Simon Church

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Simon Church
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Church playing for Reading in 2012
Personal information
Full name Simon Richard Church[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-10) 10 December 1988 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth Amersham, England
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Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Milton Keynes Dons
Number 11
Youth career
1998–2003 Wycombe Wanderers
2003–2007 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2013 Reading 104 (22)
2007–2008 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 12 (1)
2008 → Yeovil Town (loan) 6 (0)
2008 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 9 (0)
2009 → Leyton Orient (loan) 13 (4)
2012 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 7 (1)
2013–2015 Charlton Athletic 55 (5)
2015– Milton Keynes Dons 19 (2)
2016 → Aberdeen (loan) 13 (6)
International career‡
2007–2010 Wales U21 15 (8)
2009– Wales 35 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:55, 17 May 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2016 (UTC)

Simon Richard Church (born 10 December 1988) is a footballer who plays for League One side Milton Keynes Dons. At international level Church represents the Wales national team.

Career

Reading

Born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire,[1] Church was spotted as a youngster while playing at a youth tournament and joined hometown club Wycombe Wanderers Centre of Excellence as a nine-year-old upon recommendation from the club scout.[2] Five years later, he joined Reading's Youth Academy at the age of 14, as part of the Nathan Tyson sale to Wycombe.[3] He was a regular in Reading's reserve side whilst still in the academy.[4] On 6 July 2007, he signed a one-year professional contract with Reading,[4] but did not make a first team appearance that season due to stiff competition from the likes of Dave Kitson and Irish internationals Kevin Doyle and Shane Long.

Loan moves

Church joined Crewe Alexandra on loan for one month on 19 October 2007,[5] which was subsequently extended to 19 January 2008 following rave reviews.[6] He was put into the starting XI for Crewe on 20 October 2007 against Luton Town, where he wore the number 31 shirt and assisted Ryan Lowe for Crewe Alexandra's second goal.[7] He scored his first goal for Crewe in a 2–2 draw with Cheltenham on 27 October 2007.[8]

Church joined Yeovil Town on loan for the remainder of the 2007–08 season on 29 January 2008.[9] He followed this with a loan move to his hometown club Wycombe Wanderers at the start of the 2008–09 season.[10] His original month at the club was cut short due to a sending off and subsequent three match ban, but he later rejoined the club for a further two months on 20 October 2008.

On 17 February 2009 Church joined Leyton Orient, initially on a month's loan, but later extended to the end of the season.[11]

First-team breakthrough

Church made his full first team debut for Reading in the play-off semi-final second leg defeat to Burnley on 12 May 2009. With the departures of Doyle and Kitson, he became more of a regular in the first team and soon claimed a starting place at the expense of Long. On 19 September, he scored his first league goal in only his fourth start in a 3–2 defeat to Peterborough United and dedicated it to his father who died earlier that month.[12] On 2 January 2010, he scored against Premiership side Liverpool in the FA Cup third round as the Royals took a shock lead and held the Merseyside club to a 1–1 draw at the Madejski Stadium.[13] The Royals went on to win 2–1 in the replay. Four days later, he was offered a new deal and extended his contract until 2013.[14] In February, he scored a brace against Crystal Palace in a 3–1 win, which lifted Reading out of the relegation zone. Midway through the 2011–12 season, Church hit form with four goals in four matches, opening the scoring against Peterborough, getting a brace against promotion contenders West Ham and earning a 0–1 win away at Leeds United with a well taken lob over Andrew Lonergan.[15] At the end of the 2012–13 season, Church was released by the club.[16]

Huddersfield Town

On 8 November 2012, Church joined Huddersfield Town on a one-month loan deal and made his Town debut two days later in Huddersfield's 1–0 win away at Oakwell, over Barnsley.[17][18] Church scored his first goal for Huddersfield Town in the 90th minute of his second game for them, a 1–2 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.[19] Church returned to Reading after their game with Sheffield Wednesday game on 29 December, having made a total of seven appearances for Huddersfield.[20][21]

Charlton Athletic

File:Simon Church 2.png
Church playing for Charlton Athletic in 2015

On 1 August 2013 Church joined Charlton Athletic on a two-year contract and was handed the number 9 shirt.[22][23] He scored his first goals for the club in the League Cup against Oxford United five days later in a 4–0 win home win for Charlton.[24]

On 12 May 2015, Church was released at the end of his contract.[25]

Milton Keynes Dons

On 30 June 2015, Church signed for newly promoted Championship side Milton Keynes Dons on a two-year contract. Church scored his first goal for the MK Dons in a 2–1 defeat to Leeds United[26]

Aberdeen (loan)

On 1 February 2016, after finding limited first team opportunities, Church signed for Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen on loan for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.[27] He scored on his debut in Aberdeen's 2–1 win over Celtic on 3 February 2016.[28]

International career

Born and raised in England, Church qualifies to play for Wales through grandparents from Newport.[29] He made his début for the Wales U21 team as a substitute in their 4–3 win over Sweden U21 on 21 August 2007.[30] On 10 October 2007, he scored twice as Wales U-21 lost 3–2 to England in the first leg of their European Championship qualifying match.[31] Church scored a brace for Wales under 21s against England under 21s as they lost 3–2 on 10 October 2008, in the 2009 European Championship play-offs. He also scored Wales's second goal in the first half of the second leg of the play-off against England, neatly lifting the ball over the on rushing Joe Hart but they lost 5–4 on aggregate to England, thus missing out on a spot in the final tournament. In March 2009, he was named captain of the U-21s.[32]

On 29 May 2009 Church made his debut for the senior Wales international team in the friendly against Estonia. He received call-ups for the match against Italy U21 and a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Russia on 9 September but did not participate due to the death of his father.[33][34] He scored his first senior goal on 14 November in friendly against Scotland that ended 3–0.[35]

Career statistics

As of 17 May 2016.[36]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Reading 2007–08 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Championship 0 0 1 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 2 0
2009–10 Championship 36 10 6 2 0 0 0 0 42 12
2010–11 Championship 37 5 4 0 1 0 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 44 5
2011–12 Championship 31 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 33 7
2012–13 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 104 22 12 2 3 0 3 0 122 24
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2007–08 League One 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 14 1
Yeovil Town (loan) 2007–08 League One 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2008–09 League Two 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Leyton Orient (loan) 2008–09 League One 13 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 4
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2012–13 Championship 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1
Charlton Athletic 2013–14 Championship 38 3 5 2 1 2 0 0 44 7
2014–15 Championship 17 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 19 3
Total 55 5 6 2 2 3 0 0 63 10
Milton Keynes Dons 2015–16 Championship 19 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 23 3
Aberdeen (loan) 2015–16 Scottish Premiership 13 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 6
Career total 238 41 22 5 7 3 3 0 270 49
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Appearance(s) in the Championship play-offs

Honours

Reading

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ http://www.mkdons.com/news/article/dons-make-triple-signing-mk-dons-signing-wales-simon-church-usa-cody-cropper-dale-jennings-bayern-munich-2513038.aspx
  27. ↑ http://www.onemk.co.uk/8203-Simon-Church-MK-Dons-striker-leaves-loan/story-28648666-detail/story.html
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ News – Wales v Russia – Squad Additions[dead link]
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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