Adam Eckersley (footballer)
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Adam James Eckersley | ||
Date of birth | 7 September 1985 | ||
Place of birth | Worsley, England[1] | ||
Height | Script error: No such module "person height". | ||
Position(s) | Left-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team
|
Hibernian | ||
Number | 25 | ||
Youth career | |||
2002–2004 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2008 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
2006 | → Royal Antwerp (loan) | 16 | (1) |
2006 | → Brøndby (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2007 | → Barnsley (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2007 | → Port Vale (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2008 | Port Vale | 16 | (1) |
2008–2010 | Horsens | 40 | (2) |
2010–2014 | AGF Aarhus | 75 | (5) |
2014–2015 | Hearts | 24 | (2) |
2015– | Hibernian | 0 | (0) |
International career | |||
2001 | England U16 | 3 | (0) |
2001 | England U17 | 1 | (0) |
2003 | England U18 | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2015 |
Adam James Eckersley (born 7 September 1985) is an English footballer, who plays primarily as a full-back for Scottish club Hibernian. He is the older brother of fellow professional footballer Richard Eckersley.
He started his career with Manchester United in 2004, but failed to break into the first team in his four years there and was loaned out to Royal Antwerp, Brøndby, Barnsley and Port Vale, before joining Port Vale permanently in 2008. Later that year, he transferred to Danish club Horsens. In 2010, he moved on to AGF Aarhus. He won the Danish 1st Division championship with both clubs, in 2009–10 and then in 2010–11. In 2014, he moved to Hearts, and helped the club to win the Scottish Championship in 2014–15.
He also played for England at U16, U17, and U18 level.
Contents
Playing career
Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Eckersley first joined Manchester United as a nine-year-old, and signed his first contract with the club in 2002. He became a professional in July 2004[2] and was a member of the United reserve team that won the quadruple in 2005. He made his senior team debut in the League Cup on 26 October 2005, starting at left back in the 4–1 home win over Barnet.[3] Eckersley then went on loan to the Belgian Second Division club Royal Antwerp in January 2006, to gain further first team match experience. Eckersley was linked with a move to NEC of the Netherlands as a replacement for Jeffrey Leiwakabessy in April 2006,[4] but instead he was loaned out to Brøndby in August 2006. He was injured during his stay at Brøndby, however, and only played six matches for the club before the loan ended on 31 December 2006.
He joined Barnsley on 8 January 2007 on loan until the end of the season,[5] but the loan was effectively cut short in April 2007 when Eckersley returned to Manchester United after suffering a torn thigh muscle and did not play for Barnsley again.[6] He was promoted to the first-team squad as cover for the injured Mikaël Silvestre at the start of the 2007–08 season, before moving to Port Vale on a month-long loan on 12 October 2007.[7] He made his debut in a defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 October 2007, in which he was sent off.[8] However, he only made one more appearance before picking up a knee injury and returning to Manchester United for treatment.
On 1 January 2008, Eckersley moved back to Port Vale, this time on a permanent basis, though only signing a six-month deal, becoming manager Lee Sinnott's first non-loan signing.[9] Eckersley scored his first goal in English football and his first anywhere since a loan spell at Royal Antwerp in a 2–2 home draw with Yeovil Town on 29 January 2008,[10] but he soon left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign,[11] following Port Vale's relegation to League Two.[12]
Prior to the 2008–09 season, he joined Danish Superliga team Horsens on a free transfer.[13] The "Yellow Danger" were relegated at the end of 2008–09, after manager Kent Nielsen resigned and short-term replacement Henrik Jensen failed to spark a revival; Horsens finished four points behind the safety of SønderjyskE. The club made an immediate return to the top-flight by topping the 1st Division in 2009–10 under Johnny Mølby. Over the course of his seasons, Eckersley made forty league appearances, scoring twice.
In the summer of 2010, Eckersley moved to AGF Aarhus, manager Peter Sørensen intending him to replace Dennis Cagara. In his first season he helped the club to promotion into the Danish top-flight as champions of the 1st Division,[14] and after some consistently great performances for AGF as attacking left back and a tremendous first half season in the Danish Superliga, including a stunning free-kick goal against Lyngby in round 13, he was selected for Les Rosbifs 'Team of the Year 2011' for best Englishmen playing overseas.[15] AGF finished fifth in 2011–12, with Eckersley scoring seven goals in 48 appearances. The club finished in seventh place in 2012–13, and Eckersley played 35 games, including two Europa League matches. AGF dropped out of the top-flight after suffering relegation in 2013–14. At the end of the season, it announced that Eckersley was released by AGF and hinted that he may return to England.[16]
In August 2014, Eckersley signed for Scottish Championship side Heart of Midlothian until the end of the season, and having turned down an offer from a Scottish Premiership club to join Hearts he stated that move was "best decision of his career".[17][18][19][20] He made his Hearts debut on 13 September, coming on as a substitute for Kevin McHattie, in a 0–0 draw with Dumbarton.[21] Eckersley then scored his first goal for Hearts, in a 1–0 win over Alloa Athletic on 11 October,[22] and then scored his second goal for the club in a 4–1 win over Queen of the South on 6 December.[23] He was a regular first team player under manager Robbie Neilson, and helped Hearts to win promotion as champions in the 2014–15 campaign. It was reported in the Edinburgh Evening News that Hearts had decided in April 2015 not to renew Eckersley's contract for the next season.[24] His agent stated that money was not an issue in negotiations, and that the club simply retracted an initial informal offer of a new contract.[25][26]
In September 2015, Eckersley signed a short-term contract with Hibernian.[27]
Personal life
Eckersley married Elizabeth, a Danish woman, during his time playing in Denmark.[28] Eckersley revealed the couple were married "in the City Chambers, right near the Castle".[29]
Eckersley credited Alex Ferguson for helping him to stop gambling after Ferguson grew concerned about Eckersley's habit; Eckersley stopped playing poker after Ferguson told him a story about Keith Gillespie and his gambling habit.[30]
Career statistics
Club statistics
Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Manchester United | 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Royal Antwerp (loan) | 2006–07 | Belgian Second Division | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 1 | |||
Brøndby (loan) | 2006–07 | Danish Superliga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
Barnsley (loan) | 2006–07 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
Port Vale (loan) | 2007–08 | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
Port Vale | 2007–08 | League One | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||
Total | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 1 | ||||
Horsens | 2008–09 | Danish Superliga | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 1 | ||
AGF Aarhus | 2011–12 | Danish Superliga | 26 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | – | 48 | 7 | |
2012–13 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 35 | 5 | |||
2013–14 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 1 | ||||
Hearts | 2014–15 | Scottish Championship | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 2 | |
Hibernian | 2015–16 | Scottish Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
- Notes
- Statistics for Horsens and AGF Aarhus are incomplete.
Honours
- AC Horsens
- AGF Aarhus
- Hearts
References
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External links
- EngvarB from June 2013
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- Pages using infobox football biography with height issues
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Articles with Danish-language external links
- 1985 births
- Living people
- People from Worsley
- English footballers
- Manchester United F.C. players
- English expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
- Royal Antwerp F.C. players
- Brøndby IF players
- Barnsley F.C. players
- Port Vale F.C. players
- Expatriate footballers in Denmark
- AC Horsens players
- Aarhus Gymnastikforening players
- Heart of Midlothian F.C. players
- Hibernian F.C. players
- Belgian Second Division players
- The Football League players
- Danish Superliga players
- Scottish Professional Football League players
- England youth international footballers