford City 155 (12)
2002–2004 Walsall 22 (1)
2003 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
2004 Grimsby Town 5 (1)
2004–2005 Brentford 14 (0)
2005–2006 Fisher Athletic
2006–2007 Worthing 35 (5)
2007–2009 Harrow Borough
2009 Margate 2 (0)
2009–2011 Ashford Town
Banstead Athletic
Cobham
Lingfield
Total 313 (23)
National team
2000–2004 Jamaica 24 (1)
Teams managed
2009–2011 Ashford Town
2018–2019 Kingstonian (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played as a right winger for Cowes Sports, Sunderland, Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City, Bradford City, Walsall, Wigan Athletic, Grimsby Town, Brentford, Fisher Athletic, Worthing, Harrow Borough, Margate, Ashford Town (where he was player-manager), Banstead Athletic, Cobham and Lingfield.[3]

Born in England, he represented Jamaica at international level.

Early and personal life

Lawrence was born in Balham, London, before moving first to Totteridge House in Battersea for a year before settling more permanently on the Latchmere Estate and attending John Burns Primary School.[4] [5] His parents were from Jamaica.[6] As a youth he served two prison sentences.[7][8][9]

Club career

He began his career in non-league with Cowes Sports in 1992, before turning professional with Sunderland.[7] He made his professional debut for Sunderland on 20 October 1993.[6] He also played professionally for Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City, Bradford City, Walsall, Wigan Athletic, Grimsby Town and Brentford.[2][5] While playing with Leicester he appeared as a substitute in the 1997 Football League Cup Final replay.[10]

He later played non-league football with Fisher Athletic, Worthing, Harrow Borough, Margate, Ashford Town, Banstead Athletic and Cobham.[2][5][11] While playing for Harrow Borough he cut his knee during a match, and later contracted MRSA.[12]

Sunderland

In 1993 Jamie Lawrence was handed his first professional football contract with Sunderland by manager Terry Butcher. Within days of signing for the Roker Park club, he made his debut as a substitute in a televised match against Middlesbrough. Although Middlesbrough beat Sunderland 4-1, Lawrence had made enough of an impression to be selected to start in the following match against Luton Town.[13]

Terry Butcher was sacked a month later and replaced by Mick Buxton where Lawrence was not part of the new managers' plans and he was sold to Doncaster Rovers for £20,000 on 17 March 1994 [14].

International career

Lawrence earned 24 caps for Jamaica between 2000 and 2004, scoring 1 goal.[2] He appeared in 11 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.[15]

Coaching career

Lawrence was player-manager of Ashford Town between November 2009 and June 2011.[11]

In December 2014 he signed a six-week contract with the Ghana national team, to be their fitness coach for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, having previously worked in a similar role with Sutton United.[16]

Lawrence was appointed first-team coach at National League South Whitehawk in September 2017.[17] He then had a spell as assistant manager at Kingstonian, leaving in February 2019.[18]

Other endeavours

His autobiography From Prison to Premiership was released in 2006.[7] It was re-released as an e-book in 2013.[6]

Lawrence started the Jamie Lawrence Football Academy in Tooting 2008.[7]

In April 2019 Lawrence spoke out against racism in football, revealing that during his playing career he had been racially abused by one of his own teammates.[19]

In May 2020 Lawrence began a charity online workout to raise funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Honours
Leicester City

References
  1. "Jamie Lawrence". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  2. "Jamie Lawrence". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. "Jamie Lawrence". 10 June 2015.
  4. Lawrence, Jamie (2006). From Prison to the Premiership - The Amazing True Story of Britain's Hardest Footballer. John Blake Publishing Ltd.
  5. "Profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  6. James Hunter (20 October 2013). "Sunderland saved my life, says former Black Cats star Jamie Lawrence". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  7. Alistair Magowan (11 March 2008). "Ex-pro Lawrence back at school". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  8. Glenn Moore (5 April 1997). "Leicester rely on heart to counter international art". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  9. Jamie Jackson (6 July 2003). "Triumph and despair". The Observer. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  10. Glenn Moore (17 April 1997). "Claridge's five-star silver service". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  11. Gareth Coates (1 July 2012). "International Footballers who have played for the club". Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  12. Claire Lomax (24 January 2009). "Lawrence now threatening to legal action". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  13. Hunter, James (20 October 2013). "Sunderland saved my life, says former Black Cats star Jamie Lawrence". ChronicleLive.
  14. "Jamie Lawrence | Football Stats | No Club | Season 1996/1997 | 1992-2006 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
  15. Jamie Lawrence – FIFA competition record
  16. Simon Parker (30 December 2014). "Bantams hero Lawrence Ghana give it everything at African Cup of Nations". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  17. "Players kick a ball again".
  18. "Leigh Dynan: I would've got Kingstonian into play-offs". 12 February 2019.
  19. "I was in the stand and every time the boys got the ball there were monkey sounds". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  20. "Ex-City ace holding fundraising workout for NHS and Burns Unit". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
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