Jeff Whitley

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Jeffrey Whitley (born 28 January 1979) is a former professional footballer who now works for the Professional Footballers Association as a player wellbeing executive.

As a player he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Manchester City. He also played in the Football League for Wrexham, Notts County, Cardiff City, Stoke City and Sunderland, as well as for non-league sides Woodley Sports, Northwich Victoria and Droylsden. Born in Zambia, he was the first black player to represent Northern Ireland, earning 20 caps.

Club career

Whitley was a product of the Manchester City youth scheme<ref>Manchester City save best till lastTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> which he joined as a ten-year-old and began his club career as a trainee in 1996, making over 120 league and cup appearances for the first-team.<ref name="sbase">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had a two-month loan spell at Wrexham in the 1998–99 season.<ref name="sbase" /> and in March 2002, having fallen out of favour at Manchester City, joined Notts County on loan for the remainder of the 2001–02 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had a three-month loan spell at Notts County in the 2002–03 season, returning to Manchester City in January 2003<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but was released by the club in March 2003 as he did not feature in manager Kevin Keegan's plans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After a trial<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and impressing in pre-season, he signed a contract with Sunderland in August 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made over 70 league and cup appearances for Sunderland,<ref name="sbase" /> helping the club to the Football League Championship play-offs at the end of the 2003–04 season. In the play-off semi final against Crystal Palace, Whitley attempted a Panenka during the penalty shootout which was saved. Crystal Palace converted the following spot kick to defeat Sunderland and reach the play-off final.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Whitley later helped Sunderland to the Football League Championship title in 2005.<ref name="Cardiff">Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2005, he joined Cardiff City on a free transfer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and made 38 league and cup appearances for the club in the 2005–06 season,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> scoring once against Watford in the league.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Whitley joined Stoke City on loan in August 2006<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but made only four appearances<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in an unsuccessful loan spell.<ref name="Fret">Template:Cite news</ref> Cardiff made him available for transfer but he did not take up offers to talk with Millwall and Rotherham<ref name="Fret" /> and joined Wrexham in February 2007 on loan for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.<ref name="Wrexham">Template:Cite news</ref> He scored the winning goal against Bristol Rovers in a 1–0 away victory in March 2007.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was released by Cardiff and signed for Wrexham on non-contract terms in January 2008<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but was released by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He joined Northern Premier League Division One North side Woodley Sports in an effort to gain match fitness, before signing for Northwich Victoria on 7 March 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

International career

Despite being Zambian born, due to Whitley living in England since he was a child, he was eligible to, and played for the England under-17 team. As his father was born in Belfast, he was also eligible to play for Northern Ireland and made his debut for them in 1997,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> becoming the first black player to play for Northern Ireland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

His brother, Jim was also a professional footballer, with both brothers playing for Manchester City at the same time; Jeff wore his full name on the back of his shirt for a time to differentiate between the two, who also shared the same initials.

Whitley has spent time at the Sporting Chance clinic after becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs. It affected him greatly and said "at times I would just be praying just to die".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Whitley previously worked as a car salesman in the Stockport area whilst training to become a qualified Counsellor. He now works for the Professional Footballers' Association.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statistics

Club

• Source:<ref>Template:ENFA</ref>

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		OtherTemplate:Ref label		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	1996–97	First Division	23	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	24	1
	1997–98	First Division	17	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	18	1
	1998–99	Second Division	8	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	13	0
	1999–2000	First Division	42	4	2	0	2	0	0	0	46	4
	2000–01	Premier League	31	1	1	0	5	0	0	0	37	1
	2001–02	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		116	6	4	0	9	0	4	0	133	6
Wrexham (loan)	1998–99	Second Division	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
Notts County (loan)	2001–02	Second Division	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2002–03	Second Division	12	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	14	0
	Total		18	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	20	0
Sunderland	2003–04	First Division	33	2	5	0	2	0	2	0	42	2
	2004–05	Championship	34	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	2
	Total		67	4	6	0	2	0	2	0	76	4
Cardiff City	2005–06	Championship	34	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	38	1
	2006–07	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		34	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	38	1
Stoke City (loan)	2006–07	Championship	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Wrexham	2006–07	League Two	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	1
	2007–08	League Two	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		22	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
Career Total			269	14	11	0	15	0	7	0	302	14

A. ^{{#if:| }} The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

International

Source:<ref>Template:NFT player</ref>

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	1997	2	0
	1998	1	0
	1999	1	1
	2000	2	0
	2001	1	0
	2003	1	0
	2004	8	1
	2005	4	0
Total		20	2

External links

• Template:Soccerbase
• IFA profile with photo and information