Ben Alnwick
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Robert Alnwick | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:43, 21 August 2007 (UTC) | |||
Benjamin Robert "Ben" Alnwick (born January 1, 1987 in Prudhoe, England) is a football goalkeeper currently playing for Carlisle, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
Ben has a younger brother called Jak Alnwick, also a goalkeeper, currently playing for Newcastle United F.C. and has also been capped at under-16 and under-18 level for England.[1]
Club career
Sunderland
Alnwick started his career at Sunderland, and came to prominence at the climax of their 2004-05 Football League Championship-winning season, replacing the injured Thomas Myhre for Sunderland's last three games. His performances against Leicester City and West Ham, the games that won Sunderland promotion to the Premiership and Championship win respectively, were impressive. In November 2005, he spent a stint as the number one goalkeeper at Sunderland, replacing Kelvin Davis. Despite impressing, particularly in Sunderland's 3-2 defeat to Tottenham where he made a penalty save from Robbie Keane Alnwick was dropped in favour of Kelvin Davis. After the departure of Davis to Southampton, Alnwick was given the no.1 shirt for the 2006-07 season.
After a disappointing start to the season 2006-07 season, Alnwick was relegated to the substitutes bench in favour of Darren Ward by new boss Roy Keane.
Tottenham Hotspur
Just two days after the January transfer window had opened, Alnwick joined Tottenham Hotspur for £900,000 in a deal that could rise to £1.3m and saw Márton Fülöp going the other way for £500,000. In September 2007 he was loaned to League One side Luton Town on a three-month loan deal.[2] He was recalled from Luton in October, due to an injury to Paul Robinson.[3] However on Monday January 7 2008 he joined Leicester City on loan until the end of the season.[4]
Alnwick made his league debut in an M69 Derby on January 12, keeping a clean sheet as Leicester won 2-0.[5] He managed two more clean sheets against Norwich City and Crystal Palace before finally conceding two goals to Blackpool on 2 February, losing 2-1.[6] On the 16 October 2008, Alnwick joined league one side Carlisle on an initial one month loan deal.
International career
Alnwick received his first call-up to the England under-21 squad ahead of the August 15 2006 match against Moldova. Still awaiting his debut, Alnwick was named in Stuart Pearce's first squad as England U21 coach, alongside another uncapped goalkeeper, Joe Hart. He was not chosen to start the match, on February 62007, against Spain.
Alnwick was named in the first England U21 squad to play at the new Wembley against Italy U21s on March 24 2007, but he remained an unused sub. He was also named in England's squad for the U21 European Championships in the Netherlands. He debuted a year after his first call-up, in a friendly against Romania at Ashton Gate. He came on for the second half as a substitute for Joe Hart, and kept a clean sheet.
References
- ^ "Jak gets England call". safc.com. 25 October 2007.
- ^ "Luton sign Tottenham goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Spurs recall Alnwick from Luton". BBC Sport. 26 October 2007.
- ^ "Alnwick arrives". Leicester City Football Club. 07 January 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Leicester 2-0 Coventry". BBC Sport. 12 January 2008.
- ^ "Blackpool 2-1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 03 February 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Ben Alnwick at Soccerbase
- Official Sunderland FC Profile