 Best playing forBrighton & Hove Albion in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Julian Brendan Best[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-09-19)19 September 1986 (age 39) | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Notts County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Southampton | 15 | (4) |
| 2004–2005 | →Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2005 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| 2006 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2006 | →AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | →Yeovil Town (loan) | 15 | (10) |
| 2007–2010 | Coventry City | 92 | (19) |
| 2010–2012 | Newcastle United | 42 | (10) |
| 2012–2015 | Blackburn Rovers | 14 | (2) |
| 2014 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| 2014–2015 | →Derby County (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2015 | →Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Rotherham United | 16 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | Ipswich Town | 11 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Charlton Athletic | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 286 | (58) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2002 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 1 | (1) |
| 2008 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Republic of Ireland | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:25, 1 January 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:17, 10 March 2016 (UTC) | |||
Leon Julian Brendan Best (born 19 September 1986) is a retired professionalfootballer who played as astriker. He has played for theRepublic of Ireland national football team. Best represented Ireland atunder-21 level and won his first full international cap againstNigeria on 29 May 2009.
Best had a youth career atNotts County. His first professional club was then Premier League clubSouthampton. He has also played forCoventry City andNewcastle United before his 2012 move toBlackburn Rovers, where he remained for three years before leaving by mutual consent. He has since taken up short spells withRotherham United,Ipswich Town andCharlton Athletic.
Best was born on 19 September 1986 inNottingham, England. He opted to play football for his mother's country, Ireland, while in his teens.[3]
As a young player, Best started his career atNotts County before being signed as a trainee by thenPremier League clubSouthampton. He made his professional debut againstNewcastle United on his 18th birthday in 2004. A loan spell atQueens Park Rangers followed later in the2004–05 season.
He was a member of Southampton's youth team that reached the final of theFA Youth Cup in 2005, losing on aggregate toIpswich Town.
Best also had two loan spells atSheffield Wednesday in the2005–06 season, scoring his first professional goal and Wednesday's first of the season on 9 August 2005 atHillsborough againstHull City. The first loan spell was cut short in the same match when Best broke his foot and returned toSt. Mary's after only 5 days inSheffield. After recovering with Southampton, Best then returned to Hillsborough at the end of the January transfer window (though there was also speculation he would go toCrystal Palace) where he remained until the end of the season, scoring Wednesday's last goal of the season atDerby County on 30 April 2006.
On 3 August 2006 Best joinedFootball League One clubAFC Bournemouth on a month-long loan deal with an option to extend his stay.[4] He returned to Southampton at the end of October at the end of the maximum 3-month loan spell, having made 15 league appearances, scoring 3 goals.
On 23 November 2006, he joined his teammateMartin Cranie on loan toYeovil Town until 22 February 2007.[5]
After his loan spells, Best returned to play a role in Southampton's qualification for theChampionshipplay-offs, where they facedDerby County. He came on as a substitute in the first leg at St Marys, which Southampton lost 2–1. In the second leg Best started alongside on-loan strikerMarek Saganowski. The game ended in a tie on aggregate, with Best scoring anown goal which levelled the score at 2–2 on the night. Southampton lost 4–3 in the ensuingpenalty shootout, with Best missing the opening penalty.[6]
On 5 July 2007, he joinedCoventry City[7] for a fee of £650,000 decided by a tribunal,[8] with the fee increasing were Coventry to gain promotion to the Premiership by 2010. Following a cheekbone fracture at the end of 2008, Best took his place in the team wearing a protective mask. His return led him scoring three goals in successive matches and consequently gaining a reputation for wearing a "Besty" mask, even after he had recovered from his injury and earning the nickname "Zorro".[9] His distinctive mask became somewhat of a talisman for Coventry City fans, many of whom took to wearing similar masks in the stands as a tribute to Best.[10] On 3 October 2009 he was named Championship Player of the Month for September.
He signed forNewcastle United on 1 February 2010 for a fee of £1,500,000 on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[11][12] Best made his debut againstCardiff City atSt James' Park on 5 February 2010. Best failed to make an impact in his first season at Newcastle as he failed to find a goal and was put behind on form strike duoAndy Carroll andPeter Løvenkrands.
Best netted his first goal for Newcastle in a pre-season friendly againstCarlisle United on 17 July 2010,[13] followed by his second goal for the club in the pre-seasonSir Bobby Robson tribute match againstPSV Eindhoven on 31 July 2010.[14] However Best then received acruciate injury during pre-season causing him to miss the first few months of the 2010–11 season.[citation needed]He was back in light training by the end of September and was on the bench for Newcastle's 1–1 draw withChelsea on 28 November, but did not make an appearance. He made his comeback in Newcastle's 1–0 victory againstWigan Athletic on 2 January 2011, appearing as a late substitute forShola Ameobi.[15] Best made his firstPremier League start for Newcastle in a home 5–0 win againstWest Ham United on 5 January 2011, scoring ahat-trick in the process, his first league goals for the club.[16] He was injured prior to theStoke away game on 19 March and was ruled out until the end of the season. However, Best had scored six goals in 10 starts.
On 28 August 2011, he scored two goals againstFulham to give Newcastle a 2–1 victory followed by the equalizer in the 1–1 draw withAston Villa, extending the Magpies unbeaten run to eight games in the EnglishPremier League.[citation needed]
Best then ended a run of 12 games without a goal by scoring the winner in Newcastle's 1–0 win overQueens Park Rangers.[17]
On 2 July 2012, Best signed forBlackburn Rovers on a four-year contract for a fee of more than £3 million.[18][19] Less than a month after signing for Blackburn Rovers, he suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligaments, ruling him out for at least six months.[20]
Best scored his first league goal in the 89th minute, when he volleyed in aChris Taylor cross for Blackburn when he came on as a first-half substitute for the injuredRuben Rochina in a 1–1 draw withDerby County atPride Park on 4 August 2013.[21]
Best was released by Rovers on 8 July 2015 by mutual consent.[22]
On 14 February 2014, he was loaned out by Rovers to theirSkyBet Championship rivalsSheffield Wednesday, this was to be his third spell with theYorkshire club having previously been on loan atHillsborough in 2005 and 2006. He scored his first goal in his third spell at the club in a 2–1FA Cup defeat toCharlton Athletic on 24 February 2014.[23] On 14 March 2014, Best extended his loan with theOwls until the end of the2013–14 season.[24] Best scored his first league goal of his third spell with the owls on 15 March 2014, helping with a 4–1 victory over Birmingham City.
On 4 August 2014, Best was sent toDerby County on a season-long loan.[25] He returned to Blackburn at the end of his loan spell with Derby before joiningBrighton & Hove Albion on loan. He made thirteen appearances without scoring for Brighton before returning to Blackburn.[26]
Best joinedRotherham United on 16 November 2015 until the end of the season.[27]
On 12 March 2016, Best led an astonishing fight back against promotion chasingDerby County atNew York Stadium. Coming on as a second-half substitute with his team losing 3–0, he saw his teammateDanny Ward score in the 82nd minute then scored two goals in the 88th and 90th minutes.[28] On 3 June 2016, Best left the club, having failed to agree terms on a new contract.[29]
Best joinedIpswich Town on 30 August 2016 on a one-year contract, as a replacement for the outgoingDaryl Murphy.[30] He struggled to keep his place in the team, and following his performance on 17 January 2017 in anFA Cup tie against non-leagueLincoln City, where Ipswich were beaten 1–0,[31]Mick McCarthy stated that Best would never play for Ipswich Town again. "I told him after the Lincoln game that he is not part of my plans here. He's still with us and may have to have something done with his groin. We will see but he won't be playing for us."[32]
He was released by Ipswich Town at the end of the 2016–17 season. He made just 12 appearances and scored no goals.[33]
On 28 November 2017,Charlton Athletic announced the signing of Best on a two-month contract.[34] He made 5 appearances for Charlton, with it being cut short due to a knee injury sustained on New Year's Day. He was released in January after his contract expired, although he remained at the club so he could recover from his injury.[35] He has been without a club since.
Best qualifies to play for theRepublic of Ireland through his mother, who is fromBluebell, Dublin. He also lived in Dublin from the age of seven. He played for Lourdes Celtic before returning to Nottingham.[36]
Having already represented the Republic of Ireland firstly atunder-17 level in 2002 and later atunder-21 level in 2008, Best was called up to theRepublic of Ireland senior squad for the first time for the games againstNigeria and then the2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstBulgaria in May 2009.[37] He made his debut on 29 May against Nigeria in a match that finished in a 1–1 draw.[38]
Best's sister had a baby withJamaica international footballer,Wes Morgan.[39]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Southampton | 2004–05 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Championship | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 11 | 4 | |
| Total | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 4 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2004–05 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2005–06 | Championship | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | |
| AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 2006–07 | League One | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2006–07 | League One | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 |
| Coventry City | 2007–08 | Championship | 34 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 40 | 9 | |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 31 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Championship | 27 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 10 | ||
| Total | 92 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 104 | 23 | |||
| Newcastle United | 2009–10 | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 4 | ||
| Total | 42 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 10 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2012–13 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2013–14 | Championship | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | |
| Derby County (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| Rotherham United | 2015–16 | Championship | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 4 | |
| Ipswich Town | 2016–17 | Championship | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 2017–18 | League One | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Career total | 286 | 58 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 319 | 63 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2009 | 6 | 0 |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
Newcastle United
Individual
