Nicky Forster

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Nicky Forster
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Michael Forster
Date of birth 8 September 1973 (1973-09-08) (age 34)
Place of birth    Caterham, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 9
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1991–1992
1992–1994
1994–1997
1997–1999
1999–2005
2005–2006
2006–2007
2007–		 Horley Town
Gillingham
Brentford
Birmingham City
Reading
Ipswich Town
Hull City
Brighton & Hove Albion		 00? 0(?)
067 (24)
109 (39)
067 (11)
186 (59)
024 0(8)
035 0(5)
041 (15)   
National team2
1995 England U21 004 0(1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 25th May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 16:12, 10 September 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Nicholas Michael Forster (born 8 September 1973 in Caterham, England) is a professional footballer currently playing for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Contents

[edit] Football career

[edit] Early years

Forster was spotted playing for non-league Horley Town and invited for trials by Gillingham in December 1991. After impressing with the youth and reserve teams he signed a professional contract in May 1992, making his debut the following September.[1] He starred for the club during the otherwise disappointing 1993-94 season, scoring 18 goals, but at the end of the season he turned down a new contract and instead joined Brentford for £320,000, a move which provoked bad feeling from Gillingham fans which persisted for many years.[2]

[edit] Brentford and Birmingham City

While at Brentford, Forster formed prolific partnerships with Carl Asaba and Robert Taylor, both of whom would later join his former club Gillingham. He made 109 league appearances for Brentford and scored 39 goals during his time at Griffin Park.[3] He was later capped by England at under-21 level soon afterwards.[3] In January 1997, Forster moved to Birmingham City for a fee of £700,000.[3] He made 67 league appearances and scored eleven league goals as a Blue.[4]

[edit] Reading

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Two years later he was on the move again, this time to Reading, where he spent six years at the club at a cost of £650,000 between 1999 and 2005. Forster receives part of the credit for salvaging Reading's 1999–2000 season, during which the club rose from Division Two's relegation zone at Christmas to a finish in the top ten under caretaker manager Alan Pardew.[5] However, an injured Forster was unable to contribute to the club's good fortune the following season.[5]

Forster regards Reading's 2002–03 campaign as his best period of form during his career,[6] and considers the club as "home".[6]

[edit] Ipswich Town

Despite being a popular player at Reading, he was allowed to join Ipswich Town on a free transfer in 2005. Unable to replicate for Ipswich the form he showed with Reading due to several injury setbacks over the 2005-06 season, Forster signed a two year contract with Hull City on 31 August 2006 for a £250,000 transfer fee.[7] He had been a team-mate of then-Hull City manager, Phil Parkinson, whilst at Reading.

[edit] Hull City

During his time at Hull City, Forster made 37 appearances and scored six goals for the club;[8] these totals include two FA Cup appearances and one FA Cup goal.[3]

His form helped propel him to third place in the club's Player of the Year awards for the 2006-07 season.[8]

[edit] Brighton & Hove Albion

In January 2007, Brighton & Hove Albion made an unsuccessful £100,000 bid for Forster.[9] However, at the end of the 2006-07 season, Forster stated his wish to move back to the south of England for family reasons, and eventually signed a three year contract with Brighton in late June 2007 for a £75,000 fee.[8]

Forster stated his decision to drop down to Football League One from the Championship was due to the ambition shown by Brighton manager Dean Wilkins and chairman Dick Knight.[10]

Forster was named as the new Brighton club captain after the departure of Dean Hammond during January 2008.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roger Triggs (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X. 
  2. ^ Gillingham 0 Reading 1 - Match Report (2002-11-09). Retrieved on 2007-01-18. “As the teams were announced Marlon King, who was starting his first match since being released from Standford Hill prison, received a standing ovation from the home supporters, whilst Reading's Nicky Forster was greeted by boos and chants of "Judas".”
  3. ^ a b c d Player Profile: Nicky Forster. Hull City. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  4. ^ Player Statistics: Nicky Forster. soccerbase.com. Centurycomm Limited. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  5. ^ a b The History of Reading Football Club. readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  6. ^ a b "Forster reveals affection for Royals", readingfc.co.uk, 2008-03-21. Retrieved on 2008-03-21. 
  7. ^ "Tigers Snap Up Forster", Hull City, 2006-08-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-31. 
  8. ^ a b c "Breaking news: Forster wings his way to Seagulls", Hull Daily Mail, 2007-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-06-25. 
  9. ^ "Brighton thwarted in striker bids", BBC Sport, 2007-02-01. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. 
  10. ^ "Forster: Ambition Made Me Sign", seagulls.co.uk, 2007-06-26. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. – current squad

- Chamberlain • - Cox • - Dixon • - El-Abd • - Elphick • - Fogden • - Forster • - Fraser • - Gargan • - Gatting • - Hawkins • - Hinshelwood • - Kuipers • - Loft • - Lynch • - McLeod • - Murray • - Robinson • - Sullivan • - Thomson • - Whing • Manager: Adams
Persondata
NAME Forster, Nicholas Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Forster, Nicky
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 8 September 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Caterham, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH