Peter Whittingham

Personal information
Full name	Peter Michael Whittingham[1]
Date of birth	8 September 1984 (1984-09-08) (age 25)
Place of birth	Nuneaton, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Cardiff City
Number	7
Youth career
2001–2003	Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2007	Aston Villa	056	(1)
2005	→ Burnley (loan)	007	(0)
2005	→ Derby County (loan)	011	(0)
2007–	Cardiff City	109	(22)
National team‡
2004–2007	England U21	17	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:32, 22 November 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:09, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Peter Michael Whittingham (born 8 September 1984 in Nuneaton) is an English professional footballer currently playing for Cardiff City in the Football League Championship.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Aston Villa 2.2 Cardiff City 3 International career 4 Career statistics 5 Honours 5.1 Individual 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life

Whittingham was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in 1984 and attended school at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Aston Villa

Whittingham was part of the FA Youth Cup winning side of 2002 and signed a four-year professional contract in October 2002.

He made his first team debut on 21 April, 2003 against Newcastle United, a second-half substitution for Gareth Barry, and made an immediate impact, seeing a powerful shot pushed over the bar by Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, which earned plaudits from his team-mates. He went on to make 32 appearances in his first full season at the club, season 2003/4, scoring his first goal against Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup on 23 September, 2003. He was rewarded with a one-year extension of is contract.

He failed to hold down a regular first team place in the Villa side over the next three years despite gaining a reputation as a skillful winger with a fierce shot. He was loaned out to both Derby County^[2] and Burnley^[3] to get some first team games.

[edit] Cardiff City

In January 2007 after making just 4 appearances for Villa since the start of the season he was transferred to Cardiff City for a reported fee of £350,000 as he had become surplus to requirements at Villa Park and was out of contract in the summer^[4]. He quickly established himself in the side and was a first team member until the end of the year with midfield competition Joe Ledley moved to left-back due to a small squad. However the summer 2007 arrival of Tony Capaldi meant that Ledley was no longer needed to cover in defence and went back to his normal position of left midfield meaning Whittingham started the season on the bench.

But by mid-November Cardiff found themselves just above the relegation zone which prompted a minor reshuffle from boss Dave Jones involving Chris Gunter and Whittingham returning to the starting line-up. His return to the side saw him moved to an unfamiliar role on the right side of midfield but he soon settled into the role and started the majority of the remaining matches of the season, as well as being the clubs top scorer with 3 goals during their FA Cup run which saw Whittingham score in matches against Chasetown, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Middlesbrough eventually losing 1-0 to Portsmouth in the final.

The start of the 2008-09 season saw Whittingham continue playing on the right side of midfield, scoring his first goal of the season on 26 August in a 2-1 victory over Milton Keynes Dons in the Carling Cup. By November, Whittingham was one of only two players who had featured in every game of the season so far for Cardiff, along with centre-back Roger Johnson, when he ruptured ankle ligaments during a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on 15 November which was expected to keep him out for up to three months.^[5] However he returned to the side ahead of schedule, coming on as a late substitute during a 1-1 draw with Reading on 26 December,^[6] going on to make his 100th appearance in all competitions for Cardiff when he played in a 2-0 defeat to Norwich City in March.

In the first game of the 2009–10 season, Whittingham converted a penalty during a 4-0 win over Scunthorpe United in the first ever competitive match at the Cardiff City Stadium and scored in consecutive rounds of the League Cup in wins over Dagenham & Redbridge and Bristol Rovers. Having been appointed the first choice penalty taker for the club, he took his league goal tally to three with goals in consecutive matches in a 3-1 defeat to against Sheffield Wednesday followed by a 6-1 win over Derby County, during which he made his 200th professional career appearance. He continued his scoring form with a brace against Watford and singles against Crystal Palace and Coventry City followed by a hat-trick against Sheffield United, the first of his professional career. On 14 November 2009 Whittingham earned the October Player of the Month.^[7]

[edit] International career

Whittingham is a full England under-21 international and was part of the squad that competed in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in Holland. He made one substitute appearance in the tournament coming on late in a 2-2 draw with Italy.

Whittingham has three goals for the under-21 side. He scored his first two in a match against the Wales under-21 squad before scoring his last goal in a match against Norway in February 2007.

[edit] Career statistics

As of 22 November, 2009

Club Performance

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Aston Villa	2002-03	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2003-04	32	0	1	0	6	1	0	0	39	1
	2004-05	13	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	15	1
	2005-06	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2006-07	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Subtotal		56	1	1	0	9	1	0	0	66	2
Burnley (loan)	2004-05	7	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Derby County (loan)	2005-06	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Cardiff City	2006-07	19	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	4
	2007-08	41	5	6	3	4	1	0	0	51	9
	2008-09	33	3	2	0	3	1	0	0	38	4
	2009-10	16	10	0	0	3	2	0	0	19	12
Subtotal		109	22	8	3	10	4	0	0	127	29
Total		183	23	11	3	19	5	0	0	213	31

[edit] Honours

Cardiff City

• FA Cup Runner-up: 1
  

2007-08

[edit] Individual

• Football League Championship Player of the Month: 1
  

October 2009

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Peter Whittingham career stats at Soccerbase
• Peter Whittingham player profile at cardiffcityfc.co.uk
• Peter Whittingham player profile at football.co.uk
• Peter Whittingham player profile at 4thegame.com
• Peter Whittingham player profile at avfc.co.uk

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