Andre Alexandre George Blackman (born 10 November 1990) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

.

Early career

Blackman began his career as a trainee with Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 before moving to Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 and then signing for Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 at the age of 16. He also had a spell with Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

.

Bristol City

Blackman started his professional career by signing a two year contract with Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

 after his release by Portsmouth.

He made his debut for Bristol City in the League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 match against Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 on 11 August 2009. On 1 October 2009, Blackman was released by Bristol City without making a league appearance. He then went on trial with Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 side Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

, which proved to be unsuccessful.

Wimbledon

After declaring he wanted to 'sort his life out', Blackman signed for Conference National

Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 club AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....

 on 1 June 2010, and made his debut in their 1-0 away win against Southport

Southport F.C.

Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...

 on 14 August; however, after a handful of appearances, Blackman was declared surplus to requirements and was replaced by Chris Bush

Chris Bush (English footballer)

Christopher Miles Bush is an English professional footballer who plays for AFC Wimbledon in Football League Two, as a defender.-Club career:Bush came through the youth system of Brentford and was given a youth team contract in 2008...

, and subsequently Gareth Gwillim

Gareth Gwillim

Gareth Stuart Gwillim is an English professional footballer who plays for AFC Wimbledon, as a left back.-Career:Hailing from Kent, Gwillim began his career as a junior at Crystal Palace, before moving into non-League football, playing for such teams as Farnborough Town, Ashford Town, Bishop's...

.

On 12 January 2011, Blackman went on trial with Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

, but was not signed. On 9 February 2011, it was announced that Blackman had joined an unnamed league

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 club on trial.

Celtic

In October 2011, Blackman had a trial with Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 side Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

, playing his first match in a year when Celtic's development squad

Celtic F.C. Reserve and Youth squads

As well as the Celtic first team, competing in the Scottish Premier League, the club also have reserve and under-19 sides.-Reserve team:Celtic Reserves are the reserve team of Celtic. The team mainly consists of Under-19 players at the club and fringe first team players...

 played a bounce game against a Rangers XI

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

. This trial resulted in Blackman signing for Celtic in November 2011.

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