Anthony Straker

Anthony Straker

Straker playing for York City in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Anthony Othneal Straker[1]
Date of birth	23 September 1988[1]
Place of birth	Ealing, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position	Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Grimsby Town
Number	33
Youth career
0000–2007	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2007–2012	Aldershot Town	194	(6)
2011	→ Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	4	(0)
2012–2014	Southend United	67	(2)
2014–2016	York City	23	(0)
2015	→ Motherwell (loan)	12	(0)
2016–	Grimsby Town	2	(0)
National team^‡
2005–2006	England U18	2	(0)
2011–	Grenada	10	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:55, 28 February 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:55, 28 February 2016 (UTC)

Anthony Othneal Straker (born 23 September 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or a midfielder for National League club Grimsby Town.

Club career

Born in Ealing, London, Straker started his career as a youth player at Crystal Palace and was a trainee with the club.^[1] He went on trial with League One club club Yeovil Town during March 2007 before being released by Palace.^[2][3]

Straker signed a one-year contract with Conference Premier team Aldershot Town on 6 August 2007, after a successful pre-season trial.^[1][4] After impressing in the first half of the season, Straker signed a contract extension in February 2008, keeping him at Aldershot Town until the summer of 2010.^[5] That season, he was a member of the Shots side that won the Conference League Cup and the Conference Premier title.^[6] During the January transfer window of 2011, Straker completed a one-month loan deal with Wycombe Wanderers.

On 2 July 2012 Straker moved to Southend United, signing a two-year contract. Aldershot were entitled to a fee for his transfer as he was under the age of 23. This was agreed to be £17,500 plus add ons.

Straker signed for League Two side York City on a two-year contract on 12 June 2014 after rejecting a new deal with Southend.^[7] He made his debut in York's 1–1 away draw with Tranmere Rovers in the opening match of the 2014–15 season on 9 August 2014.^[8]

Having played infrequently for York under Russ Wilcox, Straker moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell until the end of the 2014–15 season on 29 January 2015.^[9] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at home to St Johnstone two days later.^[8] He made 13 appearances before returning to York.^[8] Straker left the club by mutual consent on 22 January 2016.^[10]

On 12 February 2016, Straker signed for National League club Grimsby Town on a contract until the end of 2015–16, after a successful trial.^[11]

International career

Straker made his debut for the England national under-18 team in a 1–0 away defeat to Turkey in a friendly on 17 November 2005, and he was substituted for Chris Riley in the 77th minute.^[12] He gained one more cap, playing in a 2–1 home win over Slovenia in another friendly on 17 April 2006, being substituted for Adam Watts at half-time.^[12] In January 2008, Straker was called up to the Barbados national team for the upcoming CONCACAF First Round qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Dominica, though he did not play in the game.^[13][14]

In May 2011, he was called up for the Grenada national team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[15] Straker played in two pre-tournament friendlies, including his debut in a 2–2 home draw with Antigua and Barbuda on 27 May 2011.^[16] He made his competitive debut for Grenada in their first game in the Gold Cup, a 4–0 loss to Jamaica at the Home Depot Center on 6 June 2011.^[16] Straker played in their two remaining group stage fixtures, a 7–1 defeat to Honduras at the FIU Stadium on 10 June 2011 and a 4–0 defeat to Guatemala at the Red Bull Arena on 13 June.^[16] He played in Grenada's three 2012 Caribbean Cup second round qualification matches, although they missed out on qualifying for the tournament after finishing in third place in their group on goal difference.^[16][17] He scored his first international goal with a 33rd-minute penalty kick in Grenada's 3–1 home defeat to Haiti in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 4 September 2015.^[18][19]

Style of play

Straker primarily plays as a left winger,^[20] having been converted from playing at left back during the 2009–10 season.^[4]

Career statistics

Straker playing for York City in 2014

Club

As of match played 20 February 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aldershot Town	2007–08[6]	Conference Premier	43	0	3	0	—		10[lower-alpha 1]	1	56	1
	2008–09[21]	League Two	32	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	35	0
	2009–10[22]	League Two	37	2	3	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	43	2
	2010–11[23]	League Two	38	2	3	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	44	2
	2011–12[24]	League Two	44	2	3	0	3	0	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	51	2
	Total		194	6	15	0	4	0	16	1	229	7
Wycombe Wanderers (loan)	2010–11[23]	League Two	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Southend United	2012–13[25]	League Two	28	0	1	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 3]	0	34	0
	2013–14[26]	League Two	39	2	4	3	1	0	3[lower-alpha 4]	1	47	6
	Total		67	2	5	3	2	0	7	1	81	6
York City	2014–15[8]	League Two	12	0	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	14	0
	2015–16[27]	League Two	11	0	0	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	13	0
	Total		23	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	27	0
Motherwell (loan)	2014–15[8]	Scottish Premiership	12	0	—		—		1[lower-alpha 5]	0	13	0
Grimsby Town	2015–16[28]	National League	2	0	—		—		0	0	2	0
Career total			302	8	20	3	7	0	27	2	356	13

1. Six appearances in FA Trophy, four appearances and one goal in Conference League Cup
2. One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in League Two play-offs
3. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
4. One appearance in Football League Trophy, two appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs
5. Appearance in Scottish Premiership play-offs

International

As of match played 8 September 2015.^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Grenada	2011	5	0
	2012	3	0
	2015	2	1
Total		10	1

International goals

As of match played 4 September 2015. Grenada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Straker goal.^[18]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1	4 September 2015	Grenada National Stadium, St. George's, Grenada	9	Haiti	1–1	1–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification	[19]

Honours

Aldershot Town

• Conference Premier: 2007–08^[1]
• Conference League Cup: 2007–08

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 394. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Anthony Straker: Player Profile". Ciderspace. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
3. Chapman, Dan. "Compensation for players under 24; a mystery?". Full Contact. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
4. "Aldershot Town profile". Aldershot Town F.C. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
5. "Chairman Confirms Trio of Signings". Aldershot Town F.C. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
6. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2008). Non-League Club Directory 2009. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 170–171. ISBN 9-781869-833596.
7. "York City sign Southend United winger Anthony Straker". BBC Sport. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
8. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
9. Flett, Dave (29 January 2015). "Updated: Anthony Straker cannot be recalled from loan spell at Motherwell until the end of the season". The Press (York). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
10. Flett, Dave (22 January 2016). "Updated: Anthony Straker follows Marvin McCoy out of York City exit door with Eddie Nolan and John McCombe set to be next". The Press (York). Retrieved 22 January 2016.
11. "Grimsby Town transfer news: Mariners sign Straker". Grimsby Telegraph. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
12. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2006). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2006–2007. Headline Publishing Group. p. 982. ISBN 978-0-7553-1525-3.
13. "Shots duo earn international call". BBC Sport. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
14. "Dominica 1–1 Barbados". Caribbean Football Database. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
15. "Strakes international call up". Aldershot Town F.C. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
16. "Anthony Straker". Caribbean Football Database. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
17. Lugo, Erik Francisco (4 January 2013). "Caribbean Championship 2012". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
18. "Straker, Anthony". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
19. "Grenada 1–3 Haiti". FIFA. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
20. Carroll, Steve (12 June 2014). "New signing Anthony Straker says York City deal was too good to refuse". The Press (York). Retrieved 13 June 2014.
21. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
22. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
23. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
24. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
25. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
26. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
27. "Games played by Anthony Straker in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
28. "A. Straker". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

External links

• Anthony Straker career statistics at Soccerbase