Daniel Paul Wright (born 10 September 1984) is an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Gloucester City. He operates in the

target man Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

role, using his height to his advantage. He has played ten seasons in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in service of eight clubs, totalling over 100 goals across more than 300 games. He added 74 games and 12 goals in

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, already in his 30s. In his career he won the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

with

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...

in 2007, the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

in 2013 and the National League for Cheltenham in 2016.

Career

Histon

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Wright began his career at nearby Dereham Town of the

Eastern Counties Football League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffol ...

. He transferred on deadline day to

, and helped them win the

title in 2006–07. After the title had already been sealed, he scored and assisted as they won 2–1 against

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

. The ''

Cambridge News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Waterbeach base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average dail ...

'' wrote: On 8 November 2008, Wright scored the only goal as Histon beat

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

in "one of the shocks of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

first round". He was sent off on 4 April in a 2–1 loss at

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

for elbowing their goalkeeper

Billy Turley William Lee Turley (born 15 July 1973) is an English retired football goalkeeper. Career At Oxford United he was the first-choice goalkeeper under Jim Smith in the 2006–07 football season, ahead of Chris Tardif and continued to be during ...

; Histon were leading at that point. Wright's final season at Histon began on 8 August 2009 with two goals in a 3–0 win at newcomers

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

. In his penultimate game the following 5 April, a 1–1 draw away to

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

, he was dismissed after half an hour for shoving James Jennings.

Conference years

In 2010, Wright moved to another Conference team in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

, on a three-year deal. He spent one season there, being the top scorer in a struggling team, before leaving to

for an undisclosed fee on 14 June 2011 to balance the books. At Wrexham, he scored in each leg of their

semi-final 4–2 aggregate win over

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

in February 2013. In

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 24 March, he played the full 120 minutes of a 1–1 draw and scored in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

win over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. In May 2013, he left Wrexham and secured a move to

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

where he agreed a two-year contract. He scored his first goal for Forest Green on the opening day of the 2013–14 season in an 8–0 home win over Hyde. He joined Gateshead on a free transfer on a one-year deal on 29 August 2014. He only remained on

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

until 20 January 2015, when he signed for

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

until the end of the season to be closer to his family in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Cheltenham Town

Although Kidderminster wanted to keep Wright, he signed a one-year deal at

on 30 June 2015. His new manager

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

said that he was the "

" needed at the club. On 20 February 2016, he scored the only goal in a win at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

, his eighth in the space of six consecutive games. Cheltenham ended up winning the National League and returning to

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

after a season's absence. However, Wright missed the conclusion of the season with a retrospective three-match ban for stamping on

goalkeeper

James McKeown James Karl McKeown (born 24 July 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for side Cleethorpes Town. Born in Birmingham, McKeown began his career aged 15 with Coventry City and Walsall youth teams, but was unable to estab ...

while celebrating a goal he had set up for Harry Pell in a 3–1 win at

Whaddon Road Whaddon Road, known as the Completely-Suzuki Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing ...

. He spoke to the press at his relief of finally winning the National League after eight previous attempts, and said he wanted a new contract as it was his dream to play in The Football League. In the 2016–17 season, Wright made his Football League debut at the age of 31, in a 1–1 home draw against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

on 6 August. He scored his first goal in the division on 10 September, his 32nd birthday, a penalty in a 2–2 draw at Newport County. On 10 May 2018, it was announced that Wright would leave Cheltenham at the end of his current deal in June 2018.

Solihull Moors

After leaving Cheltenham, Wright returned to the National League by signing for

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...

. The club from the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

beat

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

to his signature. On 9 February 2019 he was one of four players – two on each team – sent off in a brawl at the end of a 1–0 win at

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

. He scored 11 goals in 41 league games in his first season, concluding with one in a 3–2 win over

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the 20 ...

on 13 April to seal a play-off place.

Havant & Waterlooville

Wright joined

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club

in June 2022 following his release from

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Gloucester City

He joined

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

club Gloucester City on a one-year deal.

Personal life

Wright worked as a carpenter while playing for Dereham. In December 2015, his partner Lisa Chew gave birth to their son Ronny 9; the unusual middle name stems from Wright's shirt number.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

;Histon *

: 2006–07 ;Wrexham *

: 2012–13 ;Cheltenham Town *

: 2015–16

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Daniel Living people 1984 births Footballers from Norwich English footballers Men's association football forwards English carpenters Dereham Town F.C. players Histon F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Solihull Moors F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players