Will Buckley (footballer)
Encyclopedia
William Edward "Will" Buckley (born 21 November 1989 in Oldham
, Greater Manchester
) is an English
footballer who plays either as winger or a striker. He currently plays for Brighton & Hove Albion
, having moved from Watford
during June 2011. He has previously played for Rochdale
.
, becoming a youth scholar in 2006. Having played in the club's reserve side, he went on to make his first league appearance in Rochdale's 4–2 home defeat against Hereford United
on 12 February 2008. He made a second substitute appearance in a 2–1 away at Bradford City
on 16 February, before making his first start for the club in a 1–0 defeat against Wycombe Wanderers
on 23 February. Buckley made four more appearances, all as a substitute, in the regular season as Rochdale finished 5th.
Buckley did not feature in either leg of Rochdale's League Two
play-off semi-final victory over Darlington
. However, he made an appearance in the final at Wembley
, where Rochdale played Stockport County
for a place in League One
. Buckley came on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Nathan D'Laryea
with Rochdale 3–1 down. They went on to lose 3–2.
After not playing in the first four games of the 2008–09 season, Buckley started a run of seven consecutive league starts. In the third of these, a 2–2 draw away at Rotherham United
on 13 September 2008, Buckley scored his first professional goal. He then scored in the two subsequent games. In January 2009 Buckley was named by The Times
newspaper in an article about rising stars in the game. In total Buckley made 41 appearances and scored 10 goals in the regular season. Rochdale finished 6th to again qualify for the play-offs. Buckley started the first leg of the semi-final, a 0–0 draw at home to Gillingham
, before being substituted for Joe Thompson. In the second leg Buckley came off the bench to replace Thompson with all the goals in the 2–1 defeat already scored.
Buckley made 18 appearances for Rochdale in 2009–10, scoring 3 goals, all in spell of 3 consecutive games in September 2009. On 26 January 2010 Buckley transferred to Championship
side Watford
, signing a three and a half year contract. At his time of departure Rochdale were 9 points clear at the top of League Two.
On signing, Watford manager Malky Mackay
said of Buckley:
After recovering from a thigh strain, Buckley was eventually given his Watford debut (following 90 minutes and a goal for the reserves) on the 21st March 2010 in a 3–1 defeat at Cardiff City
, replacing Don Cowie in the 67th minute. After coming on as a 90th minute substitute for his home debut on the 24th March 2010, Buckley was handed his full debut in a 1–1 draw against Middlesbrough
on the 27th March.
Buckley scored his first Watford goal on the 3rd April 2010 against Preston North End
. Watford drew the game 1–1.
for a club record fee of £1 million plus add ons.
Buckley scored his first and second league goals for Brighton & Hove Albion
in a dramatic 2–1 victory against Doncaster. His second goal came 8 minutes into stoppage time in the second half and earned Brighton their first win at the AMEX stadium
.. Buckley followed this up with his first start for Brighton, in the Carling Cup, earning a penalty in a 1-0 victory against Gillingham F.C.
.
Key
Apps = Appearances
= Yellow cards
= Red cards
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
) 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 either as winger or a striker. He currently plays for Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
, having moved from 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...
during June 2011. He has previously played for Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
.
Career
Buckley started his career at RochdaleRochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
, becoming a youth scholar in 2006. Having played in the club's reserve side, he went on to make his first league appearance in Rochdale's 4–2 home defeat against Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
on 12 February 2008. He made a second substitute appearance in a 2–1 away at Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
on 16 February, before making his first start for the club in a 1–0 defeat against Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
on 23 February. Buckley made four more appearances, all as a substitute, in the regular season as Rochdale finished 5th.
Buckley did not feature in either leg of Rochdale's 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....
play-off semi-final victory over 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...
. However, he made an appearance in the final at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, where Rochdale played Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
for a place in League One
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....
. Buckley came on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Nathan D'Laryea
Nathan D'Laryea
Nathan Amarkine D'Laryea is a fomer English footballer who played as a defender. He was a product of the Manchester City academy and has previously been with Rochdale, Macclesfield Town and Hyde FC.-Early career:...
with Rochdale 3–1 down. They went on to lose 3–2.
After not playing in the first four games of the 2008–09 season, Buckley started a run of seven consecutive league starts. In the third of these, a 2–2 draw away at Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
on 13 September 2008, Buckley scored his first professional goal. He then scored in the two subsequent games. In January 2009 Buckley was named by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper in an article about rising stars in the game. In total Buckley made 41 appearances and scored 10 goals in the regular season. Rochdale finished 6th to again qualify for the play-offs. Buckley started the first leg of the semi-final, a 0–0 draw at home to Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
, before being substituted for Joe Thompson. In the second leg Buckley came off the bench to replace Thompson with all the goals in the 2–1 defeat already scored.
Buckley made 18 appearances for Rochdale in 2009–10, scoring 3 goals, all in spell of 3 consecutive games in September 2009. On 26 January 2010 Buckley transferred to 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...
, signing a three and a half year contract. At his time of departure Rochdale were 9 points clear at the top of League Two.
On signing, Watford manager Malky Mackay
Malky Mackay
Malcolm George "Malky" Mackay is a Scottish football manager and former player, who played as a central defender. He is currently the manager of Cardiff City. Mackay began his playing career in Scottish football, with Queen's Park and Celtic. He joined English side Norwich City in 1998, remaining...
said of Buckley:
Will's an exciting young talent who has impacted upon Rochdale [...] There's a lot of growth and potential in him. [...] Will's an attacking player who is comfortable on either wing and can play up and off a forward as well, he's definitely someone who is attack-minded [...] we don't have the financial luxury of signing players from the Championship and the Premiership on the whole, therefore we need to look to see where the best young talent is coming through in the lower leagues, the Conference and up in Scotland as well.
After recovering from a thigh strain, Buckley was eventually given his Watford debut (following 90 minutes and a goal for the reserves) on the 21st March 2010 in a 3–1 defeat at 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...
, replacing Don Cowie in the 67th minute. After coming on as a 90th minute substitute for his home debut on the 24th March 2010, Buckley was handed his full debut in a 1–1 draw against 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...
on the 27th March.
Buckley scored his first Watford goal on the 3rd April 2010 against 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...
. Watford drew the game 1–1.
Brighton & Hove Albion
On 6 June 2011, Buckley signed for Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
for a club record fee of £1 million plus add ons.
Buckley scored his first and second league goals for Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
in a dramatic 2–1 victory against Doncaster. His second goal came 8 minutes into stoppage time in the second half and earned Brighton their first win at the AMEX stadium
Falmer Stadium
Falmer Stadium, known for sponsorship purposes as the American Express Community Stadium, or The Amex, is a football stadium near the village of Falmer in Brighton and Hove and is the home of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.. The stadium was handed over from the developers to the club on 31 May 2011...
.. Buckley followed this up with his first start for Brighton, in the Carling Cup, earning a penalty in a 1-0 victory against Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
.
Career statistics
Dash (—) indicates that club did not participate in competition. Statistics correct as of 6 November 2011.Key
Apps = Appearances
| Club | Season | Division | League | 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... |
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... |
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... |
Play-offs | Total | Discipline | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
|
|||
| Rochdale Rochdale A.F.C. Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921... |
||||||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | League Two 2007–08 Football League Two The Football League 2007–08 , was the sixteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals.... |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 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... |
League Two | 37 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 2009–10 in English football The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League... |
League Two 2009–10 Football League Two The Football League 2009–10 , was the seventeenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2009 and ended on 8 May 2010.... |
15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 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... |
2009–10 | Championship 2009–10 Football League Championship The Football League Championship season 2009–10 is the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format... |
6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 2010–11 Watford F.C. season -Football League Championship:A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League Championship in the 2010–11 season. Each team played 46 matches; two against every other team, with one match played at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one for a draw, and none for defeats... |
Championship 2010–11 Football League Championship The 2010–11 Football League Championship was the seventh season of the league under its current name and nineteenth season under its current league division format... |
33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 4 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.... |
2011–12 2011–12 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season -Championship:-Result round by round:-Carling Cup:-Transfers:... |
Championship 2011–12 Football League Championship The 2011–12 Football League Championship is the eighth season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format.... |
5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 103 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 119 | 20 | 17 | 0 | ||