Nicky Weaver
Encyclopedia
Nicholas James "Nicky" Weaver (born 2 March 1979) is an English
footballer who is a goalkeeper currently playing for League One
club Sheffield Wednesday
. Weaver is a former England under-21
international.
from Mansfield Town
on the recommendation of goalkeeping coach Alex Stepney
. He made his competitive Manchester City debut in the first match of the 1998–99 season against Blackpool
, keeping a clean sheet. Over the course of the season Weaver kept a total of 26 clean sheets, breaking the club record for clean sheets in a season. Weaver was the hero for Manchester City in the 1999 Second Division
Play-Off final versus Gillingham
after his penalty save clinched promotion, prompting him to go on a 'crazy run' around the Wembley pitch. Around this time, Weaver was tipped to receive full international honours for England
after becoming an England under 21 international.
Weaver remained first choice goalkeeper in 1999-2000, as City secured a second consecutive promotion by finishing in second place in the Nationwide First Division
. He then tasted Premiership football for the first time in the 2000-01
season, as the club was relegated in its first top flight campaign since 1996. Weaver missed almost half of City's league matches in 2001-02 through injury, as the club was again promoted back to the Premier League. Weaver's growing injury problems lead to Keegan signing veteran Peter Schmeichel
for the 2002-03 season, with Weaver dropping to second choice.
Weaver did not start any games in the 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. However, he did play the last fifteen minutes of the 2004–05 season, when Stuart Pearce
surprisingly substituted Claudio Reyna
for Weaver so the regular City goalkeeper David James
could play in attack against Middlesbrough
.
Weaver's return to fitness resulted in injury once again during the close season of 2005, ruling him out of the start of the season. In Autumn 2005 Weaver went on loan to Sheffield Wednesday
, the team he had supported since childhood, in an attempt to return to full fitness.
While at Wednesday, Weaver made 14 appearances, beginning with a 2–1 victory at home to Derby County
and ending with a 3–0 defeat away at Leeds United
. He also played in the Steel City derby
away at Bramall Lane
against Sheffield United
, where Wednesday were beaten 1–0. He was the only Sheffield born player in the entire fixture.
Before the 2006–07 season, Manchester City sold James to Portsmouth
, bought Andreas Isaksson
as a replacement and gave Isaksson the number 1 shirt. However, an injury to Isaksson meant Weaver played the first game of the season on 20 August 2006, his first senior start for the club in nearly three years, and Weaver's improved form led to him starting all but one of the Manchester City games in the rest of 2006.
On 4 July 2007, out of contract Weaver signed for Charlton Athletic
on a free transfer. Following his release from Charlton. Weaver signed for Dundee United
on 5 August 2009 on a short-term contract. The United fans took to him instantly and – although he was pelted by snowballs by Aberdeen fans in his final home match at Tannadice as the ground staff thought it was a good idea not to clear all the snow – he played in every league match before his contract expired in January 2010.
On 27 January 2010, Weaver signed an initial six-month contract with Burnley
on a free transfer subject to international clearance. However he was released on 11 May 2010 without making a single appearance. With Lee Grant's departure from Sheffield Wednesday to Burnley in the close season, Weaver the ex-Owl loanee and Wednesday fan signed as a replacement after the club's transfer embargo was lifted. On 4 October 2010, Weaver was awarded the Handley Brown player of the month for September after a number of impressive performances in an underachieving Wednesday team. Weaver was awarded man of the match against Chesterfield
in a Football League Trophy
second round match after scoring the decisive penalty and saving three spot kicks, two of which were vital sudden death saves to keep Wednesday in the competition.
Weaver received his second successive Player of The Month award off the club for his performances in October. His consistent performances led to him signing a new two-and-a-half-year deal on 14 February 2011, which due to an oversight by the press office was not announced until 4 April.
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 is a goalkeeper currently playing for 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....
club 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...
. Weaver is a former England under-21
England 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....
international.
Career
Weaver was bought by Manchester CityManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
from Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
on the recommendation of goalkeeping coach Alex Stepney
Alex Stepney
Alexander Cyril "Alex" Stepney is a former English football player who was Manchester United's goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup.-London beginnings:...
. He made his competitive Manchester City debut in the first match of the 1998–99 season against Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
, keeping a clean sheet. Over the course of the season Weaver kept a total of 26 clean sheets, breaking the club record for clean sheets in a season. Weaver was the hero for Manchester City in the 1999 Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Play-Off final versus 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...
after his penalty save clinched promotion, prompting him to go on a 'crazy run' around the Wembley pitch. Around this time, Weaver was tipped to receive full international honours for England
England 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...
after becoming an England under 21 international.
Weaver remained first choice goalkeeper in 1999-2000, as City secured a second consecutive promotion by finishing in second place in the Nationwide First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. He then tasted Premiership football for the first time in the 2000-01
2000–01 Manchester City F.C. season
The 2000–01 season was Manchester City Football Clubs 109th season playing in a division of English football, most of which have been spent in the top flight....
season, as the club was relegated in its first top flight campaign since 1996. Weaver missed almost half of City's league matches in 2001-02 through injury, as the club was again promoted back to the Premier League. Weaver's growing injury problems lead to Keegan signing veteran Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
for the 2002-03 season, with Weaver dropping to second choice.
Weaver did not start any games in the 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. However, he did play the last fifteen minutes of the 2004–05 season, when Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
surprisingly substituted Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna is a retired American soccer player and the current USSF US Youth Soccer Technical Director. He was the captain of the United States national team before retiring from international football following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is widely considered one of the...
for Weaver so the regular City goalkeeper David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
could play in attack 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...
.
Weaver's return to fitness resulted in injury once again during the close season of 2005, ruling him out of the start of the season. In Autumn 2005 Weaver went on loan to 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...
, the team he had supported since childhood, in an attempt to return to full fitness.
While at Wednesday, Weaver made 14 appearances, beginning with a 2–1 victory at home to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
and ending with a 3–0 defeat away at Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
. He also played in the Steel City derby
Steel City derby
The Steel City Derby is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England...
away at Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
against 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...
, where Wednesday were beaten 1–0. He was the only Sheffield born player in the entire fixture.
Before the 2006–07 season, Manchester City sold James to 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...
, bought Andreas Isaksson
Andreas Isaksson
Andreas Isaksson is a Swedish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and for the Swedish national team.-Club career:...
as a replacement and gave Isaksson the number 1 shirt. However, an injury to Isaksson meant Weaver played the first game of the season on 20 August 2006, his first senior start for the club in nearly three years, and Weaver's improved form led to him starting all but one of the Manchester City games in the rest of 2006.
On 4 July 2007, out of contract Weaver signed for 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,...
on a free transfer. Following his release from Charlton. Weaver signed for Dundee United
Dundee United F.C.
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...
on 5 August 2009 on a short-term contract. The United fans took to him instantly and – although he was pelted by snowballs by Aberdeen fans in his final home match at Tannadice as the ground staff thought it was a good idea not to clear all the snow – he played in every league match before his contract expired in January 2010.
On 27 January 2010, Weaver signed an initial six-month contract with Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
on a free transfer subject to international clearance. However he was released on 11 May 2010 without making a single appearance. With Lee Grant's departure from Sheffield Wednesday to Burnley in the close season, Weaver the ex-Owl loanee and Wednesday fan signed as a replacement after the club's transfer embargo was lifted. On 4 October 2010, Weaver was awarded the Handley Brown player of the month for September after a number of impressive performances in an underachieving Wednesday team. Weaver was awarded man of the match against Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
in a 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...
second round match after scoring the decisive penalty and saving three spot kicks, two of which were vital sudden death saves to keep Wednesday in the competition.
Weaver received his second successive Player of The Month award off the club for his performances in October. His consistent performances led to him signing a new two-and-a-half-year deal on 14 February 2011, which due to an oversight by the press office was not announced until 4 April.
Career statistics
- After 7 August 2010.
Club |League |Lg Cup |Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Mansfield Town Mansfield Town F.C.Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
1995–96 1995-96 in English football- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
1 0 N/A 1 0 1996–97 1996-97 in English footballThe 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
0 0 N/A 0 0 Total 1 0 |N/A Manchester City Manchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
1997–98 1997-98 in English footballThe 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
– – – – – – – – 0 0 1998–99 1998-99 in English football-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
45 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 55 0 1999–00 45 0 2 0 4 0 – – 51 0 2000–01 2000-01 in English footballThe 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
31 0 3 0 5 0 – – 39 0 2001–02 2001-02 in English footballThe 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
25 0 2 0 2 0 – – 29 0 2002–03 2002-03 in English footballThe 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...
– – – – – – – – 0 0 2003–04 2003-04 in English footballThe 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
– – – – – – 1 0 1 0 2004–05 2004-05 in English footballThe 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
1 0 – – – – – – 1 0 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...
(loan)2005–06 2005-06 in English footballThe 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...
14 0 – – – – – – 14 0 Total 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 Manchester City Manchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
2006–07 2006-07 in English footballThe 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
25 0 5 0 1 0 – – 31 0 Total 172 0 16 0 15 0 4 0 207 0 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,...
2007–08 2007-08 in English footballThe 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
45 0 2 0 1 0 – – 48 0 2008–09 22 0 – – – – – – 22 0 Total 67 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 70 0 Dundee United Dundee United F.C.Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...
2009–10 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0 Total 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0 Burnley Burnley F.C.Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
2009–10 – – – – – – – – 0 0 Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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...
2010–11 28 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 34 0 Total 28 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 34 0 Career total 282 0 18 0 16 0 4 0 311 0