Ross Turnbull
Encyclopedia
Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea
as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.
. He grew up supporting Newcastle United. He played as a midfielder for his hometown team Newton Aycliffe Youth Centre AFC but was turned into a goalkeeper by coach Arthur Vickerstaff. He had trials with North-East sides Darlington
and Sunderland
but instead joined Middlesbrough
's Academy.
contract with Middlesbrough in 2002. He represented England U20 in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
.
In July 2007, Turnbull signed a season-long loan deal at Football League Championship
side Cardiff City
. He was signed as a replacement for long-serving Neil Alexander
, who left the club after a contract dispute, and began the season as first choice goalkeeper for the club. However, due to some errors in his opening games he was replaced for the 2–2 draw with Preston North End
by Michael Oakes
and spent the remainder of his loan spell on the bench before he was recalled by Middlesbrough on 5 October 2007 following an injury to second choice keeper Brad Jones. The recall was made by mutual consent between the teams. After being recalled, Turnbull played in two of Middlesbrough's games in the absence of first choice goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
who had broken his thumb in training. One was the win over Arsenal
at the Riverside Stadium
on 9 December 2007, the score being 2–1.
After more than 11 years with Middlesbrough, Mark Schwarzer
left the club during the summer of 2008 to join Fulham
. Middlesbrough manager
Gareth Southgate
decided not to buy a new goalkeeper and allow Turnbull and Jones to fight it out for the number one position. Although Jones played the first game of the season, Turnbull was in goal for Middlesbrough's 2–1 defeat at Liverpool
the following week, when Jones injured himself in the warm-up. In June 2009 Turnbull rejected a contract offer from Middlesbrough, and informed the club that he would leave when it expired at the end of the month.
on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract. Turnbull announced that he would not sit by as a permanent second place keeper to regular starting goalkeeper Petr Čech
and that he would fight for his own first team place. His first involvement in the first team was after being named on the bench for Chelsea's first game of the 2009–10 season against Hull City
at Stamford Bridge
, which finished 2–1 in favour of Chelsea. Turnbull had a Chelsea reserves debut to forget when he made a series of blunders as the team lost 4–0 to Aston Villa
.
He made his first team debut against Bolton Wanderers
in the League Cup, coming on for the injured Henrique Hilário
after 23 minutes, a game which Chelsea won 4–0. He made his first start in the UEFA Champions League
2–2 draw against APOEL. He made his premier league debut against West Ham United as Petr Cech and Henrique Hilario were both respectively injured. The following Tuesday, he started for Chelsea against Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge, in which he conceded a goal with Inter winning 1–0 but otherwise had a decent performance.
He was not part of the matchday squad who defeated Portsmouth
in the 2010 FA Cup Final
, but still recevied a winner's medal. He did not play enough games that season to earn a Premier League medal.
Middlesbourgh young player of the year 2007-08
Named in Team of the tournament at the European under 20's championship
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...
as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.
Early life
Ross attended Byerley Park Primary School and Woodham Community Technology CollegeWoodham Community Technology College
Woodham Community Technology College previously known as "Woodham Comprehensive School" is a comprehensive school and former sixth form college in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England.-Admissions:...
. He grew up supporting Newcastle United. He played as a midfielder for his hometown team Newton Aycliffe Youth Centre AFC but was turned into a goalkeeper by coach Arthur Vickerstaff. He had trials with North-East sides Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
and Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
but instead joined Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
's Academy.
Middlesbrough
After coming through the club's youth ranks, Turnbull signed a professionalProfessional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
contract with Middlesbrough in 2002. He represented England U20 in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between November 27 and December 19, 2003. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested...
.
In July 2007, Turnbull signed a season-long loan deal at Football League 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 Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
. He was signed as a replacement for long-serving Neil Alexander
Neil Alexander
Neil Alexander is a Scottish professional football goalkeeper who is currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Rangers.-Early career:...
, who left the club after a contract dispute, and began the season as first choice goalkeeper for the club. However, due to some errors in his opening games he was replaced for the 2–2 draw with Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
by Michael Oakes
Michael Oakes
Michael Christian Oakes is an English former professional football goalkeeper who is currently working with Wrexham as a goalkeeping coach and Assistant Manager Under Andy Morrell. He is the son of former Manchester City footballer Alan Oakes.- Aston Villa :Oakes began his career in Aston Villa's...
and spent the remainder of his loan spell on the bench before he was recalled by Middlesbrough on 5 October 2007 following an injury to second choice keeper Brad Jones. The recall was made by mutual consent between the teams. After being recalled, Turnbull played in two of Middlesbrough's games in the absence of first choice goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
who had broken his thumb in training. One was the win over 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...
at the Riverside Stadium
Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...
on 9 December 2007, the score being 2–1.
After more than 11 years with Middlesbrough, Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
left the club during the summer of 2008 to join Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
. Middlesbrough manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009...
decided not to buy a new goalkeeper and allow Turnbull and Jones to fight it out for the number one position. Although Jones played the first game of the season, Turnbull was in goal for Middlesbrough's 2–1 defeat at Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
the following week, when Jones injured himself in the warm-up. In June 2009 Turnbull rejected a contract offer from Middlesbrough, and informed the club that he would leave when it expired at the end of the month.
Chelsea
On 2 July 2009, Turnbull joined ChelseaChelsea 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...
on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract. Turnbull announced that he would not sit by as a permanent second place keeper to regular starting goalkeeper Petr Čech
Petr Cech
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...
and that he would fight for his own first team place. His first involvement in the first team was after being named on the bench for Chelsea's first game of the 2009–10 season against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
, which finished 2–1 in favour of Chelsea. Turnbull had a Chelsea reserves debut to forget when he made a series of blunders as the team lost 4–0 to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
.
He made his first team debut against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
in the League Cup, coming on for the injured Henrique Hilário
Henrique Hilário
Henrique Hilário Meireles Alves Sampaio , known as Hilário, is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League as a goalkeeper.-Portugal:...
after 23 minutes, a game which Chelsea won 4–0. He made his first start in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
2–2 draw against APOEL. He made his premier league debut against West Ham United as Petr Cech and Henrique Hilario were both respectively injured. The following Tuesday, he started for Chelsea against Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge, in which he conceded a goal with Inter winning 1–0 but otherwise had a decent performance.
He was not part of the matchday squad who defeated 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...
in the 2010 FA Cup Final
2010 FA Cup Final
The 2010 FA Cup Final was the 129th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The match took place on 15 May 2010, at Wembley Stadium, London...
, but still recevied a winner's medal. He did not play enough games that season to earn a Premier League medal.
Personal life
He has a daughter, Maisy, born in 2008. He attended Woodham Community Technology College.Club
ChelseaChelsea 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...
- FA CupFA CupThe 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...
: 20102009–10 FA CupThe 2009–10 FA Cup was the 129th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. As in the previous year, 762 clubs were accepted for the competition. One club, Newcastle Blue Star, folded before the fixtures were released... - Premier League Asia TrophyPremier League Asia TrophyThe Premier League Asia Trophy is a friendly four-team pre-season football tournament held in Asia every two years. The competition is contested by three Premier League football clubs and the home team...
: 20112011 Barclays Asia Trophy- Third-place playoff :- Final :-Ticket sales:Ticket prices for each match day in Hong Kong dollars were: $130 , $210 , $270 , $330 , $460 ....
Middlesbourgh young player of the year 2007-08
Named in Team of the tournament at the European under 20's championship