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Ian Wright

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Ian Wright is one of Britain's most well known former footballers having forged a career in television after he hung up his football boots and retired from the game in 2000. He is most famous for his goal scoring exploits at Arsenal Football Club and on international duty with England, although in his early days it was not all plain sailing as 'Wrighty', as he is now affectionately known, spent two weeks in Chelmsford Prison in Essex for non-payment of motoring fines.

Starting his working life as a plasterer and playing English non-league football for Dulwich Hamlet, Ian Wright caught the attention of several of the big team scouts. At seventeen, he signed for Crystal Palace on one hundred pounds a week, and spent six successful years with the South London club scoring 90 goals.

His big break came when he signed for Arsenal in 1991 for a record £2.5M. The same season, Wright won the Golden Boot and was the clubs top scorer for the next six seasons, winning several league and cup medals along the way. Only six years after signing, Ian Wright became Arsenal's all time leading scorer in 1997 when he scored a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers surpassing Cliff Bastin's long standing record.

Before retiring in 2000, Wright also had spells at West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley. He finished his football career with 323 club goals in all competitions.

After his playing career was over, Wright quickly became a well known face on TV, with a show imaginatively titled, ‘The Ian Wright Show', winning the RIMA award for TV personality of the year in 2003. He has gone on since to present Gladiators, Friday Night's All Wright, Friends Like These, I'd Do Anything, The National Lottery Wright Ticket & What Kids Really Think. He also became team captain on They Think It's All Over, appeared in the television series Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, along with a number of advertising commercials including Chicken Tonight, Ladbrokes & Nintendo Wii.

From his humble beginnings and his spell in Chelmsford Prison, Ian Wright has certainly come a long way. After his spell in jail, he was quoted as saying that he learned a very valuable lesson and he had imagined God saying to him "Is this where you want to go? .... cause other wise you better change". He certainly did, being awarded the MBE for services to football in 2002!

 

Biography

Full Name: Ian Edward Wright
Date of Birth: 5th November 1963
Place of Birth: Woolwich, London

 

Football Achievements

FA Cup Winner (1990, 1993, 1998)
Premier League Winner (1997/1998)
English Division Two Winner (1989)
Zenith Data Systems Cup Winner (1991)
MBE - 2002
Golden Boot Winner - 1991 & 1992

 

Senior Club and National Team Statistics

Period Team Appearances Goals
1985-1991 Crystal Palace 225 90
1991-1998 Arsenal 221 128
1998-1999 West Ham United 22 9
1999 Nottingham Forest (loan) 10 5
1999-2000 Celtic 8 3
2000 Burnley 15 4
1989-1992 England B 3 0
1991-1998 England 33 9
       

 

 

 


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