Luke Medley

Luke Medley

Medley playing for Walton Casuals in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Luke Anthony Cleve Medley [1]
Date of birth	(1989-06-21) 21 June 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth	Greenwich, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Lordswood
Youth career
2005–2006	Welwyn Garden City
2006	Barnet
2006–2007	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Bradford City	9	(2)
2008	→ Cambridge City (loan)	5	(0)
2008–2010	Barnet	19	(1)
2009	→ Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	8	(2)
2009–2010	→ Woking (loan)	17	(2)
2010	→ Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	13	(0)
2010–2011	Mansfield Town	16	(5)
2011	→ Aldershot Town (loan)	4	(0)
2011–2012	Kidderminster Harriers	13	(0)
2011–2012	→ Lincoln City (loan)	6	(0)
2012	→ Woking (loan)	0	(0)
2012	Bromley	3	(0)
2013	Hayes & Yeading United	4	(0)
2013	Goole	6	(0)
2013	Crawley Down Gatwick
2014	Margate	9	(2)
2014–2016	Walton Casuals	65	(22)
2016–2017	Chatham Town	27	(15)
2017–2018	Cray Wanderers	23	(11)
2018–2019	Sheppey United	6	(4)
2019	Croydon	3	(2)
2019	Punjab United	1	(0)
2019–2020	Lordswood	33	(20)
2020–2021	Whitstable Town	8	(2)
2021–2022	Erith & Belvedere	?	(?)
2023–	Lordswood	9	(3)
Managerial career
2018	Greenwich Borough
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:07, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

Luke Anthony Cleve Medley (born 21 June 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Lordswood.

As a junior, he was on the books of Welwyn Garden City, Barnet and Tottenham Hotspur. He joined Bradford City in 2007, and later the same year scored with his first touch in league football. He played on loan for Cambridge City, but left Bradford after just one season to return to London, and re-signed for Barnet. During his time with Barnet, he had loan spells twice at Havant & Waterlooville and Woking before he dropped back into non-league to sign for Mansfield Town, Kidderminster Harriers and Bromley.

Career

Early career

Born in Greenwich, London, Medley attended Southgate College, ^[2] where he played for the college football side which lost in the 2006 English Colleges' Football League Championship Final to Gateshead College. ^[3] Medley also played for Welwyn Garden City, making his debut at the age of 16. ^[4] During his time with Welwyn Garden City, the club was removed from the 2005–06 Football Association Challenge Vase competition, after Medley played against Newmarket Town despite being not registered by the qualification date. ^[5]

Medley left Welwyn Garden City in 2006 to join Barnet's London-based Protec Football Academy, ^[6] where he stayed for eight months, before graduating to the youth side of Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur, along with defender Chris Casey. ^[2] Medley was released by Tottenham and was instead picked up by Bradford City under the caretaker management of David Wetherall following a trial. ^[7]

Bradford City

Medley scored the winning goal on his Bradford debut in their 2–1 league victory over Wrexham on 25 August 2007, a volley from outside the area, just two minutes after coming on as a substitute. The goal was scored with his first touch on his professional first team debut. ^[8] He played another three games before he joined Cambridge City on loan on 11 January 2008. ^[9] He came close to scoring on his Cambridge debut the following day, when he struck the post in a 1–0 FA Trophy defeat to Droylsden, with his Bradford teammate Sean Taylforth on the opposing side. ^[10] Medley played six games during his loan spell, including five in the Conference South, but failed to score. ^[11]

He returned to Bradford and made several more appearances as a substitute. On 29 April 2008, Medley was offered a new contract to remain at Bradford, ^[12] having played eight games for the club. Four days later, he scored on his first start for the club, when he converted a 44th-minute penalty against Wycombe Wanderers on the final day of the 2007–08 season. ^[13] However, he decided to turn down City's contract offer, because he wanted to move closer to his London roots. ^[7] He had scored two goals from just nine games during his time with Bradford. ^[14]

Barnet

Less than three weeks later, Medley returned to former club Barnet, becoming the League Two side's first signing of the summer. ^[15] Barnet eventually had to pay Bradford City £7,500 for Medley following a tribunal hearing. ^[16] He made his Barnet debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 as a second-half substitute against Chesterfield. Barnet lost the game 3–1. ^[17] Medley's first goal for Barnet came in his eighth league game, as they defeated Rotherham United 4–3 despite playing the game with ten men for an hour. ^[18] It was Medley's only goal from 20 appearances in all competitions, including 17 in the league, before Christmas; ^[19] he was subsequently dropped from the team and found more competition for places when Barnet signed 40-year-old striker Paul Furlong. ^[20]

After failing to play for Barnet during 2009, he was loaned out to Conference South side Havant & Waterlooville in March for one month. ^[21] Medley's debut came just one day after signing as he helped Havant to defeat Weston-super-Mare 1–0 in their fight against relegation, with Medley coming close to scoring. ^[22] He scored his first goal for Havant on his home debut during a 3–3 draw with Maidenhead United. ^[23] His second goal came in a 3–0 win over Fisher Athletic. ^[24]

In July 2009, he joined Conference South side Woking on a six-month loan. ^[25] Medley made his debut in the opening day of the season in Woking's first-ever game in the Conference South—a game they won 2–1, ^[26] before scoring his first goal in the club's second game just three days later against Chelmsford City, which Woking went on to lose. ^[27] He returned to the side and scored his first FA Cup goal to help Woking defeat Maidstone United and put them just one round away from the full stages of the competition. ^[28] In February 2010, he rejoined Havant & Waterlooville on loan. ^[29] He played 13 games during his loan spell but failed to score. ^{[30] [31]} Medley returned to Barnet in April and made his first appearance for the Bees in almost a year against Accrington Stanley. ^[32] However, Medley was one of a number of players that Barnet released at the end of the season. ^[33]

Mansfield Town

Medley spent time on trial with Histon, ^[34] Gillingham ^[35] and Conference National-side Mansfield Town, before signing for the latter on a six-month deal thanks to fans group the 12th Stags, which helped to pay for some of his wages. ^[36] Medley was a second-half substitute for Keigan Parker when making his debut for Mansfield in a 3–1 victory against Forest Green Rovers on the opening day of the 2010–11 Conference season. ^{[37] [38]} A week later, he scored his first goal and made another as Mansfield defeated Kidderminster Harriers 3–1. Medley had come on at half-time in the game, with Mansfield one goal down, and his performance was described as one that "terrified Kidderminster with his power and pace". ^[39] After three appearances as substitute, Medley was rewarded for his display against Kidderminster by being given his first start for Mansfield in their next game, which finished in a 1–1 draw with Kettering Town. ^[40] Medley remained a squad member but was still regularly used as a substitute and in one such appearance at the end of September, he scored twice in a game for the first time, to help lift Mansfield to the top of the table. ^[41] Medley's contract was also extended to the end of the season following a club takeover. ^[42]

Kidderminster Harriers

Medley left Mansfield in the summer and joined Kidderminster Harriers on a one-year contract. ^[43] On 17 November 2011, Medley joined fellow Conference side Lincoln City on loan until the New Year. ^{[44] [45]} After making six substitute appearances for the Imps, he returned to Kidderminster Harriers following the completion of his loan contract. ^[46] On 10 January 2012, he joined Woking for a second time on a month's loan. ^[47]

Bromley

Medley left Kidderminster on 14 February 2012 when his contract was cancelled by mutual consent ^[48] and on the same day he joined Bromley. ^[49]

Hayes and Yeading United

He joined Hayes & Yeading in the summer of 2013 to boost the United attack for the forthcoming campaign. On 20 July 2013 he made his debut during pre-season for his new team, scoring one goal in the 2–1 defeat to Windsor. He then featured again in the 3–1 victory over Slough Town. After four league appearances, he left the club.

Non-League Ventures

Medley signed for Northern Premier League Division One South side Goole in October 2013. ^[50] He made six appearances, without scoring, before being released. In November 2013, Medley signed for Crawley Down Gatwick of the Isthmian League Division One South, making his debut against Redhill on 30 November. ^[51] In March 2014, Medley joined Margate of the Isthmian League Premier Division. He made his debut for the club on 15 March against Billericay Town.Medley later joined Walton Casuals in October 2014, and made his debut in the Isthmian League Cup First Round. Medley began the 2016–17 season at Chatham Town, scoring 15 goals in a struggling side. He transferred to Chatham's local rivals Cray Wanderers in January 2017 and made an immediate impact, scoring six times in three games in the first week of February.

Following spells at Sheppey United, Croydon and Punjab United, Medley found himself at SCEFL Premier side Lordswood for the 2019–20 season. This saw Luke hit his best goal scoring season yet netting 20 times in 33 games. He left the Lords at the end of the season and joined Whitstable Town. Failing to make an impact, a spell at Erith & Belvedere was followed by a return to a struggling Lordswood in January 2023. He scored his first goal in a 3-1 home victory against his former side Whitstable Town, a game in which he scored twice. ^[52] Medley left Lordswood at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Following his departure from the "Lords", Medley had spells at Isthmian League side Phoenix Sports and has most recently played for SCEFL Premier side Hollands & Blair, making his debut for The Blair in a 3-1 home defeat against his former club Punjab United. ^[53]

Personal life

Luke is the older brother of professional footballer Zechariah Medley.

Career statistics

As of 21 November 2010 ^{[11] [14] [30] [31] [54] [55] [56]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other [lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bradford City	2007–08	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
Cambridge City (loan)	2007–08	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
Barnet	2008–09	18	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	20	1
Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	2008–09	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
Woking (loan)	2009–10	17	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	19	3
Havant & Waterlooville (loan)	2009–10	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Barnet	2009–10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Mansfield Town	2010–11	16	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	5
Career total		86	12	3	1	1	0	2	0	92	13

1. Includes Football League Trophy and FA Trophy

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 283. ISBN   978-1-84596-474-0.
2. "Southgate college students sign for Spurs". Southgate College. 28 November 2006.^{[ dead link ]}
3. Willacy, Gavin (23 May 2006). "Southgate suffer cup final heartache". Southgate College.^{[ dead link ]}
4. "Haverhill Rovers v Welwyn Garden City". Haverhill Rovers Matchday Programme. Haverhill Rovers Football Club. 19 August 2006. Archived from the original (DOC) on 13 October 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
5. "Protest upheld". The Football Association. 3 February 2006.
6. Parker, Simon (7 April 2008). "Medley hopes to strike right note". Telegraph & Argus.
7. Parker, Simon (5 June 2008). "Medley turns down City offer". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
8. Parker, Simon (26 August 2007). "Luke Who's a Hit With City Fans". Telegraph & Argus.
9. "Droylsden capture Bradford pair". BBC Sport. 11 January 2008.
10. "City left feeling Trophy bitter by sucker punch". Cambridge Evening News. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
11. "Goals and Games 07/08". Cambridge City Football Club. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
12. Parker, Simon (29 April 2008). "Johnson one of 13 axed by City". Telegraph & Argus.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. "Wycombe 2–1 Bradford". BBC Sport. 3 May 2008.
14. "Luke Medley". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
15. Wreyford, Paul (25 June 2008). "Bees sign Bradford City forward". Hendon Times.
16. "Bradford get Medley compensation". BBC Sport. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
17. "Barnet 1–3 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008.
18. "Rotherham 3–4 Barnet". BBC Sport. 18 October 2008.
19. "Games played by Luke Medley in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
20. "Barnet bring in Furlong and Black". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009.
21. "Havant swoop for striker Medley". BBC Sport. 23 March 2009.
22. "Super show eases Hawks' drop fears". The News. 24 March 2009.
23. "Pacquette comes back to haunt Hawks". The News. 5 April 2009.
24. "Havant & Waterlooville 3 Fisher Athletic 0". Havant & Waterlooville Football Club. 11 April 2009.
25. "Cards borrow Medley". Non League Daily. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
26. "Woking finish strongly for an opening win". Woking Football Club. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
27. "Cards lose out despite promising display". 12 August 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
28. "Woking 2 Maidstone 0". Kent Messenger. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
29. "Barnet duo back for more". Havant & Waterlooville F.C. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
30. "Appearances Chart 2009/2010 Season". Havant & Waterlooville F.C. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
31. "Goalscoring Chart 2009/2010 Season". Havant & Waterlooville F.C. Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
32. "Accrington Stanley 1–0 Barnet". BBC Sport. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
33. "Retained list". 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
34. "Histon boss John Beck may make Luke Medley move". BBC Sport. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
35. Morgan, Lance (30 July 2010). "Finger on Trigger as boss Hessy looks to old mate". This is Kent. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
36. Thirkill, Stephen (9 August 2010). "Mansfield sign Luke Medley thanks to The 12th Stag". Mansfield Chad. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
37. Thirkill, Stephen (14 August 2010). "Stags 3 Forest Green Rovers 1–14th August 2010". Mansfield Chad. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
38. "Mansfield 3–1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
39. Lomas, John (21 August 2010). "Boss hails Medley supershow". Mansfield Chad. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
40. "Mansfield Town 1 v 1 Kettering, Tuesday 24th August 2010". Mansfield Chad. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
41. "Mansfield 4–0 Eastbourne Boro". BBC Sport. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
42. "Luke Medley agrees extended deal at Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
43. "Kidderminster sign ex-Mansfield striker Luke Medley". BBC Sport. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
44. "Lincoln City sign Medley, Thompson and Sheridan". BBC Sport. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
45. "Harriers striker joins on loan". Lincoln City F.C. 17 November 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
46. "Medley returns to Harriers". Lincoln City F.C. 4 January 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
47. "Duo depart on loan". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 10 January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012.
48. "Medley Departs". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012.
49. "Luke Medley Joins Bromley". Bromley F.C. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012.
50. "Home".
51. Crawley Down Gatwick 2–1 Redhill Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
52. "Match Report: Lordswood 3-1 Whitstable Town".
53. "Blair 1-3 Punjab United".
54. "Appearances Chart 2008/2009 Season". Havant & Waterlooville F.C. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
55. "Goalscoring Chart 2008/2009 Season". Havant & Waterlooville F.C. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
56. "First Team Player Statistics 2009/10". Woking Football Club. Retrieved 11 October 2009.

External links

• Luke Medley at Soccerbase
• Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive Profile