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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enoch Olusesan Showunmi[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-04-21)21 April 1982 (age 43)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Kilburn, London, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | Luton Town | 102 | (14) |
| 2006–2008 | Bristol City | 50 | (13) |
| 2008 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Leeds United | 15 | (2) |
| 2010 | Falkirk | 21 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | Tranmere Rovers | 70 | (14) |
| 2012–2014 | Notts County | 36 | (4) |
| 2014 | →Torquay United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2014 | →Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Wealdstone | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | →Canvey Island (loan) | 23 | (5) |
| 2015 | Chalfont St Peter | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 344 | (53) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004 | Nigeria | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Enoch Olusesan ShowunmiListenⓘ(born 21 April 1982) is a former professionalfootballer who played as astriker. Born in England, he played forNigeria at international level and won twocaps for the team.
Showunmi joinedLuton Town in early September 2003 following a successful trial spell with the club that saw him feature regularly during the2003–04 pre-season against such teams asAFC Wimbledon.[citation needed] At the time of his signature Luton had a small squad due to the administrative receivership that they were under, which prevented them signing new players. Regular midfielder and captainKevin Nicholls received an injury that was to prevent him playing for three months, and Luton were able to use this injury to seek dispensation fromthe Football League to sign Showunmi.
Showunmi's debut came againstPlymouth Argyle in September 2003, and his first goal arrived in aFootball League Trophy win againstRushden & Diamonds in November. Late in the season he scored ahat-trick in a home match againstBrentford. In total he scored seven goals in 28 appearances during the 2003–04 season, which culminated with his international debut for theNigeria national team as a 71st-minute substitute in a 3–0 victory against theRepublic of Ireland atThe Valley on 30 May 2004. He was also a substitute in Nigeria's following 2–0 victory againstJamaica.
Luton's promotion season in2004–05 saw Showunmi regularly used as a "super-sub" to score six goals in 38 matches, only seven of which he started, including a late winner againstAFC Bournemouth after Luton had played most of the game with only 10 men.
In2005–06 Showunmi often played inmidfield, with moderate success, due to injuries to many midfield players at the club.
Before the2006–07 season, Showunmi moved toBristol City on aBosman transfer. He had a good start to the season, scoring in three consecutive games. However, he featured sporadically for the rest of the season due to injuries and good form from other City strikers. Despite not being a first team regular he finished the season asBristol City's second top scorer, behindPhil Jevons, with 13 goals in all competitions.
Showunmi faced strong competition for his first team place at the start of the2007–08 season, especially after fellow strikersLee Trundle andDarren Byfield signed for the club, andSteve Brooker also being in contention after returning to fitness. On 23 January 2008, he started discussing personal terms withLeague One teamLeeds United, after Leeds and Bristol City agreed terms for a permanent deal to take Showunmi toElland Road. However, Showunmi snubbed a move to theYorkshire club and stayed atAshton Gate to fight for his place in the team.[2]
However, on 31 January, he completed a move to Championship sideSheffield Wednesday on an emergencyloan until 1 March.[3] This was later extended for another month,[4] but at the start of April Showunmi decided to return to Ashton Gate in order to aid with the club's promotion push.
On 8 April the FA announced that it had charged Showunmi with "engaging the services of an individual, who was not a licensed agent or entitled to act in such a capacity, to represent him in contract negotiations withLuton Town in or around February 2004 and between November 2005 and January 2006", an allegation which involved both Bristol City and Charles Collymore.[5] The FA subsequently fined Showunmi £2,000 and Bristol City £15,000, whilst the allegations against Collymore were found not to have been proved.[6]
He was released by City at the end of the 2007–08 season along with fellow strikerDarren Byfield, midfielderAlex Russell and defenders Martin Slocombe andTamás Vaskó.
Showunmi then signed for Leeds United. He scored on his debut for the club in a league match against Scunthorpe United.[7] After this successful start to his Leeds career most of his goals for the season came in cup games, scoring twice in the League Cup against Crystal Palace[8] and Hartlepool[9] and once in the Football League Trophy against Rotherham United.[10] His second and final league goal for the club came in a 2–1 defeat at Tranmere Rovers on 6 December 2008.[11] Showunmi's last appearance of the season came after featuring as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to MK Dons the day before managerGary McAllister's departure.[12] Showunmi did not feature in any more games that season after suffering a serious blood clot in his lung.[13] Leeds managed to reach the playoff semi-finals in Showunmi's absence.
After recovering from injury, the following season Showunmi fell out of favour under new managerSimon Grayson.[14] It wasn't until the start of the 2009–10 season that Showunmi played for Leeds again. Despite being used sparingly he managed to score his sixth and final goal for the club in a League Cup tie with Darlington.[15] He was later released, having scored five goals in seven starts for the Yorkshire side.
On 14 January 2010,Scottish Premier League teamFalkirk signed Showunmi.[16] He made his debut againstCeltic. He scored his first goal in 18 matches with an acrobatic volley against Aberdeen on 20 February 2010. It helped Falkirk win the match 3–1. He was released at the end of the season after Falkirk's relegation.[17]
On 27 July 2010, Showunmi signed forTranmere Rovers.[18] He scored his first goal for Tranmere on 24 August 2010 against Swansea City in theLeague Cup with a neat finish from a tight angle.[19] He then scored his second goal for the club, his first for them in theFootball League, four days later in 2–2 draw against Dagenham & Redbridge.[20] At the end of his first season, Enoch received the Player of The Season Award, after finishing as the club's top scorer with 13 goals. In the summer of 2011, Showunmi was subject to three bids made by Notts County – £75,000, £100,000 and £125,000, all of which were rejected.
He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season.[21]
Showunmi signed withNotts County on 12 June 2012 on a free transfer,[22] scoring his first goal in a 2–1 away victory over Scunthorpe United on 4 September 2012 in the first round of the Football League Trophy.[citation needed] He scored his first league goal for the club on 22 January 2013.[23] Showunmi left the club at the end of the 2013–14 season when his contract expired.[24]
On 28 February 2014, Showunmi joinedLeague Two sideTorquay United on a one-month loan.[25]
On 27 March 2014, Showunmi joined League Two sidePlymouth Argyle on loan for the remainder of the2013–14 season.[26]
On 26 September 2014, Showunmi signed forConference South sideWealdstone. Showunmni then joinedCanvey Island on loan on 1 December 2014 in order to get more game time.[27]
In late 2016, Showunmi announced his retirement from football on his official Facebook profile.[28][non-primary source needed]
Showunmi has played twice forNigeria, with both appearances coming in 2004.[29]
Luton Town
Bristol City
Nigeria
