 Charles playing forEbbsfleet United in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wesley Darius Donald Charles[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-12-10)10 December 1987 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Ealing, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Greenford Celtic | |||
| 1998–2006 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2009 | Brentford | 37 | (1) |
| 2006 | →Thurrock (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Yeading (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Staines Town (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2007 | →Crawley Town (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2007 | →Sutton United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Ebbsfleet United (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | →Ebbsfleet United (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Ebbsfleet United | 55 | (0) |
| 2010–2015 | Stevenage | 144 | (13) |
| 2015–2016 | Burton Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 2016 | →AFC Wimbledon (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | AFC Wimbledon | 65 | (2) |
| 2018–2021 | Wycombe Wanderers | 35 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | AFC Wimbledon | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2009 | England C | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022 | AFC Wimbledon (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:55, 11 April 2022 (UTC) | |||
Wesley Darius Donald Charles (born 10 December 1987) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back. He played in theEnglish Football League forBrentford,Stevenage,Burton Albion,AFC Wimbledon andWycombe Wanderers.
Charles started his career after progressing through the Brentford youth system and he made his first-team debut in 2005. He wasloaned out by Brentford on seven occasions and he joined the last of these,Ebbsfleet United, permanently in 2009 in a historic transfer. Six months later, a proposed transfer toYork City fell through, after he decided against moving to the city. He spent another season with Ebbsfleet before signing for Stevenage in 2010.
Charles first played football aged 11 while at school, for Greenford Celtic.[4] He later played for Drayton Manor before signing for theCentre of Excellence atBrentford at age 10.[5][6][7] He made his first-team debut as aleft midfielder in a 2–1 victory overHull City on 7 May 2005; the final day of the2004–05 season.[8][9] He made his first appearance of2005–06 in theFootball League Trophy againstOxford United, which finished as a 1–1 draw afterextra time and a 4–3 defeat in apenalty shoot-out, while Charles played as aleft-back.[10][11] His first league appearance of the season came as an 88th minutesubstitute in a 1–1 draw withChesterfield on 10 December 2005.[10] He went on to play as a 32nd-minute substitute in a 3–3 draw withBradford City on 2 January 2006, which proved to be his final appearance of the season for Brentford, which he finished with three appearances.[10] In mid January 2006, he signed a one-year professional contract with a one-year option, effective from June 2006.[7] He wasloaned out toConference South clubThurrock on 3 February 2006,[12] where he made one appearance, in a 1–0 defeat toWeston-super-Mare.[13] He was subsequently sent out toYeading on 16 March 2006 on a work experience deal,[14] and he made his debut in a 2–1 defeat toEastbourne Borough, before finishing the loan spell with six appearances.[13]
After having made nine appearances for Brentford during2006–07, he signed forStaines Town of theIsthmian League Premier Division on 16 October 2006 on a one-month loan.[15] He made two appearances for Staines before returning to Brentford in November 2006.[16] He joinedConference National clubCrawley Town on 9 February 2007 on loan until the end of April.[17] He made his debut a day later after coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw withSt Albans City.[18][19] He finished the loan spell with six appearances.[18] He played for Brentford on five further occasions, which included scoring the winning goal in the 89th minute of a 4–3 victory overPort Vale, and he finished the season with 19 Brentford appearances.[19] Brentford took up their option for his contract to be extended for another season in May 2007,[20] before he signed a new two-year contract with the option of another year with the club in June.[21] He signed forSutton United of the Conference South on 2 August 2007 on an initial three-month loan.[22] He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat toBasingstoke Town.[23] He was recalled by Brentford in September 2007,[24] after making seven appearances for Sutton.[23] He made his first appearance for Brentford of2007–08 in a 2–0 victory overChester City on 22 September 2007.[25]
He joinedConference Premier clubEbbsfleet United on 21 March 2008 on loan until the end of the season,[26] having made 18 appearances for Brentford up to that point in 2007–08.[25] Charles made his Ebbsfleet debut the following day as a 78th-minute substitute in a 3–1 defeat toStevenage Borough.[25][27] He started in the following match, a 2–1 victory overCambridge United, and he finished the loan spell with nine appearances.[27] He made one more appearance for Brentford in 2007–08, in a 1–0 away defeat toStockport County on 3 May 2008, finishing the season with 19 appearances for the club.[25]
Charles re-signed for Ebbsfleet on 21 June after joining on loan for 2008–09.[28] He fouledSimon Brown to concede apenalty kick againstWrexham on 13 September 2008, which was scored by Brown, as Ebbsfleet lost 3–2.[29] He wassent off for a second bookable offence late into a 1–0 defeat toHiston on 6 October 2008.[30] After his Brentford contract was cancelled he moved to Ebbsfleet permanently on 29 January 2009, after the owners of Ebbsfleet,MyFootballClub, ratified a compensation fee of £25,000, making this the first transfer in football history to be decided by a group of members.[31][32] He finished the season with 44 appearances and was named Ebbsfleet's Player of the Year.[33][34]
Conference Premier rivalsYork City made a £10,000 bid for Charles in June, which was subsequently rejected, with MyFootballClub members voting against the offer with over a 98% majority.[35] Following this, York managerMartin Foyle said it was unlikely they would increase their offer for Charles.[36] Ebbsfleet later agreed to sell Charles andstrikerMichael Gash for a combined fee of £80,000 to an unnamed club,[37] which was revealed to be York and he was reported to have signed on 29 June 2009.[38] However, the deal eventually fell through after Charles decided against joining the club as he did not want to relocate toYork.[39] Shortly after Ebbsfleet received an enquiry about him from an unnamedLeague Two club, although nothing came of this interest.[40] He later became Ebbsfleetcaptain and was sent off for dissent in a 1–0 defeat toTamworth on 21 November 2009.[41] He made 42 appearances for Ebbsfleet during the 2009–10 as they wererelegated to the Conference South.[42]
Charles turned down a new contract with Ebbsfleet to sign for newly promoted League Two club Stevenage on a two-year contract for a compensation fee on 18 May 2010.[43] He made his debut in a 3–1 home victory against Stockport, playing 78 minutes.[44] Charles scored his first goal for the club in anFA Cup first round replay againstMilton Keynes Dons in November 2010,[44] equalising instoppage time to take the match toextra time and apenalty shoot-out, which Stevenage won 7–6.[45] The following month, he was sent off for aprofessional foul ten minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat toNorthampton Town.[46] Charles was utilised as acentre-forward during the2011 League Two play-off final, providing the assist forJohn Mousinho's match-winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Torquay United that secured promotion toLeague One.[47][48] He made 33 appearances during the2010–11 season, scoring four goals.[44]
After starting Stevenage's first two matches of the2011–12 season,[49] Charles signed a contract extension on 11 August 2011, keeping him contracted to the club until 2013.[50] A knee injury limited his involvement for the remainder of the year,[51][52] though he returned to the starting line-up in an FA Cup third round tie againstReading on 7 January 2012, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory at theMadejski Stadium.[49][53] Charles sustained a hamstring injury in Stevenage's 1–1 draw withWycombe Wanderers on 31 March 2012,[54] with the injury ruling him out for the rest of the season.[55] He made 34 appearances across the season, scoring five goals.[49] Ahead of the2012–13 season, Charles signed a new two-year contract.[56] Predominantly used in defence, he made 41 appearances during the season.[57]
With a year remaining on his deal, Charles' contract was extended for a further year in June 2013.[58] He began the2013–14 season with a goal in a 4–3 opening-day defeat toOldham Athletic, but sustained an injury later that month in aLeague Cup tie againstEverton,[59] ruling him out until January 2014.[60] He made 26 appearances and scored five goals that season, as Stevenage were relegated to League Two.[60][61] Charles remained a regular during the2014–15 season, making 33 appearances and scoring three times, before a broken leg sustained in a goalless draw withBury on 10 February 2015 ended his season.[62][63] He departed the club upon the expiry of his contract in June 2015, having made 167 appearances and scored 18 goals during his five-year spell.[64]
Charles signed for newly promoted League One clubBurton Albion on a one-year contract on 19 June 2015.[65] Having failed to appear for Burton, he joined League Two club AFC Wimbledon on 17 March 2016 on loan until the end of2015–16.[66] Charles started for AFC Wimbledon as they beatPlymouth Argyle 2–0 atWembley Stadium in the2016 League Two play-off final, meaning they were promoted to League One for the first time.[67]
Charles signed for AFC Wimbledon permanently on 31 May 2016 after a successful loan spell at the club.[68] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss toScunthorpe United on 16 August 2016.[69]
Charles signed for newly promoted League One club Wycombe Wanderers on 15 June 2018 on a one-year contract.[70] He was released by Wycombe at the end of the2018–19 season,[71] before re-signing for the club on 15 August 2019 on a short-term deal until January 2020.[72] He was praised by Wycombe managerGareth Ainsworth for his attitude upon his return.[73] Charles signed a new one-and-a-half-year contract with Wycombe on 10 January 2020.[74] He played in Wycombe's 2–1 win over Oxford in the2020 League One play-off final at Wembley, as the club was promoted to the Championship for the first time.[75] He was released by Wycombe at the end of the2020–21 season.[76]
Charles re-signed for League One club AFC Wimbledon on 3 July 2021.[77] Initially signed in a player-mentoring role, he was elevated into a first team coaching role in January 2022.[78] On 29 March 2022, following the departure ofMark Robinson, Charles took temporary charge of the club as caretaker manager.[79] Charles returned to his previous roles the following day however following the appointment ofMark Bowen.[80] On 11 April 2022, Charles announced his retirement from football at the age of 34.[81]
Charles was named in theEngland national C team, who represent England atnon-League level, in May 2009, for the final of the2007–2009 International Challenge Trophy against Belgium.[82] He started the match on 19 May to make his debut as England were beaten 1–0.[83] Charles was called up to the team for a friendly against thePoland Olympic team in November 2009,[84] and started the match as England won 2–1.[85] This was the final of his twocaps for England C.[86]
Charles, who is of Grenadian descent, received a call-up to theGrenadian national team in November 2017.[87] He turned it down to focus on club football, but stated he hoped to be called up again in the future.[87] He again turned down a call-up to Grenada in October 2018, stating that he did not want to take any risks having only just recovered from an injury and was still regaining match fitness, although he again stated that would be interested in representing the country at international level in the future.[88]
Charles' preferred position iscentre-back,[36] although he can also play as a left-back, left midfielder orcentre-forward.[9][11]
Charles was born inEaling, Greater London.[89] His footballing hero when growing up wasRonaldo, and this was because he could "change any game with one bit of genius".[90] He supportsManchester United, and states that the1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United andBayern Munich was the best match he has ever watched.[90] Charles' former partner was pregnant as of July 2009.[91]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 2004–05[8] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005–06[10] | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2006–07[19] | League One | 17 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2007–08[25] | League Two | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Thurrock (loan) | 2005–06[13] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Yeading (loan) | 2005–06[13] | Conference South | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Staines Town (loan) | 2006–07[16] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Crawley Town (loan) | 2006–07[18] | Conference National | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Sutton United (loan) | 2007–08[23] | Conference South | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Ebbsfleet United (loan) | 2007–08[27] | Conference Premier | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Ebbsfleet United | 2008–09[33] | Conference Premier | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[42] | Conference Premier | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| Total | 85 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 95 | 0 | |||
| Stevenage | 2010–11[44] | League Two | 28 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 33 | 4 |
| 2011–12[49] | League One | 28 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
| 2012–13[57] | League One | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 2013–14[60] | League One | 22 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 | |
| 2014–15[62] | League Two | 29 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
| Total | 144 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 167 | 18 | ||
| Burton Albion | 2015–16[92] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AFC Wimbledon (loan) | 2015–16[92] | League Two | 9 | 0 | — | — | 3[d] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2016–17[93] | League One | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| 2017–18[94] | League One | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 84 | 2 | ||
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2018–19[95] | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2019–20[96] | League One | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21[97] | Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2021–22[98] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 74 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 86 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 397 | 18 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 455 | 23 | ||
Stevenage
AFC Wimbledon
Wycombe Wanderers
Individual
