Anthony Othneal Straker (born 23 September 1988) is a former semi-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 defender or

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 ...

. He has also been capped on ten occasions by the

Grenada national football team The Grenada national football team represents Grenada in international football, and is controlled by the Grenada Football Association, a member of the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team is nicknamed ''The Spice Boys'', a referenc ...

Club career

Born in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, London, Straker started his career in the youth system at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, and was a trainee with the club. He went on trial with League One club Yeovil Town in March 2007 before being released by Palace. Straker signed a one-year contract with

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

club

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

on 6 August 2007, after a successful pre-season trial. After impressing in the first half of the season, Straker signed a contract extension in February 2008, keeping him at Aldershot Town until June 2010. That season, he was a member of the team that won the

Conference League Cup The National League Cup is an annual association football competition in England. The National League Cup is open to clubs playing in the National League and, since its revival in 2024, professional under-21 teams playing in the Premier League 2. ...

and the Conference Premier title. During the January transfer window of 2011, Straker completed a one-month

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

deal with

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

. On 2 July 2012 Straker moved to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, signing a two-year contract. Aldershot were entitled to a fee for his transfer as he was under the age of 23. This was agreed to be £17,500 plus add ons. Straker signed for League Two club

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

on 12 June 2014 on a two-year contract after rejecting a new deal with Southend. He made his debut in York's 1–1 away draw with

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

in the opening match of the 2014–15 season on 9 August 2014. Having played infrequently for York under Russ Wilcox, Straker moved on loan to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

until the end of 2014–15 on 29 January 2015. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw at home to

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

two days later. He made 13 appearances before returning to York. Straker left the club by mutual consent on 22 January 2016. On 12 February 2016, Straker signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on a contract until the end of 2015–16, after a successful trial. Straker was released when his contract expired at the end of the season. On 21 June 2016, Straker returned to Aldershot Town after a four-year absence on a one-year contract. On 20 May 2017, Straker dropped down a division by signing for

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

club Bath City, despite being offered a new contract by Aldershot. On 14 May 2019, it was announced that Straker's contract had been mutually terminated, with the defender agreeing terms with newly relegated, Havant & Waterlooville.

International career

Straker made his debut for the England national under-18 team in a 1–0 away defeat to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in a friendly on 17 November 2005, and he was

substituted Substitution may refer to: Arts and media *Substitution (poetry), a variation in poetic scansion *Substitution (theatre), an acting methodology Music *Chord substitution, swapping one chord for a related one within a chord progression *Tritone ...

for Chris Riley in the 77th minute. He gained one more

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, playing in a 2–1 home win over Slovenia in another friendly on 17 April 2006, being substituted for Adam Watts at half-time. In January 2008, Straker was called up to the Barbados national team for the upcoming CONCACAF first round qualifier for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

against

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, though he did not play. In May 2011, he was called up for the Grenadian national team for the upcoming

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

. Straker played in two pre-tournament friendlies, including his debut in a 2–2 home draw with

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

on 27 May 2011. He made his competitive debut for Grenada in their first match in the Gold Cup, a 4–0 loss to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

at the

Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

on 6 June 2011. Straker played in their two remaining group stage fixtures, a 7–1 defeat to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

at the

FIU Stadium Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...

on 10 June 2011 and a 4–0 defeat to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

at the Red Bull Arena on 13 June. He played in Grenada's three 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification second round matches, although they missed out on qualifying for the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

after finishing in third place in their group on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. He scored his first international goal with a 33rd-minute

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in Grenada's 3–1 home defeat to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 4 September 2015.

Style of play

Straker primarily plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, having been converted from playing at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

during 2009–10.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''As of match played 8 September 2015. Grenada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Straker goal.''

Honours

Aldershot Town *

: 2007–08 *

: 2007–08 Southend United *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Individual *

Team of the Year: 2018–19

References

External links

Anthony Straker profile
at the Bath City F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Straker, Anthony 1988 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Ealing People from Ealing English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Grenadian men's footballers Grenada men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Crystal Palace F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Southend United F.C. players York City F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people English people of Barbadian descent Sportspeople of Barbadian descent English people of Grenadian descent Sportspeople of Grenadian descent 21st-century English sportsmen