Caleb Folan

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Caleb Folan
Personal information
Full name Caleb Colman Folan
Date of birth October 26, 1982 (1982-10-26) (age 25)
Place of birth    Leeds, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Hull City
Number 18
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2001-2003
2001
2001
2003-2007
2007
2007-		 Leeds United
→ Rushden & Diamonds (loan)
→ Hull City (loan)
Chesterfield
Wigan Athletic
Hull City		 000 0(0)
006 0(0)
001 0(0)
102 (15)
015 0(2)
029 0(8)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:26, 29 March 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Caleb Colman Folan (born October 26, 1982 in Leeds, England) is an English-born Irish footballer, currently playing for Hull City.

He qualifies for the Republic of Ireland national football team through his grandfather, who was from Inis Mór, and his grandmother, from Galway.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Folan started his professional career at hometown club Leeds United, spending brief spells on loan at Rushden & Diamonds and Hull City before making a permanent move to Chesterfield.

In April 2006 he underwent a cartilage operation on a recurring knee injury .[1] In October 2006 he scored the winner against West Ham United in Chesterfield's League Cup victory[2] and also signed a one-year contract extension.[3]

After a series of impressive performances for Chesterfield, Folan was linked with a January transfer to Premiership side Wigan Athletic, and on 26 January 2007 he completed the move, signing a three-and-a-half year deal, with Wigan manager Paul Jewell stating: "He's strong, he's aggressive, he's got a finisher's instinct and I think he will add competition in an area where the squad needs bolstering."[4]

Folan played his first Premiership match for Wigan against Reading on 30 January, 2007,[5] and on 21 February, scored his first goal for the club, an equaliser against Watford.[6] On March 3 he scored the winner away against Manchester City.[7]

Hull City revealed their interest in Folan in August 2007.[8] However, Wigan manager Chris Hutchings said he was not looking to sell.[9] On the 31st of August 2007 Folan eventually did return to Hull City for a fee of £1 million, a record fee for the club .[10] Speaking on Hull City's official website, he insisted he was not going to let the price tag pile pressure onto him and that he had arrived at the club to score goals.[11]

On his debut for Hull against Blackpool in September, Folan was taken to hospital after being stretchered off the pitch wearing a neck brace.[12] He was kept overnight at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool.[13] An ankle injury caused him to miss several more matches,[14] and in March 2008 he incurred a three match ban after being sent off in a game against Burnley.[15] He returned however to score several goals from the bench during Hull City's successful run-in.

[edit] International career

On March 15th he earned a call up for the Republic of Ireland squad, qualifying through his Irish born grandparents after receiving his Irish passport the day earlier. The decision to call up Folan was greeted with disappointment by many Irish supporters, not because of Folan's undoubted ability but due to the fact that the national team management was considered to continue to overlook Irish strikers in favour of foreigners with tenuous links to the country. Folan eventually was forced to pull out of the squad due to injury.[16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Folan undergoes cartilage surgery", BBC Sport, 2006-04-27. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  2. ^ "Chesterfield 2-1 West Ham", BBC Sport, 2006-10-24. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  3. ^ "Folan agrees one-year extension", BBC Sport, 2006-10-31. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  4. ^ "Striker Folan secures Wigan move", BBC Sport, 2007-01-26. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 
  5. ^ Tactical Formation. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
  6. ^ "Watford 1-1 Wigan", BBC Sport, 2007-02-21. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  7. ^ "Man City 0-1 Wigan", BBC Sport, 2007-03-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  8. ^ "Tigers tracking Okocha and Folan", BBC Sport, 2007-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. 
  9. ^ "Wigan want to keep Folan", Sky Sports, 2007-08-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-29. 
  10. ^ "Hull break record to land Folan", BBC Sport, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. 
  11. ^ "Folan Will Concentrate On Football", Hull City AFC, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. 
  12. ^ "Blackpool 2-1 Hull", BBC Sport, 2007-09-03. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. 
  13. ^ "Folan recovering from head injury", BBC Sport, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  14. ^ "Brown backs Folan to shine", Hull City OWS, 2007-11-05. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  15. ^ "Hull 2-0 Burnley", BBC Sport, 2008-03-04. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  16. ^ "Keogh comes in for injured Folan", BBC Sport, 2007-03-18. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 

[edit] External links

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Hull City A.F.C. – current squad

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