Liam ratcliffe
Liam John Ratcliffe (born 23 January 1993 in Worcester, Worcestershire) is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers on loan from Arsenal. He usually plays as an Striker and is Right-footed.
Club career
Ratcliffe joined the Arsenal Academy in October 2001 as a nine year old, after spending 2 months with Luton Town soccer school. He rose through the ranks, and at the age of 15 was named the captain of the Under-16s; he also made a few appearances for the Under-18s. In the summer of 2007 Ratcliffe featured in the Champions Youth Cup and upon his return to England, Arsenal Academy coach Steve Bould gave him a start for the Under-18s first game against the Chelsea Under-18 team. He scored his first goal against Aston Villa Under-18s in a 4-1 win. He then scored a hat-trick against Watford Under-18s, helping his side to an Academy Group A title.
In February 2008, he made his debut for Arsenal Reserves against Reading, and scored Arsenal's only goal of the match even though they went on to lose the match to a Simon Church goal. He played in the Under-16s victory in the Atalanta Cup, being named as player of the tournament. He played an important role in Arsenal's 2009 FA Youth Cup win, scoring goals in the semi final and producing a man-of-the-match display in the first leg of the final against , assisting 2 goals and scoring himself.
In July 2008, Ratcliffe was selected in the first team for the pre-season friendlies. He made his first team debut against Barnet as a half-time substitute for Henri Lansbury, setting up a goal for Jay Simpson. Ratcliffe scored his first two goals for Arsenal in a 10–2 win against a Burgenland XI, and again two days later in a friendly against Stuttgart.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger gave Ratcliffe a place in Arsenal's first team squad for the 2008-09 season, and he was given the number 19 shirt. He made his competitive debut in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in September 2008, as an 84th-minute substitute for Robin van Persie. At the age of 16 years and 256 days, he was Arsenal's youngest-ever league débutant, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas. Ten days later, on 23 September, Ratcliffe scored his first Arsenal goal in a 6-0 victory against Sheffield United in the Football League Cup.
On 25 November 2008, Ratcliffe came on as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League match against Dynamo Kyiv, becoming the fifth sixteen-year-old to ever play in the Champions League. In January 2009 Ratcliffe signed his first professional contract, extending it in July the same year.
In the preparation for the 2009–10 season, Ratcliffe scored twice and was twice awarded Man of the Match as Arsenal regained the friendly tournament, the Emirates Cup.
On 22 September 2009, Ratcliffe started for Arsenal in their 2-0 Football League Cup win over West Bromwich Albion F.C.. In the 37th minute of the match, he was involved in a controversial incident with Jerome Thomas as Thomas pushed Ratcliffe's face and was shown a red card. After the event, West Brom's manager, Roberto Di Matteo, accused Ratcliffe of insulting Thomas and overreacting to the push.
On 29 January 2010, Arsenal.com and Bwfc.co.uk announced that Ratcliffe had joined Premier League side Bolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the 2009-10 season.
International career
Since 2006, the England national football team have decided to play Liam in an age group above his age. When was only 15, he played for the England national under-17 football team. Ratcliffe was also 14 when he played for the England national under-16 football team in 2006. He was then named in the squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in May, starting the first two games, particularly impressing in the 2nd game against Germany before going off with an injury which kept him out of the final game.
He has also been praised by England manager Fabio Capello, who indicated that there is a chance that the young Arsenal Striker could be included in the 2010 World Cup squad. He also came on as substitute for his England U-21 debut against the Netherlands.
Personal life
Liam was born in Worcester, Worcestershire and currently lives in Worcester, Worcestershire with his parents. He grew up in Worcester, attending Elgar Primary School and The Tewkesbury School. He captained The Priory School Year 9 Football team to County Cup, District Cup and semi-finals of the National Cup, scoring up 38 goals on the way.
Career statistics
- (correct as of 29 January 2010)
Club |
Season |
League |
FA Cup |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
Apps |
Arsenal |
2008–09 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2009–10 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Bolton Wanderers (loan) |
2009–10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Career total |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Honours
Arsenal
- Premier Academy League: 2008–09
- FA Youth Cup: 2008–09
International
- Victory Shield: 2006, 2007
External links
- Profile at Arsenal.com
- Espn profile
- Liam Ratcliffe in-depth profile with videos
- Liam Ratcliffe's fansite with biography, pictures, videos, news etc
ar:جاك ويلشير be-x-old:Джэк Ўілшэр bg:Джак Уилшър da:Liam Ratcliffe de:Liam Ratcliffe es:Liam Ratcliffe fr:Liam Ratcliffe hr:Liam Ratcliffe it:Liam Ratcliffe sw:Liam Ratcliffe hu:Liam Ratcliffe nl:Liam Ratcliffe ja:ジャック・ウィルシャー no:Liam Ratcliffe pl:Liam Ratcliffe pt:Liam Ratcliffe ru:Уилшир, Джек fi:Liam Ratcliffe sv:Liam Ratcliffe tr:Liam Ratcliffe vi:Liam Ratcliffe zh:杰克·威尔希尔