Player Profile: Luke Steele
By The Red Whine
August 14 2009
First name
 |
| |
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|
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First name: |
Luke |
 |
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Last name: |
Steele |
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Date of
birth: |
24/09/84 |
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Place of
birth: |
Peterborough |
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Nationality: |
English |
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Height: |
6'2" (188cm) |
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Weight: |
12st 0lbs (76kg) |
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Position: |
Goalkeeper |
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Squad
number: |
1 |
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Signed on: |
18/05/08 |
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Contract
expires: |
2011 |
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With Barnsley through to the
5th round of the FA cup, regular keeper Heinz Muller out injured, no
back-up and Muller's on loan replacement Tony Warner cup-tied, manager
Simon Davey had little choice but to search for yet another loanee to fill
the void between the sticks for the upcoming match against Premiership
side Liverpool. The search ended when Davey snapped up West Brom keeper
Luke Steele on an emergency loan for one month.
A man of the match of the match and FA player of the round performance on
his debut helped Barnsley to knock out the Anfield side and sent the reds
through to the quarter finals where they would face yet another
Premiership giant in the form of Chelsea. A clean sheet helped the Tykes
knock the current holders out and saw them reach the semi finals for the
first time in 96 years but would Steele be able to take part?
Due to his parent club West Brom also reaching the semi finals and because
of FA rules that prevent on loan players from playing against their parent
clubs Steele had an anxious wait to see who Barnsley would be drawn
against. Fortunately for both Steele and Barnsley it was Cardiff and not
West Brom that would be the opposition and so Steele got his day at
Wembley. Unfortunately a 1-0 loss would see the team defeated but Steele
had done enough with his performances in both the cup and the league to
earn himself a permanent transfer and in May 08 he put pen to paper on a
one year contract.
Despite not making any notable mistakes in the opening matches of the
season Luke was dropped in favour of Muller who was returning from injury
and rarely even made it onto the bench for a long period afterwards but
with relegation a real threat and just four matches of the season
remaining the out of form German giant was dropped and Steele regained his
place in the starting line-up.
In the summer Davey had a real headache. He had two good keepers on the
books and they couldn't both be number one and so Muller was sold for
£600,000 netting the club a tidy profit Steele signed a new contract
keeping him at the club for a further two years. |
| |
|
Club |
From |
To |
Fee |
App |
C/S |
| Barnsley |
21/05/08 |
|
Free |
13 (0) |
3 |
|
Barnsley |
14/02/08 |
05/05/08 |
Loan |
17 (0) |
5 |
| Coventry |
22/12/06 |
04/05/07 |
Loan |
7
(0) |
1 |
|
West brom |
11/08/06 |
21/05/08 |
Signed |
2 (0) |
0 |
| Coventry |
03/08/06 |
10/08/06 |
Loan |
0
(0) |
0 |
|
Coventry |
10/09/04 |
09/05/05 |
Loan |
36 (0) |
6 |
| Man utd |
12/05/02 |
11/08/06 |
£500,000 |
0
(0) |
0 |
|
Man utd |
04/03/02 |
11/05/02 |
Loan |
0 (0) |
0 |
| Peterborough |
01/08/99 |
12/05/02 |
Trainee |
2
(0) |
0 |
|
Totals |
£500,000 |
77 (0) |
15 |
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