Shayne Bradley

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Shayne Bradley(born 8 December 1979 in Gloucester, UK) was a professional footballer before having to retire through an ankle injury in 2004.

Contents 1 Early years 2 England Schoolboys 3 Professional career 4 Mansfield Town 5 The Final Season 6 After Football 7 External links

[edit] Early years

Shayne began his football career playing for Robinswood Youth in the Gloucester and District Under 9's league. Consistent performances for his club and for Heron Primary School enabled him to achieve a call up for the Gloucester Primary Schools Football Association team in 1990 and 1991. After moving to Sir Thomas Rich's secondary school, Shayne helped his year group to win 3 Gloucestershire County Cup trophies. During this time he was approached by Southampton FC, and he signed associate schoolboy forms on his 14th birthday.

[edit] England Schoolboys

During 1994 / 95 Shayne was successful in a number of trials and was selected to play for the England Schoolboys squad for the Victory Shield matches against Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as friendlies against Brazil and Germany. Shayne was selected in the starting 11 for the first game against Wales, played at Spytty Park, Newport. He played centre forward, partnering current Newcastle United player Michael Owen. The team was captained by Manchester United defender Wes Brown. Shayne played 5 times for the England squad, including against Germany at Wembley.

[edit] Professional career

When he turned 16, Shayne was offered a YTS contract at Southampton and at the expiry of this he was offered his first professional contract. Between 1998 and 2001, Shayne was a regular scorer for the reserve team, but played only 4 games for the first team, but he played a number of first team games on loan at Exeter City and Swindon Town. After a meeting with then Southampton manager Glenn Hoddle, Shayne decided to move to Mansfield Town in an effort to get more first team games. It was reported that the transfer fee was Mansfield's club record.

[edit] Mansfield Town

Shayne started his Mansfield career well, scoring 9 goals in his first half season, and striking an effective partnership with Chris Greenacre. In the 2001 / 02 season, Mansfield manager Billy Dearden left the club and was replaced by Stuart Watkiss. At the time, Mansfield were chasing promotion from Division 3. The Stags suffered a dip in form under Watkiss, but were still able to gain promotion at the end of the season. Shayne was a regular scorer when he played, but he was beginning to have problems with a series on injuries. In the next season, Shayne and Watkiss had a series of arguments, with the striker angry at the manager's insistence on playing him when he was not fully fit, and Bradley questioning his manager's lack of tactical ability. During the season Shayne injured his ankle, and after being rushed back in order to help Mansfield's relegation battle, he made his injury worse and then required an operation. The operation was not a success and Shayne did not play for Mansfield again.

[edit] The Final Season

Shayne was released by Mansfield at the end of his contract, and motivated by a desire to get his fitness back, and to prove Watkiss wrong, he signed for Mansfield's local rivals Chesterfield. Despite never being more than 70% fit, Shayne scored two goals in his first month for Chesterfield. He then played against Mansfield, and after coming on as a 68th minute substitute, he was sent off for spitting at Mansfield defender Rhys Day, after a serious provocation. Shayne spent a short loan spell at Lincoln City, before injuring his ankle again and, after consultation with a specialist, he was advised to retire from professional football.

[edit] After Football

Since retiring, Shayne has been unable to play football due to his ankle injury. He has recently started coaching at Gloucester City FC, where he hopes to one day fulfil his childhood ambition of managing his hometown team.

[edit] External links

• Shayne Bradley career stats at Soccerbase

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