Ben Watson (footballer, born July 1985)

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Not to be confused with Ben Watson (footballer, born December 1985).

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Ben Watson
File:Ben Watson in Pittsburg (cropped).JPG
Watson on U.S. tour with Wigan Athletic in June, 2013
Personal information
Full name Ben Watson[1]
Date of birth (1985-07-09) 9 July 1985 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Camberwell, England
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Watford
Number 23
Youth career
000?–2003 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Crystal Palace 169 (18)
2009–2015 Wigan Athletic 107 (13)
2009 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 16 (2)
2010 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 7 (1)
2015– Watford 55 (2)
International career
2004–2006 England U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:07, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

Ben Watson (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Watford. He has previously played for Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace, and had loan spells at Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. He has also represented England at U21 level.

Watson won an FA Cup winners medal in 2013, by scoring a stoppage time header and the only goal of the game against Manchester City. This was the first time Wigan Athletic had won the FA Cup.

Club career

Crystal Palace

File:Ben Watson.jpg
Watson training with Crystal Palace in 2008.

Born in Camberwell, London,[2] Watson made his debut aged 17 towards the end of the 2002–03 season against Watford,[3] giving a good performance to keep his place in the side for the final four games of the season. He scored his first goal for the club at the start of the following season in a 1–1 draw against Millwall,[4] and gradually featured in the Palace side more regularly over the next few seasons, surpassing 200 appearances for the Eagles before his 23rd birthday.

He has also represented England in the under-21 team.

In 2006, he was one of six nominees for the "League Cup New Talent Award", drawn up by the Football Writers' Association.[5] He was also named as Palace's "Young Player of The Year" at the end of the season,[6] and was rewarded with a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2009.[7]

Interest from other clubs

At the outset of the 2008–09 season, Watson had one year left on his contract at Palace. The club reportedly offered him a new contract that would have made him Palace's highest-paid player, which was subsequently turned down. He also turned down a move to Nottingham Forest, who claimed he was demanding too high a salary,[8] amidst rumours that he was seeking an offer from Queens Park Rangers. However a move never materialised before the end of the summer, and Watson returned to the Palace side, scoring five times in just 18 appearances before suffering an injury in early December. This turned out to be Watson's last appearance for the Eagles.

Wigan Athletic

In late January, Middlesbrough offered £2m for Watson and were expected to sign the midfielder, who underwent a medical examination.[9] Wigan Athletic entered the race to sign him late on, and were successful in securing the deal after matching Boro's offer.[9] He made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa on 31 January, and scored his first league goal for Wigan in the 2–1 away victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.[10] On 23 March 2009 he followed this up with a goal in his next game at home against Hull City.

Loans to QPR and West Bromwich Albion

On 1 September 2009, Watson signed for Championship side Queens Park Rangers (QPR) on loan until January 2010. Watson then made his debut 11 days later on 12 September in a 1–1 draw against Peterborough United at Loftus Road. He scored his first goal for QPR in a 5–2 win over Barnsley on 26 September 2009.[11] Watson was sent off on 21 October in a 4–1 win over struggling Reading, serving a two match ban.

On 22 February 2010, Watson signed on loan for Championship club West Bromwich Albion, initially until the end of the 2009–2010 season.[12] He scored his first goal for West Brom against Preston North End on 20 March 2010.[13] Having not made a league appearance for Wigan Athletic during the 2009–10 season, Watson hinted that he would like to sign a permanent deal at West Brom if the club could gain promotion to the Premier League.[14] He was recalled from his loan early by Wigan on 1 April 2010.[15]

Return to Wigan Athletic

Watson made his return to the first-team on 4 April in a 2–1 defeat against Fulham, and scored in Wigan's 3–2 win over Arsenal at the DW Stadium on 18 April 2010.[16] He kept his place in the team for the rest of the season, finishing with five league appearances for the club.

Watson lost his place in the starting eleven at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, limiting his playing time for the first half of the season. He regained his place in the side after Christmas, and was a regular starter for the rest of the season. Now being deployed in a deep-lying playmaker role,[17][18] his impressive form in the second half of the season helped the team escape relegation and retain their place in the Premier League. In August 2011, Watson signed a new three-year contract at the club.[19]

In November 2012, in a match against Liverpool, Watson suffered a broken right leg in a challenge with Raheem Sterling.[20] Wigan lost the match 3–0.[21]

Watson made his return to first-team action in May 2013 against West Bromwich Albion in a 3–2 away victory for Wigan, playing out of his usual position as a sweeper.[22] Watson scored the winning goal in the 2013 FA Cup Final against Manchester City, a stoppage time header that gave Wigan Athletic their first FA Cup.[23]

On 13 May 2014, Watson signed a new one-year deal with the Latics.

Watford

Watson joined Watford on 23 January 2015.[24] He made his league debut the following day in a 7–2 win over Blackpool.[25] Almost a year later, Watson scored his first goal for the Hornets, which he scored directly from a corner in a 1–2 loss at home to Manchester City. Watson was not awarded the goal until more than a week after the game, as it was initially recorded as a Aleksandar Kolarov own goal, before a Premier League panel awarded it to Watson.[26]

Honours

Wigan Athletic

Career statistics

As of match played 15 May 2016.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crystal Palace 2002–03[27] First Division 5 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
2003–04[28] 16 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 21 1
2004–05[29] Premier League 21 0 1 0 2 0 — 24 0
2005–06[30] Championship 42 4 2 0 2 0 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 48 4
2006–07[31] 25 3 0 0 1 0 — 26 3
2007–08[32] 42 5 1 0 1 0 2[lower-alpha 2] 2 46 7
2008–09[33] 18 5 0 0 1 0 — 19 5
Total 169 18 5 0 11 0 4 2 189 20
Wigan Athletic 2008–09[34] Premier League 10 2 0 0 0 0 — 10 2
2009–10[35] 5 1 2 1 1 0 — 8 2
2010–11[36] 29 3 1 0 4 1 — 34 4
2011–12[37] 21 3 1 0 1 1 — 23 4
2012–13[38] 12 1 1 1 2 0 — 15 2
2013–14[39] Championship 25 2 3 2 0 0 5[lower-alpha 3] 1 33 5
2014–15[40] 9 1 1 0 0 0 — 10 1
Total 111 13 9 4 8 2 5 1 133 20
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2009–10[41] Championship 16 2 0 0 0 0 — 16 2
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2009–10[42] 7 1 0 0 0 0 — 7 1
Watford 2014–15[43] Championship 20 0 0 0 0 0 — 20 0
2015–16[44] Premier League 35 2 5 0 1 0 — 41 2
Total 55 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 61 2
Career total 358 36 19 4 20 2 9 3 406 45
  1. ↑ 2 appearances in Championship play-offs
  2. ↑ 2 appearances and 2 goals in Championship play-offs
  3. ↑ 1 appearance in FA Community Shield, 4 appearances and 1 goal in UEFA Europa League

Notes


References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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. ↑ 9.0 9.1 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.
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  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.watfordfc.com/news/article/160111-goal-panel-ben-watson-odion-ighalo-2894576.aspx
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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