Tom Taiwo
Encyclopedia
Thomas James William "Tom" Taiwo (born 27 February 1990) is an English footballer who plays 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 Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

 as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

.

He graduated out of the Chelsea
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...

 academy to turn professional in 2008, having switched from the Leeds United Academy
Leeds United A.F.C. Reserves and Youth Team
Leeds United Reserves are the reserve team of Leeds United A.F.C.. The manager of the reserves is Neil Redfearn and they currently play at the first team's home ground, Elland Road. In previous seasons, the reserves have played at York City's Bootham Crescent and the South Leeds Stadium...

 two years earlier. He never appeared for the first team, and instead enjoyed a brief loan spell at Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

, before he joined Carlisle United on a loan deal that was made permanent in January 2010.

Club career

He joined Chelsea from 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...

 along with Michael Woods
Michael Woods (footballer)
Michael James Woods is an English professional footballer who last played for Chelsea F.C. as a midfielder.-Club career:...

 in a controversial move after Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....

 accused Chelsea of tapping up the youngsters. Leeds received £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

5 million in compensation for the pair after threatening to take Chelsea to court.

Taiwo joined 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....

 club Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 on a month's loan in August 2008. He made his debut, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute, at home to Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....

, in the 3–1 win in 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....

 on 30 August. Vale sent him back to Chelsea in September after they decided not to extend his loan. Taiwo went on a trial with Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...

 of Major League Soccer in the middle of March 2009.

In July 2009, Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

 announced they had signed Taiwo on loan until the end of December. He impressed supporters with his "aggressive, tackle-heavy performances at the heart of the midfield." Taiwo scored his first goal for Carlisle in a 3–2 league victory over rivals Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

. On 6 January 2010, Carlisle signed Taiwo from Chelsea permanently on a two-and-a-half-year contract, after paying the London club an undisclosed fee.

International career

Although he has played 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...

 at youth level, he is eligible to represent Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

 through his paternal grandfather.

Statistics

|-
|2008–09||Chelsea
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...

||Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2008–09
2008–09 Port Vale F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Port Vale's ninety-seventh season of football in the Football League, and first season in League Two, following their relegation from League One. After a poor start to the season manager Lee Sinnott was sacked in September, and was replaced by Dean Glover. Despite a brief...

||Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

||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....

||4||0||0||0||0||0||5||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...

||Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

||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....

||35||1||3||0||3||0||47||1
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Carlisle United F.C. season
-League One:-FA Cup:-League Cup:-Football League Trophy:-References:...

||Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

||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....

||45||2||3||0||1||0||55||3
|-
|2011–12||Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

||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....

||7||1||0||0||2||0||10||1
|-
91||4||6||0||6||0||116||5
91||4||6||0||6||0||116||5

Note
  • 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...

     appearances and goal included totals column.

External links

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