Liam Bridcutt

Liam Bridcutt

Bridcutt playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Liam Robert Bridcutt[1]
Date of birth	8 May 1989[1]
Place of birth	Reading, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Leeds United (on loan from Sunderland)
Number	26
Youth career
000–2007	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2007–2010	Chelsea	0	(0)
2008	→ Yeovil Town (loan)	9	(0)
2008–2009	→ Watford (loan)	6	(0)
2009–2010	→ Stockport County (loan)	15	(0)
2010–2014	Brighton & Hove Albion	132	(7)
2014–	Sunderland	30	(0)
2015–	→ Leeds United (loan)	23	(0)
National team^‡
2013–	Scotland	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:23, 24 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:17, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

Liam Robert Bridcutt (born 8 May 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder on loan at Leeds United from Sunderland. He is a former Brighton & Hove Albion player. He is also a Scotland international.

Club career

Chelsea

Born in Reading, Berkshire,^[1] Bridcutt rose through the youth system at Chelsea, and signed a professional contract in the summer of 2007.^[2] He signed on loan for Yeovil Town on 8 February 2008^[3] and made his début against Walsall the following day.^[4] He then moved to Watford on loan on 27 November 2008,^[5] making his début for the club against Doncaster Rovers on 29 November 2008.

On 14 August 2009, Liam moved to Stockport County on loan until January 2010^[6] and was sent off on his début in the 4–2 win at Brighton & Hove Albion. He scored his first professional goal whilst at Stockport during a Football League Trophy game against Port Vale.^[7]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 28 August 2010, Bridcutt signed a five-month contract with League One side Brighton & Hove Albion. On 5 November 2010, he signed a contract extension until the end of the season after impressing Gus Poyet especially against Plymouth Argyle and Peterborough United. Bridcutt scored his first goal in Albion colours in stoppage time of their 4–3 win over Carlisle United.^[8] He followed this up with one of the goals in the 4–3 victory against Dagenham & Redbridge which led to Brighton's promotion to the Championship.

Bridcutt's consistent performances in the 2011–12 Championship campaign earned him Brighton's Player of the Season award. Bridcutt's performances in the following 2012–13 Championship campaign earned him his second successive Player of the Season award, becoming the first Brighton player to achieve back-to-back Player of the Season awards since Bobby Zamora.^[9]

Sunderland

On 30 January 2014, after weeks of speculation and a transfer request which was subsequently rejected by Brighton,^[10] Bridcutt signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Sunderland, reuniting him with former Brighton head coach Gus Poyet.

Bridcutt signed for an undisclosed fee, believed to be between 3 million and 4 million pounds,^[11] and made his Sunderland début in the Tyne–Wear derby in a 3–0 victory over Newcastle United at St James' Park on 1 February.^[12]

Leeds United (loan)

Bridcutt moved on loan to Leeds United in November 2015.^[13] In January 2016, Bridcutt's loan was extended until the end of the 2015/16 season.

Despite only being at the club for less than a season, On 19 April, Bridcutt was nominated for the Leeds United player of the year award, alongside Charlie Taylor, Gaetano Berardi, Mirco Antenucci and Lewis Cook.^[14] The award was won by Taylor on 30 April.^[15]

International career

Bridcutt qualifies to play for Scotland through his Edinburgh-born grandfather.^[16] On 7 March 2013, Bridcutt was named in Gordon Strachan's Scotland squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Wales and Serbia.^[17] He gained his first Scotland cap in the game versus Serbia on 26 March 2013.^[18]

After regaining his form whilst at Leeds United, Bridcutt regained his place in the Scotland squad on 10 March 2016 for a friendly against Denmark. He was called up alongside teammate Liam Cooper who made the squad for the first time. ^[19] On 29 March 2016, Bridcutt played against Denmark in a 1-0 victory, and was subject to criticism from Denmark Manager Age Hareide for a ferocious challenge on Denmark defender Erik Sviatchenko which only earned Bricutt a yellow card.^[20]

Career statistics

As of 3 June 2015.^[21]

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chelsea	2007–08	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yeovil Town (loan)	2007–08	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Watford (loan)	2008–09	6	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
Stockport County (loan)	2009–10	15	0	2	0	0	0	2	1	19	1
Brighton & Hove Albion	2010–11	37	2	6	0	0	0	1	0	44	2
	2011–12	43	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	49	0
	2012–13	41	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	46	0
	2013–14	11	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	12	0
Brighton & Hove Albion total		132	2	11	0	5	0	3	0	152	2
Sunderland	2013–14	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
	2014–15	18	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	24	0
Sunderland total		30	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	36	0
Career total		185	2	19	0	8	0	5	1	227	3

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Player Profiles". Chelsea FC. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
3. "Glovers land young Chelsea starlet". Eurosport. Yahoo. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
4. Sowden, Steve (11 February 2008). "Yeovil Town are going through a transition". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
5. "New Man on Loan!". Watford FC. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
6. "Hatters capture Bridcutt". Sky Sports. BSkyB. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
7. "Port Vale 3 – 1 Stockport". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
8. "Former Chelsea Midfielder Signs". seagulls.co.uk. Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
9. "Bridcutt Named Player of the Year". SeaGulls.co.uk. Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
10. "Brighton reject Bridcutt transfer request as Sunderland bid £2.5m for midfielder". Daily Mail. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
11. "Transfer Deadline Day: Brighton's Liam Bridcutt joins Sunderland". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
12. "Newcastle 0–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
13. Hunter, James (26 November 2015). "Sunderland's Liam Bridcutt could stay at Leeds for the rest of the season, says Steve Evans". Newcastle Chronicle. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
14. "PLAYER OF THE YEAR: TOP 5 VOTE!". Leeds United Official site. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
15. "TAYLOR CROWNED PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Leeds United Official site. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
16. "Brighton: Liam Bridcutt delighted at first Scotland call-up". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
17. "Poyet welcomes Bridcutt call-up". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
18. Liam Bridcutt at scottishfa.co.uk
19. "Scotland: Six new call-ups for Czech Republic and Denmark friendlies". BBC Sport (BBC). 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
20. "Liam Bridcutt tackle: 'That's Scottish football', says Erik Sviatchenko". BBC Sport (BBC). 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
21. Liam Bridcutt career statistics at Soccerbase

External links

• Liam Bridcutt career statistics at Soccerbase
• Liam Bridcutt at National-Football-Teams.com