Shaun Wright-Phillips

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Personal information
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Full name	Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips
Date of birth	25 October 1981
Place of birth	Greenwich, London, England
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Nickname	SWP, Shaun of the Shed
Position	Right-winger, occasional striker
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	24
Youth clubs
1993 - 1996	Nottingham Forest
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1997-1998 1998-2005 2005-	Nottingham Forest Manchester City Chelsea	0 (0) 118 (26) 33 (0)
National team**
2004-	England	11 (1)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:02, 4 November 2006 (UTC). ** National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2006.

Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981 in Greenwich, London) is an England national squad player of Jamaican and Grenadian descent. He is the adopted son of the famous player Ian Wright, and half-brother to fellow player Bradley Wright-Phillips and brother to the upcoming youth player Brett Wright. He grew up in Brockley South London and attended the state school Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College, nearby in New Cross Gate. He currently plays for Chelsea F.C..

After being released by Nottingham Forest at the age of 15 for being "too small", Manchester City F.C. took him to Maine Road. He later made his debut at Port Vale and went on to become a regular starter in the Premiership. His determination, courage, and foot speed make him one of the most exciting players to emerge from the English Academy in years.

He scored an impressive goal in his England debut against Ukraine on 18 August 2004, after coming on as a substitute, and made his first start for England on February 9, 2005 against the Netherlands.

On 17 November 2004, he became one of the main targets of racist chants from the crowd at an international "friendly" between England and Spain in Madrid. However, he brushed that aside with an incredible match-winning performance in his next Manchester City game at Portsmouth, saying to reporters after the game, "I just let the football do the talking."

He also has a similar response regarding his father, saying in an interview with manchesteronline.co.uk: "The press brought up my adopted father's name. They relate to his name and that is fine by me -- it comes with the name, but I will be my own man. I have made my own path and started to take my own steps."

The England winger completed his £21 million move to Stamford Bridge on 17 July 2005 to join the Barclays Premiership champions and return to his native London.

Wright-Phillips joined Chelsea on a five-year contract after agreeing to personal terms and passing a medical. He had previously said he would not leave Manchester City. His appearances have been limited, however, making only 39 appearances for Chelsea in the 2005/06 season (24 of the 39 as a substitute) and is yet to score a goal for his new club. An unhappy first season with Chelsea FC culminated in him missing out on the opportunity to travel to Germany with the England squad for the 2006 World Cup. His brother Bradley Wright-Phillips has said he would like the winger to return to Manchester City FC. Since then, a loan offer has been made by Stuart Pearce, but he himself has admitted that the offer is a "long shot".

Wright-Philips has maintained that he is happy at Chelsea and wants to stay and fight for a first team place. He received a boost from his manager José Mourinho when the latter declined to make an approach for Spain and Real Betis winger Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, stating that he has enough options in terms of wingers. He is also eager to start training and playing with new Chelsea team-mates Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, whom he has described as "future legends".

Wright-Phillips was the subject of transfer speculation recently, with West Ham said to be keen to secure his services. However, the Hammers pulled out of any potential talks when it was revealed that they would have to pay Wright-Phillips' full £60,000 per week wage packet.

Still, Wright-Philips' position at Stamford Bridge appears to have been strengthened by the transfer of Irish winger Damien Duff to Newcastle United.

Wright-Phillips was called up for the Euro 2008 qualifiers in October 2006 and came on as a substitute against Macedonia.

[edit] External links

Shaun Wright-Phillips career stats at Soccerbase
TheFA.com profile
BBC profile
SWP Online - Unofficial Fansite of Shaun Wright-Phillips

Chelsea F.C. - Current Squad
1 Čech \| 3 A. Cole \| 4 Makélélé \| 5 Essien \| 6 Carvalho \| 7 Shevchenko \| 8 Lampard \| 9 Boulahrouz \| 10 J. Cole \| 11 Drogba \| 12 Mikel \| 13 Ballack \| 14 Geremi \| 16 Robben \| 18 Bridge \| 19 Diarra \| 20 Ferreira \| 21 Kalou \| 23 Cudicini \| 24 Wright-Phillips \| 26 Terry \| 40 Hilário \| 41 Ma-Makalambay \| 22 Hedman \| Manager: Mourinho