Club
Wright was born in Kirby Muxloe, Leicester. [1] He started his career at home town club Leicester City, making his Premier League debut under Dave Bassett on 23 March 2002, in a 2–0 home defeat to Leeds United, after he replaced Stefan Oakes on 86 minutes. [3] The Foxes were relegated at the end of the season, and new manager Micky Adams played Wright 13 times in the 2002–03 First Division promotion campaign. He scored his first senior goal on 18 January, in a 3–2 win over Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium; his second goal was the only one of the game against rivals Nottingham Forest at the Walkers Stadium on 8 April. He was offered a new contract at the end of the campaign. [4]
Despite BBC Sport's Phil McNulty naming the youngster as "one to watch" ahead of the 2003–04 season [5] –13 of the 20 he named went on to become full internationals –Wright did not feature for Leicester at all during the campaign. Instead, manager Wally Downes took him to Brentford on loan in September 2003. [6] He scored three goals in 25 Second Division matches in 2003–04 before his contribution to the team was ended by an ankle injury in April. [7] Leicester were relegated at the end of the season, and Wright played seven Championship and two cup games in the 2004–05 campaign. He joined League One Blackpool on loan at the start of the 2005–06 season, and hit six goals in fifteen games under the management of Colin Hendry and then Simon Grayson.
Wright signed for League One Barnsley on 1 January 2006 for a £50,000 fee. [8] Manager Andy Ritchie led the Tykes to promotion via the play-offs in 2005–06; Wright scored once in 22 appearances. He appeared in the play-off final victory over Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium after coming on for Marc Richards after 70 minutes. [9] Barnsley's promotion to the Championship saw Wright figure more from the bench for the Yorkshire side during the 2006–07 season, and in November he was sent on a two-month loan to League Two side Walsall. [10] Scoring on his debut at the Bescot Stadium, [11] he netted twice in five starts for the Saddlers, who went on to top the division under manager Richard Money.
Having failed to agree personal terms with Rotherham United, [12] Wright signed with Dave Penney's Darlington, also of League Two. [13] He finished the season with four goals in 13 appearances for the Quakers. He fired Darlington into the play-offs in 2007–08, where they were knocked out by Rochdale at the semi-final stage; Wright finished as the club's top scorer with thirteen goals. He was nominated for the League Two player of the month award for January after scoring three goals in the space of six games, but lost out to Grimsby Town's Danny North. [14]
On 8 August 2008, Wright was transferred to Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen, manager Jimmy Calderwood paying a fee of £100,000; the deal had been delayed while Wright was recovering from a knee injury. [15] Wright caused a stir in his first appearance in an Aberdeen shirt, receiving a yellow card for a reckless challenge, and allegedly attempting to headbutt Motherwell defender Stephen Craigan. [16] He scored his first senior goal for the Dons from the edge of the area in a Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against East Fife at Pittodrie on 17 February. [17] Shortly after, on 3 March, he netted his first SPL goal, a "wonderful" header from the edge of the area for a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw with St Mirren. [18] He finished the 2008–09 campaign with two goals in nineteen games, and Aberdeen finished fourth to secure a place in the UEFA Europa League.
His injury problems continued into the 2009–10 season. [19] By January it became clear that new manager Mark McGhee had little faith in Wright, and he told the striker that he was available for a transfer. [20] League One club Stockport County failed to pursue their initial interest, and on 27 January, Aberdeen released Wright from his contract, which still had 18 months to run. [21] [22]
Wright promptly signed an 18-month contract with Grimsby Town of League Two. [23] He struggled to hold a place in the team and finished the season with just one goal in fourteen games as the team were relegated from the League. Despite initially making public his desire to stay at the club, [24] he rejoined his former club Darlington a few days later having exercised a clause in his Grimsby contract allowing him to leave with immediate effect. [25] The team had fallen into the Conference Premier in his absence, and were now led by manager Simon Davey. [26] Davey left the club, and within a few weeks Wright went public with his praise of successor Mark Cooper. [27] Wright scored five goals in 29 games in 2010–11, and appeared in the 2011 FA Trophy Final against Mansfield Town at Wembley; at the very end of normal time, "from eight yards and unmarked, he somehow headed wide", but in the last minute of extra time, his header looped up off the crossbar for Chris Senior to win the game for Darlington. [28]
In September 2011, Wright was released from his Darlington contract, [29] and embarked on a series of short-team deals. He first signed for Conference rivals Kidderminster Harriers on non-contract terms with the view to earning himself a longer contract, [30] but made only two appearances for the club. On 18 October he joined fellow Conference side Luton Town for three months, [31] during which he scored three goals in six appearances, [32] including one against former club Grimsby. [33] He began training with League Two side Port Vale –managed by his former boss at Leicester, Micky Adams –in January 2012, [34] but then signed for Forest Green Rovers of the Conference Premier. [35] Wright made a goalscoring debut on 18 February in a 2–1 win against Gateshead, [36] and contributed two goals from seven appearances before being released at the end of the season.
Wright spent 2012–13 as a first-team regular with Tamworth, and scored five goals from 41 Conference Premier matches as the team avoided relegation on the final day of the season. [37] [38] In June 2013, he became Conference North side Harrogate Town's fourth summer signing, [39] but he was released in September to begin his managerial career. [40]
