 Adebola pictured in 2008 while atBristol City | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bamberdele Olusegun Adebola[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-06-23)23 June 1975 (age 50)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–1992 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1998 | Crewe Alexandra | 123 | (39) |
| 1993–1994 | →Bangor City (loan)[3] | 4 | (2) |
| 1994 | →Northwich Victoria (loan)[4] | 16 | (7) |
| 1998–2002 | Birmingham City[5] | 129 | (31) |
| 2002 | →Oldham Athletic (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Crystal Palace | 39 | (5) |
| 2003–2008 | Coventry City | 163 | (31) |
| 2004 | →Burnley (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 2004 | →Bradford City (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | Bristol City | 56 | (16) |
| 2009–2011 | Nottingham Forest | 62 | (5) |
| 2011–2012 | Hull City | 10 | (0) |
| 2012 | →Notts County (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Rochdale | 26 | (6) |
| 2013 | →Wrexham (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2013 | Rushall Olympic | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bamberdele Olusegun Adebola (born 23 June 1975) is a Nigerian retiredfootballer. Including loans, he has played for 16 clubs in his career, with his longest spells atCrewe Alexandra,Birmingham City andCoventry City.
Born inLagos,Lagos State,[2] Adebola was brought up inLiverpool after arriving in England as a baby with his family; as a schoolboy, he played in the same representative sides asRobbie Fowler. When offered aYTS place byLiverpool, the team he supported, he believed that trying to progress as a fellow left-footed striker at the club at the same time as Fowler would not be a good idea. Consequently, he accepted a similar offer fromCrewe Alexandra.[6][7]
He made his first team debut in the1992–93 season in theThird Division at the age of 17, and in the following season gained experience by playing on loan atBangor City in theWelsh Premier League andConference sideNorthwich Victoria. He made a significant impact for Crewe in1996–97, his 16 goals proving crucial in the club's promotion to theFirst Division.
He soon proved himself capable of scoring goals at that level, and attracted interest from several bigger clubs.[8] Disappointed when Crewe rejected an offer for him fromWest Ham United, he made it clear to the club that he wanted to leave, and reluctantly the club made him available for transfer.[9] In February 1998, Adebola was signed by managerTrevor Francis for fellow First Division clubBirmingham City for a fee of £1 million.
With seven goals in the remainder of that season, and scoring in each of his first five matches (in all competitions) in1998–99, his future at Birmingham looked bright. In his first full season he scored 13 goals, but in1999–2000 he was less productive, fell out of favour, and at the end of the season was put on the transfer list.Las Palmas, newly promoted toLa Liga, announced that they had signed him,[10] only for the move to fall through on medical grounds.[11]
Though remaining on the transfer list, he was restored to the first team, and his goals helped Birmingham to reach the2001 Football League Cup Final.[11] The manager said he kept him on the transfer list in order to provoke him into the sort of performance commensurate with his power, pace and technical ability but which his "laid-back" character might otherwise inhibit.[12]
A serious knee injury, sustained later that season when the player slid into a goalpost,[13] effectively marked the end of his Birmingham career. A spell on loan atOldham Athletic towards the end of the2001–02 season helped him back to fitness, but new managerSteve Bruce chose not to renew his contract.
In August 2002, Adebola signed a one-year contract withCrystal Palace, after impressing former manager Trevor Francis in a trial.[14] He played one season at the club, where he proved his fitness, making 48 appearances in all competitions.
Again released at the end of that season,Gary McAllister took him toCoventry City, where he initially failed to find any form, finishing the season out on loan toBurnley, ironically a club that had been keen to buy him before his injury.[13][15] At Burnley he scored once in three appearances, his goal coming against Watford.[16]
Another loan spell followed, this time atBradford City for whom he scored three goals.[17] It was only when recalled to the Coventry side on a regular basis in2004–05, first underPeter Reid and particularly underMicky Adams, playing with the likes ofStern John andGary McSheffrey, that his form picked up.
On 30 January 2008, Adebola signed an 18-month contract withBristol City, moving for an undisclosed fee,[18] despite Coventry wanting to renew his deal, which was due to end in the summer. Adebola made his debut on 2 February in a 3–0 defeat away toQueens Park Rangers,[19] and scored in just seven minutes on his home debut to help City defeatSheffield Wednesday 2–1.[20] His performances in the2008–09 season, during which he scored 10 goals from 42 appearances, earned him the club's Player of the Year award.[21] The player rejected the club's offer of a year's extension to his contract, claiming he had been offered a two-year deal elsewhere.[21]
It was announced on 30 June 2009 that Adebola had signed a two-year contract withNottingham Forest. He joined them on a free transfer after rejecting a one-year deal at Bristol City. Adebola struggled to hold down a regular place in the Forest side in the 2009–10 season. He was mainly restricted to substitute appearances, finding himself belowDexter Blackstock andRobert Earnshaw in the pecking order, but he did manage to force his way into the Forest team, particularly away from home, towards the end of the season. He scored a late consolation goal for Forest in the play-off semi-final second leg againstBlackpool.
He entered contract negotiations withHull City at the end of the 2010–11 season. On 29 June it was confirmed that Adebola signed a one-year contract.[22] He made his debut in the first game of the season on 5 August 2011 at theKC Stadium in the 1–0 defeat toBlackpool.[23] On 20 March 2012, Adebola joinedLeague One clubNotts County on loan for the remainder of the season.[24] He made six league appearances and scored once,[25] an 89th-minute equaliser in a 4–3 win away atWycombe Wanderers.[26]
On 7 August 2012, Adebola signed a one-year deal with League Two clubRochdale.[27] Under managerJohn Coleman, Adebola made 26 league appearances for Rochdale, but whenKeith Hill took over as manager after the sacking of Coleman, Hill made it clear he wanted to let Adebola leave the club.
In February 2013, Adebola signed on loan forConference leadersWrexham, subject to international clearance.[28] On 2 March, he made his debut in a 1–1 draw in a Conference match atThe Racecourse againstAlfreton Town. Adebola made 13 appearances for Wrexham, scoring twice, againstLincoln City andEbbsfleet United. His last appearance for Wrexham was as an 88th-minute substitute, replacingJay Harris, atWembley Stadium in theConference play-off final againstNewport County. Wrexham lost 2–0, condemning them to a sixth season innon-league football. On his return to Rochdale, he was released.
Adebola signed for non-leagueRushall Olympic in August 2013.[29]
As of 2024, Adebola plays for local side Leamington Veterans, alongside his fellow former Coventry playerDavid Busst.[30]
In March 1998 newNorthern Ireland managerLawrie McMenemy, on discovering Adebola to be a British citizen born abroad and therefore eligible to play for any of the home countries, selected him for his first match in charge, a friendly against Slovakia.[31] Adebola had to withdraw due to injury, but did express an interest in playing for the country.[32] He was also selected inNigeria's provisional squad for the1998 World Cup, but failed to make the cut.[33]
Both Northern Ireland and Nigeria continued their pursuit of the player; in October 1998 McMenemy reported that Adebola was unwilling to play for Nigeria, and did not want to commit to Northern Ireland because he had his sights set on playing forEngland.[34] In March 1999, McMenemy made a final abortive attempt to persuade him to play for Northern Ireland.[35] Despite his lack of form at club level, he was still sufficiently highly rated by the Nigerian selectors to be included in the preliminary squad for the2000 African Cup of Nations[36] and, following talks with coachJo Bonfrere, in the squad for a World Cup qualifier in July 2000.[37] However, he did not accept any of these invitations.
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2014) |
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 1994–95 | Crewe Alexandra | Second Division | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 8 |
| 1995–96 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 11 | ||
| 1996–97 | 35 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 18 | ||
| 1997–98 | First Division | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 7 | |
| Birmingham City | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | ||
| 1998–99 | 41 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 17 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 49 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 40 | 12 | ||
| 2001–02 | Oldham Athletic (loan) | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | Crystal Palace | First Division | 39 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 48 | 7 |
| 2003–04 | Coventry City | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 3 | |
| Burnley (loan) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2004–05 | Bradford City (loan) | Championship | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| Coventry City | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | 44 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 12 | ||
| 2006–07 | 40 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 9 | ||
| 2007–08 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 6 | ||
| Bristol City | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09 | 39 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 10 | ||
| 2009–10 | Nottingham Forest | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | Hull City | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | England | 611 | 133 | 33 | 8 | 37 | 15 | 681 | 156 | |
| Career total | 611 | 133 | 33 | 8 | 37 | 15 | 681 | 156 | ||
Crewe Alexandra
Birmingham City
