Tom Huddlestone
Thomas Andrew Huddlestone (born 28 December 1986) is an English professional footballer and coach who both plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and fulfils a coaching role for Manchester United's Under-21 team.
Not to be confused with Tom Hiddleston.Personal information
Thomas Andrew Huddlestone[1]
28 December 1986[2]
Nottingham, England
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[3]
36
Team
→ Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan)
Manchester United Academy (Under-21 coach)
Having progressed through the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest and Derby County, Huddlestone began his professional career in 2003 with the latter club. He quickly broke into the first team, and made 88 league appearances before switching to Tottenham Hotspur in 2005. Having spent some of the 2005–06 season on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he made 13 league appearances, he began to break into the Tottenham team during the 2006–07 season, and became a regular player for the club. However, he struggled with injury problems during the 2011–12 season, and fell out of favour. He joined Hull City in August 2013, having made 144 league appearances for Tottenham.
Huddlestone represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels before making his under-21 debut in 2005. He was a regular for the under-21 team between 2005 and 2009, and made 33 appearances. He made senior full England debut in 2009, and has since gone on to make three further appearances.
Club career[edit]
Derby County[edit]
Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire,[5] Huddlestone was taken on by Nottingham Forest at an early age but was released at 12 as he was claimed to be "not strong enough".[6] He joined Derby County and after progressing well, made his debut for Derby County's reserve team at the age of just 15, when he appeared as an 80th minute substitute at right wingback in a match against Coventry City.[7]
He was given his first-team debut by George Burley at the age of 16 on the opening day of the 2003–04 season in a 3–0 home defeat to Stoke City, where he was voted man of the match.[8] Though Derby struggled in Huddlestone's first full season, Huddlestone was one of Derby's few bright points, with Burley saying "He's a terrific talent. As a young player, he (is) the best passer of a ball I (have) ever seen, and I've worked with some good young players."[9] He eventually went on to appear in 43 of Derby's 46 league matches that season.[10] He enjoyed an equally successful 2004–05 as Derby reached the First Division play-offs, where they lost to Preston North End in the semi-final.[11] However, halfway through the season Huddlestone signed for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in January 2005 for a fee reported to be worth up to £2.5 million, though he remained at Derby for the rest of the season.[12] He had made a total of 95 appearances for Derby, without scoring.
International career[edit]
Youth[edit]
Having been capped at the U-17 and U-19 levels, Huddlestone was a regular in the England under-21s.[42] He played twice in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship before a red card for dissent ruled him out of the semi-final and final.[43] In October 2008, he scored the opening goal from a free kick in the second leg of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs against Wales.[44] Although the match ended in a draw which ensured qualification for England, it was marred by his sending-off in the second half for a reckless challenge on Darcy Blake.[45] He missed the tournament through injury.
Senior team[edit]
He was called up into the England squad for the first time by coach Fabio Capello to face the United States and Trinidad and Tobago in friendlies.[46] On 14 November 2009, he received his first cap for the senior team in the 1–0 loss in a friendly against Brazil, after coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute.[47] His next appearances came in a 2010 FIFA World Cup warm up match against Mexico, where he came on as a substitute in the 61st minute.[48] His latest appearance for England also came in a World Cup warm-up match against Japan where he started for the first time in 2–1 victory.[49]
In May 2010, Fabio Capello announced that Huddlestone would be in his preliminary World Cup squad of 30 players.[50] However, was not selected for the final 23-man squad.[51] On 11 November 2012, new England manager Roy Hodgson gave Huddlestone his first call up to the squad for two years for a friendly match against Sweden on 14 November.[52]
Style of play[edit]
He is known for his passing ability, which has led to comparisons with former Tottenham player Glenn Hoddle.[53] He also has a powerful shot that has enabled him to score long-range goals from midfield.
Personal life[edit]
Shortly after scoring a goal for Tottenham against Arsenal in April 2011, Huddlestone accepted a challenge not to cut his hair until he scored again, to raise money for charity.[54] It took him two-and-a-half years, and 55 matches, before he finally scored his next goal (in a Premier League match for Hull against Fulham on 28 December 2013), and he raised more than £57,000 for Cancer Research UK as a result.[55][56]
Tottenham Hotspur
Hull City
Individual