 Lawrence warming up forStoke City | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liam Lawrence[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-12-14)14 December 1981 (age 43)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Retford, Nottinghamshire, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right winger[1] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1991 | Retford United | ||
| 1991–1996 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| 1996–1999 | Mansfield Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2004 | Mansfield Town | 136 | (35) |
| 2004–2007 | Sunderland | 73 | (10) |
| 2006–2007 | →Stoke City (loan) | 8 | (2) |
| 2007–2011 | Stoke City | 105 | (21) |
| 2010–2011 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 17 | (7) |
| 2011–2012 | Portsmouth | 37 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Cardiff City (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2012–2014 | PAOK | 29 | (3) |
| 2014 | Barnsley | 14 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Shrewsbury Town | 51 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | Bristol Rovers | 16 | (1) |
| 2017 | Rushall Olympic | ||
| Total | 499 | (86) | |
| International career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Republic of Ireland | 15 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Liam Lawrence (born 14 December 1981) is a former professionalfootballer who played as aright winger.
Lawrence started his career at his local clubMansfield Town, after impressing at theField Mill he signed forSunderland in June 2005. He joinedStoke City, on loan in 2006, and made his move permanent in January 2007. He became a key player for Stoke, and helped the club to promotion to thePremier League in 2008, earning himself Player of the Year award. In September 2010, he signed forPortsmouth on loan, and signed permanently in the Januarytransfer window. With Portsmouth in financial difficulties he spent time out on loan atCardiff City and joined Greek sidePAOK in the summer of 2012. He then returned to England for a brief spell atBarnsley in 2014 before joiningShrewsbury Town, captaining the side to promotion toLeague One in his only full season before a free transfer toBristol Rovers.
Born in England, Lawrence made his international debut for theRepublic of Ireland in 2009, and earned 15 caps in a two-year spell.
Lawrence was born inRetford, Nottinghamshire,[1] and joinedMansfield Town's youth team in 1996. He progressed the through to the first team making his professional debut againstBlackpool in theFootball League Trophy in the1999–2000 season. He played 18 matches in2000–01 scoring four goals as Mansfield finished in 13th position. In2001–02 he made 37 appearances as the Stags gained promotion to the third tier however relegation was suffered in the following2002–03 season with Lawrence playing in 46 matches scoring 12 goals. In2003–04 Lawrence played in 52 games and scored 21 goals for the club helping then to reach theplay-offs. After over comingNorthampton Town on penalties Mansfield facedHuddersfield Town in thefinal. After a 0–0 draw they faced another penalty shootout but Mansfield lost 4–1 with Lawrence missing his penalty.[3]
Lawrence joinedSunderland in June 2004 for a fee of £175,000.[4] Lawrence had a promising first season at Sunderland, scoring 6 goals in 32 appearances, including two superb strikes againstWolverhampton Wanderers at theStadium of Light on 2 November 2004.[5] He also helped create one of the most important goals in Sunderland's season, scored byMarcus Stewart, againstWigan Athletic at theJJB Stadium.[6] Sunderland won theChampionship in2004–05 and gained promotion to thePremier League.[7]
Following Sunderland's promotion to the top flight Lawrence found himself in and out of the first team squad for the first few months of the 2005–06 season. Despite this, Lawrence still made 23 starts and 10 substitute appearances for the club, scoring againstFulham,Chelsea, and Sunderland's bitter rivalsNewcastle United atSt James' Park. Although the season ended in disaster for Sunderland, who were relegated with a then record low of 15 points, Lawrence ended the season as runner up to teammateDean Whitehead for the annual Player of the Year award, and was seen as one of Sunderland's better performers. Lawrence and Whitehead both signed new contracts in August 2006.[8]
Lawrence joinedStoke City initially on loan in November 2006 after falling out of favour withRoy Keane with the deal becoming permanent in January 2007.[9] He made a fine start to his Stoke career scoring againstCardiff City andIpswich Town.[10] In2006–07 Stoke narrowly missed out on the play-offs finishing in 8th position. In2007–08 Lawrence played in 44 matches scoring 15 goals as Stoke gained promotion to the Premier League in 2nd position. Lawrence struck a great partnership withRicardo Fuller and the pair scored a combined total of 30 goals with Lawrence winning theplayer of the year award.[11][12]
Lawrence scored Stoke's first home goal in the Premier League in 2008 when he scored a penalty againstAston Villa. However Lawrence injured himself when he tripped over his petLabrador damaging his ankle.[13] He had to undergo ankle surgery to repair a tear in the ligament.[14][15] He returned from injury towards the end of the season and scored winning goals in games againstBlackburn Rovers andHull City, with the latter securing Stoke's survival.[16] Lawrence signed a new contract at Stoke in July 2009 keeping him at theBritannia Stadium until 2013.[17] Lawrence found himself in and out of the side in2009–10 making 25 league appearances of which 11 were as a substitute and he scored once againstHull City in April.[18] After the season ended Lawrence stated that he expected to leave Stoke during the summer of 2010.[19]
On 31 August, the summer transfer window deadline day, Lawrence and Stoke teammateDave Kitson were a part of an exchange deal, which sentPortsmouth defenderMarc Wilson tothe Potters, with the pair moved in the opposite direction.[20] The deal was supposedly completed and the two Stoke players arrived atFratton Park,[citation needed] but paperwork was not submitted in time for the transfer to go through. He eventually made an emergency-loan move toPompey on 9 September[21] Lawrence made his Portsmouth debut on 11 September in a 0–0 draw withIpswich atFratton Park.[22] He scored his first goal for the club againstLeicester City in theFootball League Cup on 21 September. On 24 September, he scored his first league goals, a penalty and a deflected free kick in their 6–1 league win overLeicester City.[23] On 2 October, Lawrence scored a late equaliser as Portsmouth drew 2–2 withMiddlesbrough at theRiverside to notch up his fourth Portsmouth goal in just seven matches.[24] On 30 October, he netted the winner from inside the box as Pompey beatNottingham Forest 2–1 at Fratton Park.[25]
On 1 January 2011, Lawrence completed his permanent move to Portsmouth, signing until the summer of 2014.[26] Following Portsmouth's plunge into administration, Lawrence insisted that he would not walk out on the club,[27] but managerMichael Appleton said that Portsmouth could not afford to scan the injured calf of Lawrence as the Rudimentary payments for injury assessments could also not be completed.[28] He left Portsmouth on 10 August 2012 after agreeing to a compromise deal to terminate his contract.[29]
Lawrence joinedChampionship rivalsCardiff City on loan till the end of the season as Portsmouth's dire financial situation meant they needed to take cost-cutting measures.[30] He went on to make his debut on 7 March againstBrighton & Hove Albion, where he set up the second goal for Cardiff. He scored his first goal for the club on 14 April in a 1–0 win overBarnsley.
Lawrence was interested in making the move permanent but managerMalky Mackay stated that he was interested but signing him wasn't priority.[31] On 8 August 2012, Cardiff had opened talks with Lawrence over a possible permanent transfer as Portsmouth needed to clear the wage bill by 10 August or be liquidated.[32] After leaving Portsmouth, Lawrence revealed he was offered a new contract with his wages reduced (60 or 70 per cent cut) but he was told by administratorTrevor Birch the negotiations was withdrawn as the club couldn't afford an offer fromBalram Chainrai as he attempted to purchase the club[33] Previously, Lawrence was keen to stay at the club, insisting he doesn't want to be responsible for liquidating the club[34]
After leaving Portsmouth on 13 August Lawrence agreed to join Greek sidePAOK on a two-year contract.[35] Lawrence would wear number 20 on his jersey. He made his official debut for the club on 23 August 2012 in a 2–1 home win againstRapid Wien. On 16 September 2012 he scored his first goal for the club againstAsteras Tripoli. He scored a magnificent volley against fierce rivalsAris in a 4–1 home win. In his first season in the club he got sent-off twice, in matches againstAris andAEK.
Lawrence joinedChampionship sideBarnsley on 16 January 2014, signing a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season.[36] He played 14 times for the Tykes scoring once as the side suffered relegation and at the end of the campaign he was not offered a new contract atOakwell.[37]
On 4 July 2014, Lawrence signed a two-year contract with League Two sideShrewsbury Town.[38] He made his competitive debut on the first day of the league season on 9 August, as thecaptain, and set upJames Collins in the 9th minute to open a 2–2 draw away toAFC Wimbledon.[39]
Having been sent off in a match againstNorthampton Town two weeks later,[40] and subsequently serving a three-match suspension, Lawrence did not immediately regain his place in the side, having to wait until he was recalled for aLeague Cup third round tie at home againstNorwich City on 23 September 2014. Lawrence had a hand in the winning goal, as his second-half free kick was headed on byJermaine Grandison, forJames Collins to loop over Norwich goalkeeperDeclan Rudd.[41]
He scored his first goal for Shrewsbury on 1 November 2014, converting an injury time penalty away from home againstDagenham and Redbridge to seal a 2–1 win, extending the club's winning sequence inLeague Two to five matches,[42] following this with the only goal of the game as Shrewsbury defeatedWalsall in an FA Cup first round replay at theNew Meadow.[43]
Lawrence scored both goals as Shrewsbury defeatedOxford United 2–0 on 21 March 2015, a 2nd-minute penalty and a 20-yard late free kick, taking his season tally to six in all competitions.[44] A regular in the side during the season run-in, promotion toLeague One was secured in April 2015 after a 1–0 away win atCheltenham Town, with the club ending the season as runners-up toBurton Albion.[45]
Lawrence did not regularly start for Shrewsbury following their promotion and, as one of the club's higher earners, was allowed to join League Two sideBristol Rovers on a free transfer on 7 January 2016.[46] Lawrence was picked in the Starting XI a number of times and he scored his first goal for the club as his perfectly placed Free-kick saw his side win 3–0 againstCrawley Town.[47] Lawrence helped Rovers achieve automatic promotion seeing his side reach 85 points and overtakingAccrington Stanley on the last day of the season.[48]
He made four appearances in the 2016–17 season before being told along with five others to find a new club on 19 January 2017[49] and on 31 January 2017 he left the club by mutual consent.[50]
Lawrence is an Irish citizen through hisCounty Kerry-borngrandfather. On 16 February 2006, Lawrence received his first international call-up, for theRepublic of Ireland in their friendly game againstSweden on 3 March, but spent the entire match as an unused substitute. On 18 May 2009, Lawrence was named in the Irish squad for afriendly withNigeria[51] and subsequently made his debut in that match ten days later.[52] Following this, Lawrence was named in the starting eleven for Ireland's friendly againstSouth Africa on 8 September and scored the only goal of the game, afree kick in the 37th minute for his first international goal.[53] Lawrence made his competitive international debut in Ireland's penultimate2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstItaly inCroke Park on 10 October, and provided an assist for his Stoke City teammateGlenn Whelan to open the scoring in the match, which ended 2–2. He also made a start againstFrance in thefirst-leg of Ireland's crucial 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off on 14 November, which France won 1–0, withNicolas Anelka netting the only goal.[54] He has not played for Ireland since 29 May 2011.[55]
In August 2020, Lawrence began coaching at theStoke City Academy, taking charge of the under-15 team.[56] He moved up to the under-21 side in July 2024, working alongsideRyan Shawcross.[57]
Source:[58]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mansfield Town | 1999–2000[59] | Third Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2000–01[60] | Third Division | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | |
| 2001–02[61] | Third Division | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2002–03[62] | Second Division | 43 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 46 | 12 | |
| 2003–04[63] | Third Division | 41 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 52 | 21 | |
| Total | 136 | 35 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 153 | 40 | ||
| Sunderland | 2004–05[64] | Championship | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 6 | |
| 2005–06[65] | Premier League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | ||
| 2006–07[66] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 73 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 9 | ||
| Stoke City | 2006–07[66] | Championship | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 5 | |
| 2007–08[67] | Championship | 41 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 44 | 15 | ||
| 2008–09[68] | Premier League | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| 2009–10[69] | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| Total | 113 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 24 | ||
| Portsmouth | 2010–11[70] | Championship | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 33 | 8 | |
| 2011–12[71] | Championship | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 54 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 8 | ||
| Cardiff City (loan) | 2011–12[71] | Championship | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| PAOK | 2012–13[72] | Superleague Greece | 27 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 30 | 4 | |
| 2013–14[73] | Superleague Greece | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 29 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |||
| Barnsley | 2013–14[73] | Championship | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
| Shrewsbury Town | 2014–15[74] | League Two | 33 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 6 |
| 2015–16[75] | League One | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 6 | ||
| Bristol Rovers | 2015–16[75] | League Two | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 2016–17[76] | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| Career Total | 499 | 86 | 28 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 561 | 95 | ||
Source:[55]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | |||
| 2009 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 2 | |
Source:[55]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 September 2009 | Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland |  South Africa | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 25 May 2010 | RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland |  Paraguay | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Mansfield Town
Sunderland
Stoke City
Shrewsbury Town
Bristol Rovers
Republic of Ireland
Individual
