Joe Ledley

Joseph Christopher Ledley (born 23 January 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He started his career with then Championship side Cardiff City where he spent six years. He helped the club to the FA Cup Final in 2008 and to the Championship play-off final in 2010. In 2010, he moved to Celtic on a free transfer. He won the Scottish Premier League title in his second season with the club in 2012 and both the league and the Scottish Cup in 2013. He signed for Crystal Palace in January 2014 and played three and a half Premier League seasons for them.

Ledley has played for Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his full debut in 2005. He has since gone on to make over 70 international appearances and has captained his country on several occasions. Ledley was in the Welsh squad that reached the semi-final of UEFA Euro 2016.

Early life and career

Ledley was born in Cardiff, growing up in the Fairwater area. He attended Cantonian High School, where he was captain of the school football team. His schoolboy picture is displayed in the school to this day. He played several sports when he was younger, but only ever wanted to be a footballer.

He grew up supporting Cardiff City and joined the club's youth system aged nine. During his later years as a trainee he was in charge of cleaning then captain Graham Kavanagh's boots. He continued to clean them for several months after breaking into the first team, this was to stop him from getting carried away with his new position.

Club career

Cardiff City

2004–05

Ledley was called into the first team during the 2004–05 season, while still only 17. He made his debut in the League Cup, on 21 September 2004, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in a 4–1 win over Milton Keynes Dons He made his league debut the next month, on 16 October, in a 2–0 win over Rotherham United, again coming on as a substitute. Three days later he had his first start for the club in a 1–1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, he had several chances to score during the match including a header that hit the woodwork. After the match, Cardiff's goalscorer, Lee Bullock said that Ledley had been brilliant in his first start; creating chances as well as having some himself. Manager Lennie Lawrence said that he thought Ledley hadn't been fazed at all by the occasion and didn't look like he was making his debut. Ledley's first goal for Cardiff came, on 2 November, in a 4–1 victory over West Ham. He brought the ball down from a cross before beating the keeper, Stephen Bywater, with a right foot drive. After this match Ledley's manager and teammates were again full of praise for the youngster. Striker Paul Parry said that Ledley's goal was brilliant and with the way he had been playing, creating so many chances for himself, it was no surprise that he had got his first goal. Manager Lawrence also said that he was impressed with other aspects of Ledley's play. He thought that Ledley had shown incredible maturity during the match, saying that Ledley had, "an old head on a young pair of shoulders". He was also impressed with Ledley's positional play, pointing out how Ledley had tracked back late in the match to cut out a scoring opportunity for West Ham United, when other defenders hadn't seen the danger.

On 4 February 2005 he committed his future to Cardiff City, signing a new long-term contract with the club. This was shortly after he had won a call up to the Wales under-21 squad. A month later he scored a vital goal, to earn three points for Cardiff as they beat Sheffield United 1–0. Ledley's season ended in April as he suffered a fractured metatarsal bone in training. Before this he had played 32 times for Cardiff City and had also earned three Wales under-21 caps. His performances had provided a major boost for Cardiff City in what was a poor season for them as they were in relegation trouble at the bottom of the Championship and were suffering financial troubles as well. Lawrence said that he hoped Ledley would stay at Cardiff for the next few seasons and that he wouldn't be surprised if the 18-year-old earned a full Wales call-up in the near future.

2005–06

Ledley's first goal of the 2005–06 season came in a 2–1 League Cup victory over Macclesfield Town. He scored the equaliser after the League Two side had taken the lead. A month later, on 18 October, he scored in Cardiff's 2–2 draw against Preston North End. Four days later Cardiff beat Crewe Alexandra 6–1, with Ledley scoring the second to put them 2–1 up shortly after half time. Cardiff had been tipped for relegation at the start of the season but this victory put them on the verge of the play-off places. Ledley's fourth goal of the season came in a 2–1 victory over Southampton on 31 December.

2006–07

Ledley scored in the first match of the 2006–07 season, the opener in a 2–1 win over Barnsley. He then scored several weeks later, as Cardiff City beat fellow promotion contenders Birmingham City, 2–0, to move top of the table. At this match Cardiff City had a full stadium, 20,000 fans, for the first time in over 45 years. This signalled their growing momentum in the league and the belief within the club that they were able to get promoted. Ledley was identified as one of the key players in Cardiff City's team, his pace on the left wing being vital to their tenacious style of play. On 25 September, Ledley scored in a 3–0 win over Southend United to confirm Cardiff's status as early season favourites. Cardiff entered the FA Cup at the third round and drew Tottenham Hotspur. The match ended 0–0 but Ledley had an excellent chance to put Cardiff City in the lead after 55 minutes, he got on the end of a cross but hit his shot just over the bar. The match went to a replay and Tottenham Hotspur won 4–0 at White Hart Lane on 17 January. On 2 February Ledley suffered a hamstring injury in a 2–0 win over Barnsley. At the end of the season he picked up the Football League goal of the season award for his strike against Barnsley.

2007–08

Ledley began the 2007–08 season in great form and earned several man of the match awards in the first four months and in October 2007 he signed a two-year extension to his contract at Cardiff City. In December 2007, Wolverhampton Wanderers offered a reported £2.5 million, which could go up to as much as £3.5 million with add-ons, to Cardiff City for Ledley. Cardiff City offered the deal to Ledley who turned the move down in order to stay with the ''Bluebirds''. Premier League side Everton were also known to have taken an interest in him, reportedly considering making an offer of £3.5 million. At the time, Cardiff City valued him at a reported £5 million. Despite the speculation about his transfer Ledley himself stated that he was desperate to stay at Cardiff but concedes that he may have no choice should a high offer be made. Everton attempted a second move for Ledley at the end of the January transfer window, reportedly beating Wolves' previous £3m move, but the move was rejected by Cardiff. His form continued into February and early March before a hamstring injury forced him to miss several games, including Cardiff's 2–0 FA Cup quarter final victory over Middlesbrough. He returned to the side in time for the Semi Final against Barnsley where he scored the only goal to send Cardiff to their first Final since 1927, a goal which later earned him 'Player of the Round'. Cardiff went on to lose in the Final to Portsmouth.

2008–09

During the 2008 summer transfer window, recently promoted Premier League side Stoke City offered Cardiff £5m to sign Ledley, which Cardiff turned down. On 1 September 2008, the final day of the summer transfer window Stoke made a second bid, reported to be around £6m, but this too was firmly rejected by Cardiff. On 7 October, Ledley was named Welsh clubman of the year for the second consecutive year. He scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season during a 2–1 win over Crystal Palace on 15 November when he fired in after returning to the pitch after receiving treatment due to a dislocated finger.Ledley has pins placed in finger
BBC Sport 18 November 2008 The injury later required surgery and Ledley was expected to be out for around one month but managed to return in time to play against Swansea City, with his finger in a cast, in the first league meeting between the two sides for nine years and scored with a left footed volley as the game ended 2–2, a goal which later earned him the club's goal of the season award.

In his next game after the South Wales derby, on 6 December 2008, with captain Darren Purse dropped and vice-captain Stephen McPhail suspended, Ledley, at the age of just 21, captained Cardiff City for the first time in a 2–0 win over Preston North End. His performances in the absence of McPhail, which later earned him the Championship player of the month award for January,"Joe Ledley scoops title"
Cardiff City FC, 9 February 2009; Retrieved 9 February 2009 meant that he kept the Irish international out of the side as he continued as stand in captain, including a 0–0 draw with Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The January transfer window saw increased speculation about Ledley's future and Cardiff City turned down two bids from Premier League sides West Ham United, who saw an offer of £5m turned down, and Wigan Athletic, who had a bid of £4m and former Cardiff player and Wales international Jason Koumas rejected. He remained captain of the side for the rest of the season and at the end of the year was included in the 2008–09 Championship Team of the Year, along with teammate Roger Johnson."Championship team of the year"
Football League, 27 April 2009; Retrieved 27 April 2009

2009–10

With only one year left on his contract, the end of the season saw increased speculation over his future, mostly from Hull City, whose manager Phil Brown attended the ''Bluebirds'' pre-season friendly against Celtic. This uncertainty resulted in Ledley being stripped of the captaincy. Despite the speculation over his future, Ledley remained with Cardiff and played 45 minutes of the first ever competitive match at the Cardiff City Stadium, before being substituted at half-time due to illness. In the third league match of the season, Ledley made his 200th league appearance for Cardiff in a 3–1 win over Plymouth Argyle. On 2 September 2009 Ledley was offered a new four-year contract by Cardiff City, which was later rejected. During a 3–1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 26 September 2009, Ledley was sent off for the first time in his career after two bookable offences.

Following a poor run of results by Cardiff City during November 2009, Ledley was the focus of criticism over his performances, most notably from Cardiff City chairman Peter Ridsdale who commented that, due to his ongoing contract talks, Ledley was "playing like he is somewhere else already". However, Ledley received backing from both Cardiff City manager Dave Jones and club captain Mark Hudson, before later stating that he needed surgery on a hip injury that had plagued him for the previous three months and subsequently hindered his performances. On 9 December, Cardiff confirmed that Ledley needed a hip operation before the end of the season. He scored his first goal of the season on 28 December with the opener against Peterborough United, and 17 minutes later he scored again with a header. On 29 January 2010, Ledley underwent surgery on his hip problem which was expected to rule him out for the rest of the season, but made an early return as a substitute during a 2–1 win over Swansea City. On 17 April, Ledley scored against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road to ensure Cardiff a 1–0 win and also a Championship Play-Off place for that season. He scored in the 36th minute of the Play-off Final against Blackpool on 22 May during a 3–2 defeat.

Ledley's contract expired at the end of the season and he moved to Scottish Premier League club Celtic. Ledley's transfer to a team playing outside the English Football League system meant that Cardiff City did not receive any compensation for the transfer.

Celtic

2010–11

Out of contract at the end of the 2009–10 season, Ledley entered into talks with several clubs, including Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and AS Roma, before eventually joining Scottish Premier League side Celtic on a four-year contract on 12 July 2010. He made his competitive debut for the club on 28 July in a 3–0 defeat to Braga in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, before making his SPL debut two weeks later in a 1–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Ledley was played in an unfamiliar role at left-back during his first month at Celtic, a position he had only previously played in once or twice. Despite playing in an unfamiliar position, he concentrated on establishing himself in his new team, stating "...if I am told to do a job for my team, I try to do it to the best of my ability", and he scored his first goal for Celtic against St Mirren in a 4–0 home victory in the SPL on 22 August 2010. By the end of August, the arrival of Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre saw Ledley return to his more familiar midfield role.

On 6 November 2010 Ledley added another goal to his tally against Aberdeen in a league record 9–0 victory. Four days later Ledley was sent off when he was red carded for a challenge on Hearts midfielder Ian Black during a 0–2 defeat at Tynecastle. Ledley publicly defended himself, stating "I couldn't believe it when the ref sent me off. I thought it was a fair challenge", and added "I spoke to Ian an Blackafter it and even he told me I got the ball – there was no way I went in to intentionally hurt anyone." Manager Neil Lennon also defended Ledley after the match, describing referee Craig Thomson's decision as "ridiculous".

He regained his place in the team on his return from suspension and continued to play regularly. After a 3–1 win over Dundee United in February 2011, Neil Lennon praised Ledley's performance, stating "In my opinion, Ledley completely ran the game in the first half – he was excellent. He was all over the place, winning tackles, making passes and getting up and down the park and it was great to see." On 16 March 2011, Ledley scored both Celtic goals in a 2–1 Scottish Cup

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