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Name: Chris WealePosition: Goalkeeper Date of Birth: 9 February 1982 Place of Birth: Yeovil
Profile :
Wealey, as he is known by the Huish Park faithful, was a prodigy of the youth system after joining Yeovil in August 1999 from local side Gillingham. Chris was first choice keeper for the Youth Team that won the SWEB South-West Counties Under 18s League title in 2000 and during the same season he broke into the Screwfix League Reserve side (writes George Murray).
Chris made his first team debut in July 2000 having come on as a substitute against Southampton in Tony Pennock's testimonial game before making his first full competitive debut against Wellington in the Somerset Premier Cup in October of that year. Chris began to gain more experience in the first team in the 2001/02 season, during which he played 38 matches for the first team while establishing himself as a firm favorite amongst the fans. The following year he not only played an indispensable role in helping Yeovil achieve promotion to the Football League but his consistency was rewarded with a call-up to the England National XI several times during the season.
It was only a matter of time before a top British club such as West Ham inquired about Weale. Alan Pardew invited the highly rated keeper to train with West Ham for a couple of days a week in March 2004 before playing in a Reserve game for the club. Throughout his career at Huish Park he has been heavily praised, not just from the home fans, but also from opposition managers such as ex-England coach Peter Taylor. Taylor acknowledged after the 0-0 draw at the KC Stadium ‘The saves were worthy of the Premiership’. Yeovil boss Gary Johnson describes ‘They were world class saves. We see that every day in training. He's a super goalkeeper.’ His performance was acknowledged his fellow peers and was chosen for the Football League Team of the Year for League Two on two consecutive seasons.
During his final season with the club, Wealey had to face strong competition for the number one jersey from Steve Collis. Collis showed great promise when he was given the chance in goal during his performance in the latter part of both the 2003/04 and the 2004/05 season and the two keepers split first team responsibilities during the 2005/06 season.
That was in part due to a knee injury sustained by Chris during March 2006 at Chesterfield, which he aggravated a few weeks later. It was later diagnosed as a cruciate ligament injury which meant that his final appearance for the club was against Scunthorpe United on Good Friday in April 2006.
Despite facing a lengthy layoff that was expected to keep him out until at least November 2006, the club still offered Chris a new deal, but he chose instead to sign for Bristol City on a one year deal on June 28th 2006, teaming up with Gary Johnson - the manager who had introduced him to regular first team football.
Chris subsequently made a return to Huish Park in March 2009 as a loan player, making an emphatic start to his spell by keeping five clean sheets in a row and then scoring a 90th minute goal against Hereford United in April to give him what will be one of his career highlights. Wealey's performances were good enough to help Yeovil stay in League One, and to persuade Leicester City to offer him a two year contract in the summer of 2009.
Total Appearances: 214 Total Goals: 1 Debut Appearance: 18 October 2000 Debut Goal: 21 April 2009 |
Chris Weale: Player Profile
