Steven James "Steve" Sidwell is an English professional footballer who
plays as a midfielder for Stoke City. He is a former England U21 international.
Sidwell began his career at Arsenal and after winning two FA Youth Cups he had
constructive loan spells at Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion which saw him
join Reading in January 2003. Sidwell spent four-and-a-half-years with the
Royals helping them to gain promotion to the Premier League in 2005–06. He joined
Chelsea on a free transfer for the 2007–08 season, however opportunities
were limited at Stamford Bridge and he moved on to Aston Villa in July 2008 for
a fee of £5 million. In his two-and-a-half-year stay at Villa Park
he played 64 times scoring four goals. Sidwell then spent
three-and-a-half-years at Craven Cottage making 115 appearances scoring 17 goals.
His time at Fulham ended after the club was relegated from the Premier League in
2013–14 and he joined Stoke City in June 2014 on a free transfer.
Career = Arsenal=
Sidwell was born in Wandsworth, London. He was part of the Arsenal youth team
that won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 and 2001. One of his team mates during these
years was James Harper, who he would go on to play with at Reading. Sidwell
spent the 2001–02 season on loan at Brentford 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, 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 Reading was accepted.
= Reading= Sidwell moved to Reading for an
undisclosed fee on a four-and-a-half-year deal in January
2003. He made his debut for Reading on 29 January 2003 in a 3–1 defeat against
Leicester City. In his next match on 11 February 2003 he scored twice in a 5–2
victory over Burnley. Sidwell played 15 times in 2002–03 as Reading reached the
play-offs where they lost out to Wolverhampton Wanderers. 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 Magazine voted him
the best player outside the Premier League and he was later named in the PFA
Team of the Year. 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. On 10 February 2007 Sidwell scored both goals in a 2–0 win
over Aston Villa. 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 Premier League. 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 Michael Essien and Frank Lampard would
only help him improve. After playing in the club's pre-season tour of the United
States, Sidwell the played in the 2007 FA Community Shield where Chelsea lost
on penalties to Manchester United. His league debut for Chelsea came on 12
August 2007 in a 3–2 victory against Birmingham City 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. Sidwell struggled to establish himself in Chelsea's first
team under José Mourinho and made a total of 25 appearances in 2007–08. At
the end of the season, Sidwell became linked to several Premier League clubs,
including Everton, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.
= Aston Villa= On 10 July 2008, Sidwell signed a
three-year deal with Aston Villa 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, 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 in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. 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 eventuality 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. On 9 November 2008 Sidwell scored
against Middlesbrough but the gifted Tuncay Şanlı 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 against Everton on 7 December 2008, Villa went on to win 3–2.
Sidwell was sent-off against Hamburger SV in the UEFA Cup on 17 December 2008
for two-bookable offences. Sidwell picked up a hamstring injury against
CSKA Moscow on 26 February 2009. His injury kept him out until the final
match of the season against Newcastle United 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 but then went on to beat Liverpool 3–1 at Anfield.
Sidwell was used sparingly by manager Martin O'Neill 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 Wolverhampton
Wanderers midfielder Adlène Guedioura 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
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. = Fulham=
Sidwell signed for Fulham 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 on the opening day of the 2012–13
season. He scored late goals against West Bromwich Albion 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 poor end to
his campaign as he was sent-off on 1 April 2013 against Queens Park Rangers
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 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 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 Liverpool 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. International Career
In 2001 he was capped by England U20's. After making his debut for England U21
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. Their first son Harry was born in April 2006. His second
son, Rocko, was born on 4 December 2008 a few days before he scored a goal
against Everton in the Premier League. His third son, Lenny, was born on 9
February 2010. His brother, Lee Sidwell, is also a
footballer. He played for AFC Wimbledon during the 2002–03 campaign, their
inaugural season in the Combined Counties Football League Premier
Division, and also won the award for Player of the Year during that season.
He left the club in September 2004 to join Whyteleafe, though he no longer
plays for them. He has also played for Netherne and Chipstead.
Career statistics As of match played 22 September 2015
Honours Arsenal
FA Youth Cup winner: 1999–2000, 2000–01 Reading
Football League Championship winner: 2005–06
Aston Villa League Cup: runner-up: 2010
References External links
Steve Sidwell career statistics at Soccerbase