Richie Wellens

Personal information
Full name	Richard Paul Wellens
Date of birth	26 March 1980 (1980-03-26) (age 29)
Place of birth	Moston, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Leicester City
Number	19
Youth career
1997–1999	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Manchester United	0	(0)
2000–2005	Blackpool	188	(16)
2005–2007	Oldham Athletic	87	(8)
2007–2009	Doncaster Rovers	84	(9)
2009–	Leicester City	17	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:39, 1 November 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Richard Paul "Richie" Wellens (born 26 March 1980 in Moston, Manchester) is an English footballer currently playing as a midfielder for Leicester City.

Contents 1 Career 2 Honours 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Career

Wellens started his career at Manchester United, playing alongside the likes of Wes Brown and John O'Shea. But frustrated at the lack of opportunities, he moved to Blackpool in 2000. In 2005 he left Blackpool for his local side Oldham Athletic. In summer 2007, after turning down an improved contract offered by Oldham, he signed a two year contract with fellow League One side Doncaster Rovers.^[1]

Wellens made the 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08 League One PFA Team of the Year.

Wellens was a vital player in the Doncaster side that gained promotion to the Championship in 2007–08. His skillful midfield performances brought him several individual awards, several key goals and helped the team gain promotion. His first competitive goal for Doncaster was in August 2007 in the Football League Cup with the second strike in a 4–1 victory over Lincoln City, however this wasn't the first time he had hit the back of the net for Doncaster; In his very first appearance in a Doncaster shirt, Wellens impressively chipped the ball over the opposition goalkeeper and into the net from fully 40 yards in a pre-season friendly against non-league Retford United.

In July 2008, Wellens put pen-to-paper on a two-year extension to his current contract, leaving him contracted to Doncaster until the summer of 2011.^{[citation needed]}

On 7 July, 2009, Wellens was close to signing for Leicester City,^[2] which was confirmed later that same day for a potential fee of £1.2 million.^[3] Their biggest signing of the summer, Wellens was named by the BBC Sport as Leicester's key player for the 2009-10 season.^[4] He made his debut in a 2-1 win over Swansea City on August 8, 2009.^[5]

[edit] Honours

Blackpool

• Third Division play-offs: 2000–01
• League Trophy: 2001–02, 2003–04

Doncaster Rovers

• League One play-offs: 2007–08

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Richie Wellens player profile at doncasterroversfc.co.uk
• Richie Wellens player profile at oldhamathletic.co.uk
• Richie Wellens player profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk
• Richie Wellens career stats at Soccerbase

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