This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (November 2009)

Michael Kightly
Personal information
Full name	Michael John Kightly
Date of birth	24 January 1986 (1986-01-24) (age 23)
Place of birth	Basildon, England
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	7
Youth career
2000–2001	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2003 2003–2005 2004–2005 2005–2007 2006–2007 2007–	Basildon United Southend United → Farnborough Town (loan) Grays Athletic → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) Wolverhampton Wanderers	13 0(0) 11 0(0) 53 (24) 05 0(2) 83 (18)
National team2
2007–2008	England U21	07 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:01, 24 October 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15 June 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Michael John Kightly (born 24 January 1986) is an English football midfielder, who plays for Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

[edit] Early years

Born in Basildon, Kightly played schoolboy football for Tottenham Hotspur but was released and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-league Basildon United. His stay was short and was soon back in professional football playing for Southend United, where he made his league debut on 3 May 2003 in a 1-0 defeat at Exeter City.

Although featuring in all their cup games of this time, he made only 13 league appearances over 3 different seasons for them. He was loaned out to Farnborough Town in October 2004 and released at the end of the season by Southend manager Steve Tilson.^[1]

[edit] Grays Athletic

Conference side Grays Athletic signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season, and won the FA Trophy. He began the 2006-07 season still with Grays, and had scored 10 goals by November. Such form caught the eye of scouts at Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, to whom he completed a two-month emergency loan move on 17 November 2006.^[2]

He would subsequently return to play against Grays for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, which was a condition of the permanent deal later made between the clubs.^[3]

[edit] Wolverhampton Wanderers

Kightly scored his first ever league goal to earn a 1-0 victory at QPR in December 2006. His form at Grays Athletic led him to be dubbed "The Ryan Giggs of non-league football", and it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United.^[4] After scoring two goals in five games, his loan move was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half year contract for a nominal fee on New Years Day 2007.^[5]

He became a first-team regular in the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the club into a play-off position. His performances made him a fans' favourite, ending up as runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006-07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray. After a play-off defeat denied promotion, it was reported that he was being tracked by clubs such as Aston Villa, Charlton, Spurs, Portsmouth and Everton.^[6] Kightly ended such speculation by signing a new four-year deal with Wolves in June 2007.^[7]

His first full season with the club was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury suffered in November 2007, from which he twice tried to return to first team football, eventually undergoing surgery in February 2008.^[8] Kightly had further injuries that kept him out of the Wolves side, finally returning to play in the final four fixtures as the club narrowly missed the play-off places on goal difference. He signed an improved new four-year deal with the club in June 2008.^[9]

He was a virtual ever-present during the 2008-09 season, contributing 8 goals, as Wolves led the promotion race. However, his campaign has been prematurely halted by a broken metatarsal sustained during a reserve game in March 2009.^[10] He returned to full fitness in September, to make his first appearance in the Premier League.

[edit] International career

Kightly was called into the England U21 squad in August 2007 for a friendly against Romania^[11] and went on to make his debut, playing the first half of the game.

[edit] Honours

• FA Trophy: 2006
• Football League Championship (II): 2009

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official club profile
• Michael Kightly career stats at Soccerbase