Chris Brunt

Chris Brunt

Brunt playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2006
Personal information
Full name Christopher Brunt[1]
Date of birth (1984-12-14) 14 December 1984[1]
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position Left Winger / Attacking Midfielder / Left Back
Club information
Current team
 West Bromwich Albion
Number 11
Youth career
0000–2002 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2004 Middlesbrough 0 (0)
2004 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 6 (2)
2004–2007 Sheffield Wednesday 134 (21)
2007– West Bromwich Albion 286 (39)
National team‡
2002–2003 Northern Ireland U19 8 (3)
2005–2006 Northern Ireland U21 2 (1)
2005 Northern Ireland U23 1 (0)
2004– Northern Ireland 54 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:59, 4 March 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:59, 4 March 2016 (UTC)

Christopher "Chris" Brunt (born 14 December 1984) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for and is the vice-captain of Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. He plays as a left winger, as an attacking midfielder or left back. He has also played in the Football League for Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, and has appeared for Northern Ireland at youth and full international levels.

Early life

Brunt was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he attended Newtownbreda Primary School. His father Colin was a talented rugby union player. He then went on to study at Wellington College, a grammar school in Belfast. As a youth player he appeared for Saint Andrews Boys Club.[3]

Club career

Middlesbrough

Brunt had trials with professional teams Rangers and Middlesbrough, eventually signing for Middlesbrough, but he failed to break into the first team.

Sheffield Wednesday

He moved to Sheffield Wednesday in March 2004 on an initial short-term deal. A permanent free transfer followed soon after as Brunt signed a two-year contract at Wednesday.[4] In 2004–05, his first full season at the club, Brunt helped Wednesday achieve promotion to the Championship by scoring five goals. In July 2005 he agreed a one-year extension to his existing contract.[5]

He went on to hit seven goals the following season, finishing the campaign as the club's top goalscorer. During the 2006–07 campaign Brunt passed the 100 appearance mark for Wednesday, making him the club's most experienced player at the time. His impressive displays during the 2006–07 season Brunt linked with a move away from Hillsborough. With only one year remaining on his contract, negotiations between Brunt and Wednesday broke down in July 2007, due to what the club described as 'excessive wage demands'.[6]

West Bromwich Albion

Brunt playing for West Bromwich Albion in 2015

West Bromwich Albion had a bid accepted for Brunt on 14 August 2007.[7] They completed the signing the next day, in a £3 million four-year deal, which included £500,000 of performance-related add-ons.[8] Brunt made his Albion debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home win over Barnsley on 1 September 2007.[9] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 victory away at Scunthorpe United on 22 September 2007.[10] Brunt's performance in the 3–0 home win against Plymouth Argyle on 1 March 2008 saw him named in the Championship Team of the Week.[11] On 28 April 2008 Brunt scored a late equalising goal against Southampton in a 1–1 draw; this effectively secured Albion's promotion to the Premier League because of their superior goal difference.[12] He went on to score the free-kick in West Brom's 2–0 win over QPR that sealed automatic promotion.[13] Brunt was the club's top scorer in the 2008–09 season, scoring eight goals. Following the club's relegation, Brunt then signed a new three-year deal at the club. In the 2009/10 season, he once again helped the club reach the highest tier of English football, scoring the second goal in a 3–2 win over Doncaster, which sealed the club's Premier League status. In January 2011 Brunt was made the stand-in captain of West Bromwich Albion as the manager decided to drop old club captain Scott Carson. When the new manager came in February 2011, he confirmed that he had made Brunt the permanent captain for the club. Brunt has continued his Captaincy at WBA since the new head coach was appointed after Roy Hodgson left to manage the English national team.

Brunt continued his role as West Bromwich Albion captain in the 2012/2013 and helped the team secure an 8th-place finish, the highest the club has finished in the Premier League era, while also helping to secure the record amount of points for the club (48). He scored twice in the season, his first a strike from 30 yards away at QPR which Albion won 2–1 and the second a finish from the edge of the box at home to Aston Villa which got Albion back into the game at 1–2, the final score being 2–2.

On 18 May 2015 Brunt was hit in the head by a ball kicked by Cesc Fabregas in a match with Chelsea which resulted in the sending off of the latter. [14]

International career

Brunt is a current international for the Northern Ireland national team. He scored his first goal for his country in February 2009, when his free-kick helped Northern Ireland to a 3–0 victory over San Marino.

In April 2012 it was revealed that Brunt was in manager Stuart Pearce's provisional squad for the 2012 Olympic Great Britain football team. He was in the end not selected in the final 18-man squad for the Games.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 February 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sheffield Wednesday 2003–04[15] Second Division 92———92
2004–05[16] League One 42410204[lower-alpha 1]1495
2005–06[17] Championship 4471020—477
2006–07[18] Championship 44102010—4710
2007–08[19] Championship 10———10
Total 1402340504115324
West Bromwich Albion 2007–08[19] Championship 3446110—415
2008–09[20] Premier League 3493010—389
2009–10[21] Championship40133000—4313
2010–11[22] Premier League 3441000—354
2011–12[23] Premier League 2920011—303
2012–13[24] Premier League 3121011—333
2013–14[25] Premier League 2830010—293
2014–15[26] Premier League 3424110—393
2015–16[27] Premier League 2203010—260
Total 2863921272—31443
Career total 426622521224146767
  1. ↑ One appearance in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in League One play-offs

International

As of match played 11 October 2015.[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 200410
200550
200610
200790
200850
200951
201050
201150
201240
201350
201430
201560
Total541

International goals

As of match played 11 February 2009. Northern Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brunt goal.[28]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1 11 February 2009San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino22 San Marino3–03–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification[29]

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday

West Bromwich Albion

Individual

Personal life

Brunt became a father for the first time on 1 May 2008, when his wife Cathy gave birth to a baby boy named Charlie. The couple then welcomed a second child, Zach David Brunt, on 18 April 2011. Chris is a cousin of ice hockey player Shawn Thornton.[31][32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "W.B.A Profile Chris Brunt". West Bromwich Albion F.C. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "My Inspirations: Chris Brunt". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Brunt agrees to Owls move". BBC Sport website. 2004-04-21. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  5. ↑ "Brunt extends stay at Sheff Wed". BBC Sport website. 2005-07-04. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  6. ↑ "Owls call off Brunt negotiations". BBC Sport. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  7. ↑ Owls accept Brunt bid
  8. ↑ West Brom complete £3m Brunt deal
  9. ↑ "WBA vs Barnsley". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  10. ↑ "Scunthorpe vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  11. ↑ "Coca-Cola Championship Team Of The Week (03/03/2008)" (pdf). The Football League. 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  12. ↑ Bevan, Chris (2008-04-28). "West Brom 1–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  13. ↑ "Chris Brunt strike secures title for West Brom" Telegraph
  14. ↑ "Cesc Fabregas' moment of madness and five other bizarre Premier League red cards". Telegraph.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  22. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  23. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  24. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  25. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  27. ↑ "Games played by Chris Brunt in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Brunt, Chris". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  29. ↑ "San Marino 0–3 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "C. Brunt". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Brunt wants winner's medal". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  32. ↑ "Brunt: "We did it for the fans"". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-05-05.

External links

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