Michael Kightly
Encyclopedia
Michael John Kightly is an English
footballer who plays as a winger. He is on loan at Championship
side Watford
from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
.
Kightly was rejected as a schoolboy by Tottenham Hotspur
but worked his way back to League football with Southend United
. He again slipped into the non-League though, before being spotted by Wolverhampton Wanderers
while starring for Grays Athletic
. He soon became a vital player for Wolves and was pivotal in their promotion to the Premier League in 2009.
, Kightly played schoolboy football for Tottenham Hotspur
but was released and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-League
Basildon United
. His stay was short and was soon back in professional football, signing a two year scholarship with Southend United
on 16 December 2002 following a five game trial period. He made his league debut for the club on 3 May 2003, in a 1–0 defeat at Exeter City
.
Although featuring in all their cup games of this time, scoring once in the Football League Trophy
against Luton Town
, he made only 13 league appearances over three different seasons for them. On 22 October 2004, he joined Farnborough Town
on loan, spending three months with the club before returning to Southend United
on 20 January 2005. He was released at the end of the season by Southend manager Steve Tilson
.
side Grays Athletic
signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season, and won the FA Trophy
. He began the 2006–07 season still with Grays, and had scored 10 goals by November. Such form caught the eye of scouts at Championship
side Wolverhampton Wanderers
, to whom he completed a two-month emergency loan move on 17 November 2006.
He would subsequently return to play against Grays for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, which was a condition of the permanent deal later made between the clubs.
in December 2006. His form at Grays Athletic led him to be dubbed "The Ryan Giggs
of non-league football", and it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson
was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United
. After scoring two goals in five games, his loan move was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half year contract for a nominal fee on New Year's Day 2007.
He became a first-team regular in the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the club into a play-off position. His performances saw him come runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006–07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray
. After a play-off defeat denied promotion, it was reported that he was being tracked by clubs such as , Charlton Athletic
, Tottenham Hotspur
, and . Kightly ended such speculation by signing a new four-year deal with Wolves in June 2007.
His first full season with the club was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury suffered in November 2007, from which he twice tried to return to first team football, eventually undergoing surgery in February 2008. Kightly had further injuries that kept him out of the Wolves side, finally returning to play in the final four fixtures as the club narrowly missed the play-off places on goal difference. He signed an improved new four-year deal with the club in June 2008.
During the 2008–09
season, he contributed eight goals, as Wolves led the promotion race. However, his campaign was prematurely halted by a broken metatarsal sustained during a reserve game in March 2009. He returned to make his first appearances in the Premier League, following promotion, by September but again suffered another injury after needing an ankle operation.
Although planned to return early in the 2010–11 season, he suffered a further setback and was therefore omitted from the club's 25 man squad list for the first part of the campaign. He eventually made his return to first team action after 16 months on the sidelines from various injuries, against Newcastle United
in April 2011. He is contracted to the Molineux
club until summer 2013.
side Watford
in a one-month loan deal to regain match fitness. He made his debut on 15 October 2011 in the 2–0 loss against Crystal Palace
. He scored his first goal for the club in their 2–0 victory over Portsmouth
on 19 November, from 25 yards out. After the game against Portsmouth his loan deal was extended to January 2012.
squad in August 2007 for a friendly against Romania
and went on to make his debut, playing the first half of the game.
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 as a winger. He is on loan at 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 Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
.
Kightly was rejected as a schoolboy by 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....
but worked his way back to League football with Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
. He again slipped into the non-League though, before being spotted by Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
while starring for Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic F.C.
Grays Athletic Football Club is an English football club currently based in Corringham, Essex after leaving the New Recreation Ground in Grays at the end of the 2009–10 season...
. He soon became a vital player for Wolves and was pivotal in their promotion to the Premier League in 2009.
Early years
Born in BasildonBasildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, Kightly played schoolboy football for 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....
but was released and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-League
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
Basildon United
Basildon United F.C.
Basildon United Football Club is an English football club based in Basildon, Essex. They currently compete in the Essex Senior League and are nicknamed the Bees, due to the club adopting amber and black as the team colours.-1967 to 1970:...
. His stay was short and was soon back in professional football, signing a two year scholarship with Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
on 16 December 2002 following a five game trial period. He made his league debut for the club on 3 May 2003, in a 1–0 defeat at Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
.
Although featuring in all their cup games of this time, scoring once in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
against Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
, he made only 13 league appearances over three different seasons for them. On 22 October 2004, he joined Farnborough Town
Farnborough Town F.C.
Farnborough Football Club is an English football team currently in the Conference South after finishing top of Southern League Premier Division in 2009–10. Their home ground is known as the Rushmoor Stadium, formerly Cherrywood Road, based in Farnborough, Hampshire...
on loan, spending three months with the club before returning to Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
on 20 January 2005. He was released at the end of the season by Southend manager Steve Tilson
Steve Tilson
Stephen Brian "Steve" Tilson is an English football manager and former player. He is best known for his time in charge of Southend United...
.
Grays Athletic
ConferenceConference 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...
side Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic F.C.
Grays Athletic Football Club is an English football club currently based in Corringham, Essex after leaving the New Recreation Ground in Grays at the end of the 2009–10 season...
signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season, and won the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
. He began the 2006–07 season still with Grays, and had scored 10 goals by November. Such form caught the eye of scouts at 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 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
, to whom he completed a two-month emergency loan move on 17 November 2006.
He would subsequently return to play against Grays for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, which was a condition of the permanent deal later made between the clubs.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kightly scored his first ever league goal to earn a 1–0 victory at Queens Park RangersQueens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
in December 2006. His form at Grays Athletic led him to be dubbed "The Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
of non-league football", and it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
. After scoring two goals in five games, his loan move was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half year contract for a nominal fee on New Year's Day 2007.
He became a first-team regular in the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the club into a play-off position. His performances saw him come runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006–07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray
Matt Murray
Matthew William "Matt" Murray is an English former football goalkeeper who spent his entire career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. His career was plagued by injuries which eventually forced him to retire aged 29.-Career:...
. After a play-off defeat denied promotion, it was reported that he was being tracked by clubs such as , Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
, 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 . Kightly ended such speculation by signing a new four-year deal with Wolves in June 2007.
His first full season with the club was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury suffered in November 2007, from which he twice tried to return to first team football, eventually undergoing surgery in February 2008. Kightly had further injuries that kept him out of the Wolves side, finally returning to play in the final four fixtures as the club narrowly missed the play-off places on goal difference. He signed an improved new four-year deal with the club in June 2008.
During the 2008–09
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...
season, he contributed eight goals, as Wolves led the promotion race. However, his campaign was prematurely halted by a broken metatarsal sustained during a reserve game in March 2009. He returned to make his first appearances in the Premier League, following promotion, by September but again suffered another injury after needing an ankle operation.
Although planned to return early in the 2010–11 season, he suffered a further setback and was therefore omitted from the club's 25 man squad list for the first part of the campaign. He eventually made his return to first team action after 16 months on the sidelines from various injuries, against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in April 2011. He is contracted to the Molineux
Molineux stadium
Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
club until summer 2013.
On loan at Watford
In October 2011, he joined ChampionshipFootball 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 Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
in a one-month loan deal to regain match fitness. He made his debut on 15 October 2011 in the 2–0 loss against 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...
. He scored his first goal for the club in their 2–0 victory over 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...
on 19 November, from 25 yards out. After the game against Portsmouth his loan deal was extended to January 2012.
International career
Kightly was called into the England U21England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
squad in August 2007 for a friendly against Romania
Romania national under-21 football team
The Romania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years....
and went on to make his debut, playing the first half of the game.