Leon Britton
Encyclopedia
Leon James Britton is an English
professional football player, who plays for Swansea City
following a short lived spell for Sheffield United
.
Development School at Lilleshall
where he was a year behind Joe Cole
, Britton began his career as an Arsenal
trainee at the age of nine. When he signed for West Ham United
for £400,000 in 1998, he attracted the highest transfer fee ever paid for a 16 year-old at that time.
on loan in December 2002, helping the club to avoid relegation from the Football League. He was named PFA Fans' Player of the Year for the Third Division in the 2002–03 season. Swansea manager Brian Flynn
was impressed enough to sign him permanently after he was released by West Ham.
Including his appearances whilst on loan with the club, to the end of the 2005–06 season, Britton had played 137 times for Swansea City in all competitions (with a further 18 appearances as a substitute) and had scored nine goals.
On 9 February 2008, Britton played his 200th game for Swansea City. In January 2010, Swansea rejected an £750,000 offer for Britton from Wigan Athletic
but at the end of that season Britton refused the offer of a new contract and became a free agent.
in June 2010. He was handed a regular role in the centre of the Blades midfield but failed to really show the form he had displayed at Swansea. A difficult period for the club, Britton played under four managers within the space of five months and eventually asked to return to his former employer, stating that his previous transfer had been a "mistake" and that he "should never have left Swansea". The Blades admitted that he had never settled in South Yorkshire and agreed to let him return to Wales after only 26 appearances for the club.
This fee is clause based and could include up to £400,000 depending on appearances and Swansea's promotion to the Premier League.
His second Swansea debut came in a draw with Barnsley
on 20 January 2011.
After a fantastic performance in his first start back against Bristol City, Leon started the South Wales Derby where he was met by a brilliant reception from the home fans. On 7 May, Britton scored the last goal in a 4-0 win over former club Sheffield United. He scored his second goal in the Swans' 3-1 second leg play-off win over Nottingham Forest. On June 18 2011, Britton was confirmed once again as the club's number 7.
|2002–03||rowspan="8"|Swansea City
||rowspan="3"|League Two
|25||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||25||0
|-
|2003–04||42||3||5||0||1||0||48||3
|-
|2004–05||30||1||3||0||1||0||34||1
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="3"|League One
||41||4||1||0||1||0||43||4
|-
|2006–07||41||2||4||3||1||0||46||5
|-
|2007–08||40||0||5||1||2||0||47||1
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|Championship
||43||0||4||0||1||0||48||0
|-
|2009–10
||36||0||colspan="2"|-||2||0||38||0
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="1"|Sheffield United
||21||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||21||0
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="2"|Swansea City
||17||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||19||2
|-
|2011–12
||rowspan="1"|Premier League||6||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||6||0
326||10||22||4||8||0||357||14
326||10||22||4||8||0||357||17
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 football player, who plays for Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
following a short lived spell for Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
.
Youth career
A member of the EnglandEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
Development School at Lilleshall
Lilleshall
Lilleshall is a village in Shropshire, England.It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Telford and Wrekin borough and the Wrekin constituency....
where he was a year behind Joe Cole
Joe Cole
Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...
, Britton began his career as an 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...
trainee at the age of nine. When he signed for West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
for £400,000 in 1998, he attracted the highest transfer fee ever paid for a 16 year-old at that time.
West Ham
Unable to break into the first team at West Ham, Britton joined Swansea CitySwansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
on loan in December 2002, helping the club to avoid relegation from the Football League. He was named PFA Fans' Player of the Year for the Third Division in the 2002–03 season. Swansea manager Brian Flynn
Brian Flynn
Brian Flynn, is a Welsh football manager and former Welsh international player.On 13 September 2010 Flynn was confirmed caretaker manager of the Wales national football team after John Toshack stepped down...
was impressed enough to sign him permanently after he was released by West Ham.
Swansea
A diminutive but skilful midfielder, Britton won Player of the Year awards from an online supporters' group in both 2002–03 and 2005–06 seasons.Including his appearances whilst on loan with the club, to the end of the 2005–06 season, Britton had played 137 times for Swansea City in all competitions (with a further 18 appearances as a substitute) and had scored nine goals.
On 9 February 2008, Britton played his 200th game for Swansea City. In January 2010, Swansea rejected an £750,000 offer for Britton from Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
but at the end of that season Britton refused the offer of a new contract and became a free agent.
Sheffield United
Despite interest from the Premiership, Britton signed for Sheffield UnitedSheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
in June 2010. He was handed a regular role in the centre of the Blades midfield but failed to really show the form he had displayed at Swansea. A difficult period for the club, Britton played under four managers within the space of five months and eventually asked to return to his former employer, stating that his previous transfer had been a "mistake" and that he "should never have left Swansea". The Blades admitted that he had never settled in South Yorkshire and agreed to let him return to Wales after only 26 appearances for the club.
Return to Swansea
Britton duly re-signed for Swansea for what the Blades described as an "undisclosed fee" during the January transfer window despite the Swans insisting no fee was involved.This fee is clause based and could include up to £400,000 depending on appearances and Swansea's promotion to the Premier League.
His second Swansea debut came in a draw with Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
on 20 January 2011.
After a fantastic performance in his first start back against Bristol City, Leon started the South Wales Derby where he was met by a brilliant reception from the home fans. On 7 May, Britton scored the last goal in a 4-0 win over former club Sheffield United. He scored his second goal in the Swans' 3-1 second leg play-off win over Nottingham Forest. On June 18 2011, Britton was confirmed once again as the club's number 7.
Career statistics
|-|2002–03||rowspan="8"|Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
||rowspan="3"|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....
|25||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||25||0
|-
|2003–04||42||3||5||0||1||0||48||3
|-
|2004–05||30||1||3||0||1||0||34||1
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="3"|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....
||41||4||1||0||1||0||43||4
|-
|2006–07||41||2||4||3||1||0||46||5
|-
|2007–08||40||0||5||1||2||0||47||1
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|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...
||43||0||4||0||1||0||48||0
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Football League
The Football League 2009–10, called the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the 110th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2009 and concluded in May 2010, with the promotion play-off finals. The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The...
||36||0||colspan="2"|-||2||0||38||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Football League
The Football League 2010–11, called the Npower Football League, was the 111th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2010 and concluded in May 2011, with the promotion play-off finals....
||rowspan="1"|Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
||21||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||21||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Football League
The Football League 2010–11, called the Npower Football League, was the 111th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2010 and concluded in May 2011, with the promotion play-off finals....
||rowspan="2"|Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
||17||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||19||2
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Premier League
The 2011–12 Premier League is the twentieth season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2011–12 fixtures were announced on 17 June 2011 at 9:00 BST. The season began on 13 August 2011 and is due to end on 13 May 2012...
||rowspan="1"|Premier League||6||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||6||0
326||10||22||4||8||0||357||14
326||10||22||4||8||0||357||17