Steven James Sidwell (born 14 December 1982) is an English former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Sidwell was a product of the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

academy, and after winning two

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

s, he had constructive loan spells at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and Brighton & Hove Albion, but never broke into the Arsenal first team. He came to prominence in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

after a January 2003 move to the Royals and spent years with the club, helping them to earn promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for the first time ever in 2005–06. He joined Chelsea on a free transfer for the 2007–08 season, however opportunities were limited at Stamford Bridge, as he competed with players such as

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...

, and

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...

for playing time in central midfield. He moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in July 2008 for a fee of £5 million. In his -year stay at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

he played 64 times, scoring four goals. Sidwell then spent years at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, making 115 appearances scoring 17 goals. His time at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

ended after the club was relegated from the Premier League in 2013–14, and he subsequently joined Stoke City in June 2014 on a free transfer. He made only 13 Premier League appearances for the club, and finished his career with a two year spell at Brighton & Hove Albion, initially on loan, retiring in 2018.

Career

Arsenal

Sidwell was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London. He joined

at the age of 9 and was a part of the youth team that won the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. One of his teammates during these years was James Harper, who he would go on to play with at

. Sidwell spent the 2001–02 season on loan at

where he played 35 times scoring four goals as Brentford lost 2–0 to Stoke City in the play-off final. After originally having been sent on loan to

Beveren Beveren () is a former municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') ...

, but not being able to obtain a first team place in preseason, he began the 2002–03 season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion for whom he scored five goals in 12 appearances. In January 2003 Brighton and Stoke City both had bids for Sidwell rejected by Arsenal but an offer from

was accepted.

Reading

Sidwell moved to

for an undisclosed fee on a -year deal in January 2003. He made his debut for Reading on 29 January 2003 in a 3–1 defeat against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In his next match on 11 February 2003 he scored twice in a 5–2 victory over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Sidwell played 15 times in 2002–03 as Reading reached the play-offs where they lost out to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. Sidwell made a good start to the 2003–04 season, scoring in the first three matches. Sidwell was sent-off for the first time in his career on 27 March 2004 for two-bookable offences against Coventry City. Reading failed to make the play-offs in 2003–04 finishing in ninth position with Sidwell playing in 48 matches scoring nine goals. Sidwell signed a new three-year contract with Reading in July 2004. In the 2004–05 season Sidwell played 47 times, scoring five goals as Reading again miss out on a play-off spot finishing in 7th position. During the season

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...

Magazine voted him the best player outside the Premier League and he was later named in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

. The 2005–06 season saw Reading finally gain promotion to the Premier League and they did so in emphatic style finishing 1st with 106 points. Sidwell played in 40 matches scoring ten goals and his performances again earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year. In the summer of 2006, Sidwell rejected a contract extension, which was set to expire at the end of the 2006–07 season. Reading resisted the chance to cash in on Sidwell and he scored on the opening day of the season, a 3–2 victory over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. On 10 February 2007, Sidwell scored both goals in a 2–0 win over

. Over the course of the season, he was linked with a number of high-profile clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea as Reading enjoyed a successful season in the

. In total Sidwell played 37 times in 2006–07 scoring four goals as Reading finished in 8th position narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup spot. At the end of the season Reading manager Steve Coppell confirmed that Sidwell had agreed to join another club.

Chelsea

Sidwell joined Chelsea on 1 July 2007 on a free transfer from Reading, and was given squad number 9 for the 2007–08 season. In his first interview after joining Chelsea, Sidwell stated that he had not come to Chelsea to 'make up the numbers', and that he believed training and playing alongside top players like

and

would only help him improve. After playing in the club's pre-season tour of the United States, Sidwell then played in the 2007 FA Community Shield where Chelsea lost on penalties to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. His league debut for Chelsea came on 12 August 2007 in a 3–2 victory against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

when he replaced Florent Malouda in the 83rd minute. He scored his only goal for the club on 26 September 2007, in a 4–0 win away to Hull City in the third round of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. Sidwell struggled to establish himself in Chelsea's first team under

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

and made a total of 25 appearances in 2007–08. At the end of the season, Sidwell became linked to several

clubs, including Everton,

and

Aston Villa

On 10 July 2008, Sidwell signed a three-year deal with

for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £5m. He made his debut for the club in a pre-season game against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

, playing the first 45 minutes, in a match which Villa lost 2–1. Sidwell scored an own goal on his competitive debut for Villa on 19 July 2008 in a 2–2 draw with

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...

in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

. Villa won the second leg 1–0 to progress in Europe but Sidwell picked up a calf injury. He returned to action against Stoke City Reserves on 3 September 2008 but then picked up a knee injury. Sidwell eventually played his first Premier League game for Villa on 26 October 2008 where he came on as a substitute and scored in a 4–0 win away at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. On 9 November 2008, Sidwell scored against

but then gifted Tuncay a late goal with a poor back pass as Villa lost 2–1. He was backed by Villa captain Martin Laursen to move on from his mistake. Sidwell scored his third goal of the season just 34 seconds into a game against Everton on 7 December 2008, Villa went on to win 3–2. Sidwell was sent-off against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

on 17 December 2008 for two-bookable offences. Sidwell picked up a hamstring injury against

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

on 26 February 2009. His injury kept him out until the final match of the season against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on 24 May 2009. In total Sidwell played 25 times in 2008–09 as Villa finished in 6th position. Villa had a mixed start to the 2009–10 season as they were knocked out of Europe by

SK Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English language, English, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian cham ...

but then went on to beat

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

3–1 at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

. Sidwell was used sparingly by manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

throughout 2009–10 as Sidwell made 33 appearances with 19 of those coming as a substitute. Sidwell missed the start of the 2010–11 season with an Achilles tendon injury. Upon his return from injury he was involved in a challenge which left

midfielder

Adlène Guedioura Adlène Guedioura (; born 12 November 1985) is a former professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder. At club level, Guedioura had spells at CS Sedan Ardennes, Sedan, Olympique Noisy-le-Sec, Noisy-le-Sec, L'Entente S ...

with a broken leg. In November 2010 Sidwell again suffered an Achilles tendon injury which ruled him out for six weeks. In January 2011, Sidwell was close to a transfer to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

but the move was cancelled as it would have breached the Premier League's 25-man squad rule. Sidwell also held talks with Wolverhampton Wanderers before agreeing to join

Fulham

Sidwell signed for Chelsea rivals

on 7 January 2011, signing a six-month contract with a view to extending it for a further three years. He made his debut for Fulham on 22 January 2011 in a 2–0 win against Stoke City. On 18 April 2011, Sidwell's contract was extended until the summer of 2014. Sidwell ended the 2010–11 season with goals against Liverpool and Arsenal. In 2011–12 Sidwell played in 28 matches in all competitions before his season was ended in February 2012 due to a hernia injury. Sidwell marked his return by scoring a penalty in a 5–0 victory against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on the opening day of the 2012–13 season. He scored late goals against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and Everton. Fulham went on to have an uneventful 2012–13 season as they finished in 12th position with 43 points, Sidwell playing in 31 matches. Sidwell did have a poor end to his campaign as he was sent-off on 1 April 2013 against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

for a late tackle on Armand Traoré. After returning from suspension against Arsenal on 20 April 2013 he was again sent-off this time for a lunge on Mikel Arteta. Fulham made a poor start to the 2013–14 season which saw manager

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany and England, as well as earning three caps wi ...

sacked in December 2013 to be replaced by René Meulensteen. Sidwell's own performances improved drastically under Meulensteen, scoring five of his eight goals that season during Meulensteen's tenure. Following the dropping of Brede Hangeland and Scott Parker, and the transfer of Dimitar Berbatov, Sidwell was promoted to the role of captain in February 2014. However, two games later, Meulensteen was sacked and Felix Magath was placed in charge. Hangeland was reinstated to the team, and as a result, Sidwell lost the captaincy. There was no change in Fulham's fortunes, and after a 4–1 defeat away at Stoke City on 3 May 2014 their relegation to the Championship was confirmed. Following Fulham's relegation, Sidwell criticised his team's performance. On 23 May 2014, Sidwell was released by Fulham.

Stoke City

On 9 June 2014 Sidwell joined Stoke City on a two-year contract. Upon signing for Stoke, Sidwell stated – "There were two factors behind my decision to join Stoke – the first being the fact that it's a club that is really moving forward. I was really impressed with the football Stoke played last season; the way they played against Fulham on the penultimate weekend of the season really had a wow factor about it and it led to a first ever top 10 finish in the Premier League. Then there's the manager (

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

) because he's a man that I have the highest regard for. He signed me for Fulham and I really enjoyed the time I worked with him there". He made his debut for Stoke on 24 August 2014 in a 1–1 draw away at Hull City. After making just one start in his first two months with the club Sidwell admitted that competition for places is stronger than he anticipated. On 1 December 2014, Sidwell tore a knee ligament against

which ruled him out for a proportion of the season. He made 16 appearances for Stoke in the 2014–15 season, ten of which were as a substitute. Sidwell admitted that he had been disappointed by his lack of game time. He was released by Stoke at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 25 January 2016, Sidwell joined Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season. Sidwell played 18 times for the Seagulls scoring once as they finished in 3rd position, losing out to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in the play-offs. Following his release by Stoke, Sidwell signed a one-year contract with Brighton. On 5 November 2016, Sidwell scored from 50 yards in a 2–0 win against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. He was a big part of Brighton's success to gain automatic promotion to the Premier League. Sidwell missed the whole of the 2017–18 season due to back and ankle injuries.

Retirement

Sidwell announced his retirement as a player in August 2018, taking up roles as an ambassador and youth development coach at his final club, Brighton & Hove Albion. He is now a regular co-host of That Peter Crouch Podcast, alongside

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was Cap (sport), capped 42 times by the England national football t ...

and Chris Stark. The weekly show is one of the most listened to podcasts in the UK.

International career

In 2001, he was capped by

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s) or England Men's Elite Squad, represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the gov ...

's. After making his debut for

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team ...

in 2003, he received a total of 5 caps.

Personal life

Sidwell married Krystell on 19 June 2005. Within days of returning from their honeymoon, he had a tattoo of the wedding vows he had written for her placed on his back. Sidwell has a sister, Louise, and a brother, Lee. Lee played for

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

during the 2002–03 campaign, their inaugural season in the Combined Counties Football League. Sidwell grew up as a Crystal Palace supporter but started following Arsenal after joining them as a schoolboy.

Career statistics

Honours

Arsenal Youth *

Reading *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2005–06 Aston Villa *

runner-up: 2009–10 Brighton & Hove Albion *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

runner-up: 2016–17 Individual *

: 2004–05 Football League Championship, 2005–06 Football League Championship * Football League Championship Player of the Month: September 2004

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidwell, Steve 1982 births Footballers from the London Borough of Wandsworth People from Wandsworth Living people Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Arsenal F.C. players Brentford F.C. players K.S.K. Beveren players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Reading F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players People educated at Woodcote High School 21st-century English sportsmen