Warren Aspinall
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Warren Aspinall[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1967[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Wigan, England[1] | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder/Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980–1985 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1986 | Wigan Athletic | 33 | (10) |
| 1986–1987 | Everton | 7 | (0) |
| 1986 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 18 | (12) |
| 1987–1988 | Aston Villa | 44 | (14) |
| 1988–1993 | Portsmouth | 133 | (21) |
| 1993 | → AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 1993 | → Swansea City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | AFC Bournemouth | 27 | (8) |
| 1995–1997 | Carlisle United | 107 | (12) |
| 1997–1999 | Brentford | 43 | (5) |
| 1999 | → Colchester United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1999 | Colchester United | 16 | (5) |
| 1999 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 25 | (2) |
| Total | 477 | (91) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Warren Aspinall (born 13 September 1967) is an English former
. He retired from playing through an ankle injury in 2000.After his retirement from the game, his alcoholism and
Career
Born in Wigan, Aspinall began his career as a 13-year-old apprentice with hometown club Wigan Athletic. He signed a professional contract at the age of 17[3] and made his debut in March 1985 in an away game against Leyton Orient.[4] He made 33 league appearances and scored ten goals for Wigan, before being sold to Everton in 1986 for £150,000. He was immediately loaned back to Wigan, scoring a further 12 goals in 18 league appearances.[2] With Wigan's season completed, Aspinall returned to Everton, where he came on as a substitute for Gary Lineker in a 3–1 victory.[4]
After making only ten substitute appearances in all competitions for the Toffees, Aspinall transferred to Aston Villa for a then club record fee of £300,000, but could not help stop the club being relegated from the First Division.[5] Manager Billy McNeill, who signed Aspinall, was sacked and replaced by Graham Taylor, as Villa bounced back immediately to the First Division, with Aspinall finishing as joint-top scorer. However, a poor disciplinary record prompted a warning from Taylor that this must improve or he would be sold. An incident away to St Mirren in a pre-season friendly involved Aspinall stamping on an opponent's foot led to him being sold to Portsmouth for a club-record fee of £315,000 in August 1988.[6] He played in 44 league games and scored 14 goals for Aston Villa.[5]
In five years at Fratton Park, Aspinall made over 150 appearances in all competitions, scoring 28 goals,[2] and under Jim Smith helped the club reach the 1992 FA Cup semi-final, going out on penalties before Aspinall could take his kick. The team also narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League, but missed out by two goals.[6] After loan spells at AFC Bournemouth and Swansea City, playing six games for each club and scoring only once for Bournemouth, he was sold to Bournemouth for £20,000 in December 1993.[2]
With limited chances at Bournemouth, scoring eight goals in 28 league games, Aspinall signed for
It was with Brighton that Aspinall was forced to retire from playing early through injury, after suffering from a long-term ankle problem.[8] Aspinall had contracted MRSA following an operation on his ankle that went wrong, spending 27 days in hospital as a result.[6]
Personal life
After leaving the game, Aspinall
In 2009 Aspinall was working in a
Honours
Wigan Athletic
Aston Villa
- 1987–88
Carlisle United
- 1994–95
Individual
- PFA Team of the Year: 1996–97 Third Division
References
- ^ a b "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Warren Aspinall – Football Stats – Soccer Base". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Men on the Ropes – Warren Aspianll case study". Samaritans. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Bygone Blues: Warren Aspinall: Villa exit was always likely after my stamp". Portsmouth Today. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Former Aston Villa star Warren Aspinall reveals how he tried to kill himself". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Warren Aspinall – Portsmouth Football Club – The Pompey Chimes". The Pompey Chimes. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "1999 Sports Review (From Gazette)". Colchester Gazette. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Time calls on Aspinall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d Naylor, Andy (11 September 2009). "Albion old boy almost paid with his life". The Argus. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ^ Alexander, Brian (8 May 2008). "I just longed for the train to hit me". The Times. UK. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ Story, Chris (8 May 2008). "Ex-Blues star seconds away from suicide after blowing £1m". News & Story. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ Walker, Emily (9 September 2010). "Former Albion star joins suicide campaign after gambling away £1 million". The Argus. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ Naylor, Andy (11 September 2015). "The Friday Interview: He almost killed himself but life is a blast now for Warren Aspinall". The Argus. Brighton. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ^ "FREIGHT ROVER 85 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?". wiganathletic.com. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ Haylett, Trevor (21 April 1997). "Football: Happy ending for Carlisle". The Independent. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Championship Honours (Tier Two)". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "League Two (Tier Four)". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Associate Members Cup Finalists". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
External links
- Warren Aspinall at Soccerbase
- Warren Aspinall at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
