Christopher Lines 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...

 professional footballer who plays in midfield for Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

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Playing career

He spent a year playing for Bitton as a 15/16-year-old, before graduating through the Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

-backed Bristol Academy of Sport

Bristol Academy of Sport

The Bristol Academy of Sport is based at Filton College to the north of Bristol, and provides sports coaching and college-level education to potential elite-level athletes....

 at Filton College

Filton College

Filton College is a further education college in Filton, Bristol, England.The main site lies on the A38 just south of Filton Aerodrome. A second major campus, dedicated to performing arts, fine art and sport, and known as WISE , opened in 2005 adjacent to Filton High School, near Bristol Parkway...

, and made his first team debut for Rovers in January 2006 against Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 at the Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium (Bristol)

The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of The Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, dedicated to the memory of the rugby union players of the city killed during World War I...

. Following this he made occasional appearances for the first team, before becoming a more regular player from November 2007. After their promotion into League 1

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

, Lines cemented a first-team place in the starting line-up. With the departure of team-mate Rickie Lambert

Rickie Lambert

Rickie Lee Lambert is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton. Born in Fazakerley, Liverpool, Lambert began his professional career with Blackpool in 1998 and later played for Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers before moving to Southampton for...

, Lines became the set-piece taker for the team. He quickly became a firm fans' favourite, with his accurate free-kicks, although through the season 2009-2010 he faced competition from new arrival Wayne Brown.

Lines signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Bristol Rovers on 15 January 2010 but, following Rovers' relegation to League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 in 2011, Lines had a trial period 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 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 that summer in an effort to earn a contract with them and thus play at a higher level. On 11 August 2011, however, Lines joined League One Sheffield Wednesday on a three-year contract for a fee believed to be in the region of £50,000. Chris scored his first Owls goal in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 first round tie against Morecambe

Morecambe F.C.

Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...

 on 13 November 2011.

Personal life

Lines is a former pupil of Monks Park School, now known as Orchard School Bristol, and as a boy he supported his hometown club Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....

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External links

• Chris Lines player profile at bristolrovers.co.uk