Ross Wallace (born 23 May 1985) is a Scottish former 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 winger. He played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

, and once played in a full international match for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. After retiring from professional football, Wallace re–joined Burnley as an assistant coach of the youth team and is currently first-team coach at Fleetwood Town.

Club career

Celtic

Born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Wallace started his career with

and progressed through the club's youth system. He made his Celtic debut, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute, in a 4–2 win against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

in the third round of the Scottish League Cup on 27 October 2002. With one appearance made in the 2002–03 season, Wallace signed his first professional contract with the club on 23 June 2003 on a four-year deal. A pacy left winger, Wallace made his UEFA Champions League debut against

FBK Kaunas Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. History Banga Kaunas (1960–1993) The roots of the club can be traced back to 1960 when Banga Kaunas was founded and they p ...

in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League second round, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win to advance to the next round. It was not until on 1 November 2003 when he made his first league appearance for Celtic, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute, in a 5–0 win against

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. This was followed up by scoring his first goal for the club, in a 5–0 win over

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

on 8 November 2003. Whilst clearly a skillful player, Wallace made only a few more first team appearances that season, as Alan Thompson remained the first-choice wide-left player at Celtic, but his contributions to the club saw them win the league after winning 1–0 against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2004. Following a 1–1 draw against

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 ...

on 12 May 2004, he was attacked by a pitch invading Motherwell supporter, prompting a police investigation. Wallace picked up his first silverware with the club, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Stephen Pearson Stephen Paul Pearson (born 2 October 1982) is a Scottish former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at Motherwell F.C., Motherwell and joined Celtic F.C., Celtic in 2004, where he won do ...

in Celtic's 3–1 win over Dunfermline in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make fourteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. In the 2004–05 season, Wallace began to receive more playing time for Celtic, playing in the midfield position, rotating in and out of the starting line–up. After being sidelined with a hamstring injury, he scored a hat-trick on his return, in an 8–1 rout of

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

in a Scottish League Cup tie on 21 September 2004. After the match, manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

praised his performance. Alan Thompson also said that Wallace was likely to succeed him in the future at left midfield positioned. However, he made little impact in either his league or European appearances, leading a loan enquiry from Inverness CT, whose bid was rejected. This led manager O'Neill respond to Wallace's bid rejection, saying the player remained part of his plan. After the transfer window closed, he continued to have his playing time, coming from the substitute bench for the rest of the 2004–05 season. With the club finished second place in the league and only won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, With the arrival of new manager

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...

at the start of season 2005–06, Wallace made his first appearance of the season, starting a match against

Artmedia Bratislava Artmedia was one of the first scientific projects concerning the relationship between art, technology, philosophy and aesthetics. It was founded in 1985 at the University of Salerno. For over two decades, until 2009, dozens of projects, studies, e ...

in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round and set up the second goal of the game for

John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and TNT Sports. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his ti ...

before being substituted in the 54th minute, in a 4–0 win that was not enough for Celtic to overcome a 5–0 deficit from the away leg. However, despite announcing his intention to fight for his first team place, he found himself on the sidelines for the first few months and found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. On 3 December 2005, Strachan began to play Wallace at left-back position in place of Mo Camara and he started his first match in the position, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. However, this turned out to be a strange selection given Wallace's slight build and inexperience of playing in a defensive role. Strachan persisted with this team selection for several weeks to the bemusement of fans who could clearly see the player's lack of aptitude for playing in defence. This further highlighted his lack of positional awareness in playing in defence when he scored an own goal in the New Year game against Hearts at Tynecastle, although the club still won 3–2 on 1 January 2006. Towards the end of the season, new signing Mark Wilson replaced him at left back even though it was not his natural position (Wilson is a right back). But Wallace played in the

Scottish League Cup Final The Scottish League Cup is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football, organised by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). It is considered to be the second most important domestic cup competition in Scottish football, after the S ...

at a left back position against Dunfermline Athletic, due to Wilson being cup-tied and Celtic won 3–0. He later made two appearances later in the 2005–06 season and despite being dropped from the first team, his contributions saw the club win the league. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Wallace went on to make fourteen appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Wallace went on trial at

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. It came after when he performed a poor display in Celtic's pre–season tour. Amid to his future at the club, Wallace made two more appearances for Celtic, both starting the matches at the start of the 2006–07 season. However, he was clearly no longer part of the plans of the Celtic management and was expected to leave the club.

Sunderland

Wallace was sold to

on 31 August 2006 in a deal including teammate

Stanislav Varga Stanislav Varga (born 8 October 1972) is a Slovak professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš. Club career Sunderland Varga, a tall and commanding centre-back, was recruited ...

for a combined fee of up to £1,100,000. Upon joining the club, he said about his former teammate turned manager

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

: "I've been on the wrong end of a Roy Keane rollicking once or twice and I still decided to come here. But to be fair, if he does say something, it's going to be good for you. He wants to help you. When he does do it, it's positive criticism. He demands the best because he was world class for a decade. Obviously, he demands the best from everyone here to take the club back up." Wallace made his Sunderland debut against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

on 9 September 2006 and scored the winner in a 2–1 win. This was followed up by setting up a goal for

Liam Miller Liam William Peter Miller (13 February 1981 – 9 February 2018) was an Irish professional association football, footballer. Miller began his career with Celtic F.C., Celtic and was later loan (football), loaned to Aarhus Gymnastik Forening, ...

, who scored 14 yards past the goalkeeper, in a 3–0 win against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

four days later on 13 September 2006. However in a match against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

on 23 September 2006, he played a role that led

Jason de Vos Jason Richard de Vos (born January 2, 1974) is a Canadian soccer executive, coach, and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. While representing his country, he was part of the national t ...

to score an own goal, but was sent–off in the 86th minute for a second bookable offence, in a 3–1 loss. After serving a one match suspension, Wallace returned to the first team, coming on as a 52nd-minute substitute, in a 4–1 loss against Preston North End on 14 October 2006. In a match against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 28 October 2006, he scored his second goal for the club, which turns out to be the winning goal, but was sent–off for a second bookable offence for taking off his shirt while celebrating. After serving a two match suspension, Wallace scored on his return, scoring the breakthrough goal in the 62nd minute, in a 1–1 draw against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 11 November 2006. Following this, he was involved in the first team, and the left-wing position had been highly contested between the player and teammate

Tobias Hysén Glenn Tobias Hysén (born 9 March 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward or as a winger. Starting his career with Lundby IF in 1998, he went on to represent BK Häcken, Djurgårdens IF, Sunderland, IFK Göte ...

. Due to injuries, his early form did tail towards the back end of the season. But Wallace was able to re-find his form as the season ended, rotating in playing either the left–back position and left–wing position and scored three more goals. Sunderland fans were more than pleased with the promising form the player showed throughout the 2006–07 campaign as the club won the Championship. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make thirty–three appearances and scoring six times in all competitions. Following this, Wallace was in talks with Sunderland over an improved contract. Wallace started the 2007–08 season as Sunderland's first choice left-back despite several new defenders joining the club during pre-season. In the first game of the season against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 11 August 2007, he lined up on Sunderland's starting eleven to make his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut and successfully provided the 93rd minute assist that enabled

Michael Chopra Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to secure a regular first team ...

to score and the club went on to win the game. In a follow–up match into the second game away to

, Wallace played an integral part in the decisive goal when he provided the free kick that eventually led to

Stern John Stern John (born 30 October 1976) is a Trinidadian football manager and former player who is currently managing Saint Lucia. He managed Anguilla from 2020 to 2022. He previously played for a number of American and English football clubs that inc ...

's late equaliser, resulting in a 2–2 draw. Wallace then scored his first Premier League goal, in a 2–1 win against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

on 15 September 2007. Three weeks later on 7 October 2007, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 loss against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, which was the first ever goal for Sunderland at their first ever game at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

. Despite his involvement in the first team so far, manager Keane stated he would consider offers for Wallace, along with five other players and was placed on a transfer list. However, it was reported on 18 January 2008 that Wallace had sustained an

Anterior Cruciate Ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

knee injury and would therefore miss the rest of the 2007–08 football season. While on the sidelines, he was linked with a

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

want to sign him but talks never materialised. Shortly after, Wallace made a recovery from his injury in early–March and spent two months, making progress on his recovery and featuring in the club's reserve matches. It was not until 11 May 2008 when he made his return on the final game of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Wallace went on to make twenty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

Preston North End

Over the summer transfer, Wallace remained on the transfer list, leading interests from

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. In the 2008 summer transfer window, it was reported that he rejected a move to Preston North End and stay at Sunderland to fight for his place in the first team. Following this, Wallace was taken off the transfer listed and he later thanked manager Keane for giving him a second chance to play for the club ahead of the 2008–09 season. However on 31 July 2008, Wallace eventually signed a year-long loan at Preston with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. He made his debut for the club against Chesterfield in the first round of the League Cup, starting the whole game, and set up a goal for

Neil Mellor Neil Andrew Mellor (born 4 November 1982) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career at Liverpool in the Premier League. He made his name in 2004 by scoring a stunning last-minute goal from long r ...

, in a 2–0 win to advance to the next round. A week later on 23 August 2008, Wallace made his league debut, coming on as a 55th-minute substitute for

Barry Nicholson Barry Nicholson (born 24 August 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his professional career with Rangers and went on to play over 100 games for each of Dunfermline Athletic, Aberdeen and ...

, in a 1–1 draw against

. Having started out from the substitute bench, he regained his first team place, playing in the midfield position. Wallace then scored his first goal for Preston North End, in a 2–0 win over

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on 28 October 2008. He later scored two more goals by the end of the year, coming against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. Wallace signed a permanent four-and-a-half-year contract with the club on 12 January 2009. A month later on 21 February 2009, he scored his first goal since joining Preston North End on a permanent basis, in a 3–1 loss against Southampton. Wallace soon became a fan favourite, due to the number of times he provided excellent crosses, mainly for

Jon Parkin Jonathan Parkin (born 30 December 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He came through the youth academy at hometown club Barnsley F.C., Barnsley sign ...

and went on to provide nineteen assists. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Wallace went on to make thirty–nine appearances and scoring five times in all competitions. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Wallace continued to establish himself in the first team, where he began to play in a playmaker role. Wallace scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Ipswich Town on 29 August 2009. He later scored three more goals by the end of the year. Wallace then scored his fifth goal of the season, in a 4–2 loss against Bristol City on 16 January 2010. He later scored two more goals later in the 2009–10 season, coming against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and Reading. Unlike last season, Wallace was not able to provide more assists, registering only seven. However, he received thirteen bookings, missing two games as a result. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Wallace went on to make forty–five appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions. Upon leaving the club, Wallace said he was disappointed not to say goodbye to his Preston teammates. However, Wallace was criticised in an interview with The Lancashire Telegraph when he expressed his lack of sympathy on Preston North End's struggles that eventually saw them relegated the following season. While playing for Sheffield Wednesday against his former club, Preston North End on 20 February 2016, Wallace received boos from the club's supporters whenever he touched the ball throughout the match, losing 1–0.

Burnley

Wallace transferred to fellow Championship club

for an undisclosed fee on 2 July 2010, signing a three-year contract. Upon completion of the transfer, he was described by manager

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

as "one of the best left-sided players in the Championship". The club decided to sign him after they ended their interest in signing Hearts' midfielder Andrew Driver. Wallace scored his first goal in a

shirt a week later on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Bury. He continued to produce a good display throughout the club's pre–season tour in a number of matches. Wallace made his league debut for Burnley, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over

in the opening game of the season. Two weeks later on 21 August 2010, he scored his first goal for the club and set up a goal for

Chris Iwelumo Christopher Robert Iwelumo (; born 1 August 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a striker. Iwelumo started his career with St Mirren before moving to Danish club Aarhus Fremad for two years. A move to Stoke City i ...

in a 3–0 win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Facing against his former club, Preston North End on 11 September 2010, Wallace played a key role in the match when he set up the opener for Iwelumo and a winning goal for

Jay Rodriguez Jay Enrique Rodriguez (born 29 July 1989) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham. Rodriguez began his career with his hometown club B ...

in a 4–3 win. After missing a match, due to a groin injury, Wallace found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench, due to competitions in the midfield position. Despite this, he was able to score his second goal for Burnley, in a 3–2 win against Watford on 13 November 2010. On 3 January 2011, Wallace scored his third goal for the club, in a 2–1 loss against

. By January, he found himself in and out of the starting line–up for the rest of the 2010–11 season. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Wallace went on to make forty–three appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. In the opening game of the 2011–12 season, Wallace helped Burnley when he helped the club draw 2–2 draw by setting up a goal for Keith Treacy. This was followed up by scoring his first goal of the season and setting up a goal for

, who went on to score four goals, in a 6–3 win against

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

in the first round of the League Cup. Since the start of the 2011–12 season, Wallace became a first team regular for the club when he started out, playing in the left–wing position. Wallace then began rotating into playing different positions, starting out in the right–midfield position and left–back position. He then scored his second goal of the season, scoring from 20 yards, in a 5–1 win against Nottingham Forest on 27 September 2011. This was followed up by setting up a goal for Rodriguez to score the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. From 22 October 2011 to 5 November 2011, Wallace scored four goals in four consecutive games for Burnley. Wallace also started in every match until he missed a match against

on 19 November 2011, due to picking up an injury in training. Wallace then returned to the starting line–up against Birmingham City three days later on 22 November 2011, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss. However, his return was short–lived when he missed one match for picking up five yellow cards this season. After serving a one match suspension, Wallace returned to the first team against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 3 December 2011, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute, and set up the winning goal for

Sam Vokes Samuel Michael Vokes (born 21 October 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers, and formerly for the Wales national footba ...

, in a 2–1 win. Following this, he became the club's most consistent performer for the rest of the 2011–12 season, providing nine assists. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Wallace went on to make forty–four appearances and scoring six times in all competitions. At the start of the 2012–13 season, Wallace continued to remain in the first team by rotating in playing either right midfield position. This lasted until 20 October 2012 prior to a match against

when he suffered a hamstring injury and missed two matches as a result. After missing two matches, Wallace returned to the starting line–up against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

on 3 November 2012 and set up the second goal of the game, in a 2–0 win. After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up and set up two goals in the next two matches against Hull City and Barnsley. On 22 December 2012, Wallace scored his first goal of the season, scoring from a free kick, in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City; up until now, he struggled to score goals since the start of the 2012–13 season. His second goal of the season came on 1 January 2013 against Sheffield Wednesday, scoring from a penalty and setting up a goal for Keith Treacy, in a 2–0 win. Three weeks later on 26 January 2013, Wallace scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Birmingham City. After months of speculation over his future at Burnley, he signed a two-year extension, keeping him until 2015 and in do so, took a pay cut. However, Wallace suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for weeks. It was not until 11 March 2013 when he made his return to the starting line–up, and played 84 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 loss against Hull City. Following this, Wallace started in the next seven matches, playing in the right midfield position before being dropped to the substitute bench for the rest of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make forty appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. Wallace started in the first three league matches of the 2013–14 season, playing in the right–midfield position. However, he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for five months after having a surgery. By January, Wallace made a recovery from a knee injury and was featured in a friendly match for the club's reserve match against Wolverhampton Wanderers' reserve. After appearing as an unused substitute against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 1 February 2014, he made his return to the first team, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–1 win against Millwall seven days later. Following this, Wallace found himself in and out of the starting line–up for the rest of the 2013–14 season, due to competitions in the midfield position. His return to the first team saw Burnley promoted to the

after beating

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

2–0 on 21 April 2014. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he went on to make fifteen appearances in all competitions. However at the start of the 2014–15 season, Wallace found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. He made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Sheffield Wednesday in the second round of the League Cup on 26 August 2014. Wallace scored his first Premier League goal in seven years, in a 2–2 draw against Leicester City on 4 October 2014. He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–2 loss against Tottenham Hotspur in the third round FA Cup replay on 14 January 2015. However, Wallace was sidelined on two occasions towards the end of the 2014–15 season. Following this, Wallace was released by Burnley after five seasons with the club, making a total of 165 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 times.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 10 July 2015, Wallace joined

team

on a one-year deal following his release from Burnley. Upon joining the club, he was given a number thirty–three shirt. Wallace made his debut for Sheffield Wednesday in the opening game of the season against Bristol City and set up a goal for

Lewis McGugan Lewis Shay McGugan (born 25 October 1988) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A player with excellent natural stamina, technical skills and mental attributes, he represented England at ...

, in a 2–0 win. In a follow–up match, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat at Ipswich Town. Since joining Sheffield Wednesday, Wallace quickly established himself in the first team, playing in the either the left–midfield position and right–midfield position. In a match against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 19 September 2015, he provided a hat–trick assists, in a 3–2 win. Wallace quickly made an impact since joining the club and was awarded PFA Fans' Players of the Month for August and September. A month later on 27 October 2015, he scored his second goal for Sheffield Wednesday and then set up a goal for

Lucas João Lucas Eduardo dos Santos João (born 4 September 1993), known as Lucas João, is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Turkish club Ümraniyespor and the Angola national footba ...

, in a 3–0 win against Arsenal in the fourth round of the League Cup. Wallace then scored his third goal for the club came in a 1–0 win over Fulham on 2 January 2016 in the Championship; a 25-yard dipping shot after cutting in from the right wing. His next goal for Sheffield Wednesday came on 5 April 2016 against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and scoring a winning goal, in a 2–1 win. However in a match against

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on 19 April 2016, he received a straight red card after an off the ball incident with

Jonny Williams Jonathan Peter Williams (born 9 October 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Gillingham. He retired from international football for Wales in 2023. Williams started his career at Crystal Palace, and whilst t ...

, in a 0–0 draw. After serving a three match suspension, Wallace returned to the starting line–up against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

in the first leg of the Championshup play–offs and scored in a 2–0 win. In the return leg, he scored the equalising goal to help the club reach the final. In the Football League Championship play-off final against Hull City, Wallace started and played 64 minutes before being substituted, as Sheffield Wednesday lost 1–0. Despite missing two matches during the 2015–16 season, Wallace went on to make forty–eight appearances and scoring six times in all competitions. Having expressed interest on staying with the club and beyond, he signed a new contract with Sheffield Wednesday, keeping him until 2018. At the start of the 2016–17 season, Wallace continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the right midfield position. By November, he began to find his playing time, coming from the substitute bench, with manager

Carlos Carvalhal Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (; born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese former Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back, currently a Manager (association football), ...

commentating on Wallace: "He is a player who wasn't playing in the first XI in the last games but if you saw it all the time when he was on the pitch he was the player who had the most effect on the game so far. He didn't play but when he goes inside the pitch, he tried to change things, he tried to give a new dynamic he did well and trued a lot to do this." But Wallace soon regained his first team place in the starting line–up. After suffering an eight months goal drought, he ended this drought by scoring from a 25-yard piledriver in a 2–0 win against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 14 January 2017. Two weeks later on 31 January 2017, Wallace scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Bristol City. This was followed by scoring his third goal of the season, in a 1–0 win against Wigan Athletic. Following this, manager Carvalhal praised his performance on regaining his form. As a result, he was awarded the club's Player of the Month for January and March. Wallace set up two goals in the next two matches against Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers. He added two more goals, coming against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and Burton Albion between 4 March 2017 and 7 March 2017. After missing two matches due to a knee injury, Wallace returned to the starting line–up and set up two goals in two matches between 4 April 2017 and 8 April 2017 against

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and

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. Having determined to help Sheffield Wednesday to reach the Premier League, he helped the club qualify for the Championship play–offs after helping Sheffield Wednesday beat

on 29 April 2017. In the second leg of the Championship play–offs semi–final against Huddersfield Town, however, he suffered an injury and was substituted in the 5th minute, as the club went on to lose 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw. Despite missing a total of five matches throughout the 2016–17 season, Wallace went on to make forty–five appearances and scoring five times in all competitions. At the start of the 2017–18 season, Wallace found himself in and out of the starting line–up, playing in different positions. He made his 100th appearance for Sheffield Wednesday, in a 3–1 win against Nottingham Forest on 9 September 2017. Wallace scored his first goal of the season, which turns out to be the winning goal, in a 2–1 win against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 12 September 2017. He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 23 December 2017. However, during a 2–1 loss against Millwall on 20 February 2018, playing in the false nine position, Wallace suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 79th minute. After the match, it was announced that he would be sidelined for the rest of the 2017–18 season. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Wallace went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. With one game to play in the 2017–18 season, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed and he would be leaving at the end of the season. In March 2020, Wallace drew criticism when he commented positively about the departure of manager Carvalhal. Manager Carvalhal responded to Wallace's claims by tweeting on his Twitter account: "Ross did a very good contribution in the first 2 seasons and I must respect this...."

Fleetwood Town

Following his release by Sheffield Wednesday, Wallace went on trial at

and was featured in a friendly match against

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 ...

on 14 July 2018, but failed to win a contract despite impressing the club. He then went on trial at

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

club

. On 21 September 2018, following a successful trial period, Wallace joined the club. The following day, he made his debut for Fleetwood Town, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against

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 ...

. Since joining the club, Wallace quickly established himself in the first team, playing in the centre midfield position. At times, he rotated in playing in different positions in the defence and midfield. On 18 October 2018, Wallace signed a contract with Fleetwood Town for the rest of the 2018–19 season. He then scored his first goal for the club and set up the opening game of the game, in a 3–2 win against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on 27 October 2018. Since joining Fleetwood Town, Wallace appeared in every match until he missed two matches, due to suspension. After serving a two match suspension, Wallace returned to the starting line–up against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

on 9 March 2019 and played 72 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–0 loss. Following his return from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in different midfield positions for the rest of the 2018–19 season. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Wallace went on to make thirty–eight appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, he was offered a new contract by the club. On 10 August 2019, Wallace agreed to sign a contract with the club. However, he appeared four matches for Fleetwood Town, coming from the substitute bench. Having made four appearances in all competitions, the club announced the departure of Wallace despite recently signed a contract.

St Mirren

After five months without a club, Wallace signed a short-term contract with

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 St Mirren on 11 February 2020, making his return to his home country for the first time in fourteen years. Upon joining the club, he said he is aiming to help St Mirren avoid relegation. Wallace finally made his debut for the club, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 win against Motherwell on 25 February 2020. He made his first start for St Mirren, starting a match and playing 84 minutes before being substituted, in a 0–0 draw against

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on 4 March 2020. Seven days later on 11 March 2020, Wallace set up a goal for

Jonathan Obika Jonathan Chiedozie Obika (born 12 September 1990) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is currently first team coach for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell. Club career Tottenham Obika is a product of the ...

to the score the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win against Hearts, which turned out to the last game of the season and saw the opposition team relegated when the season was curtailed with the club finishing ninth place in the league because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. At the end of the 2019–20 season, he went on to make three appearances in all competitions. Following this, it was announced on 2 May 2020 when Wallace was among thirteen players top leaving Saints when his contract expired.

International career

Between 2002 and 2006, Wallace represented

, playing from U18 and Scotland U21. In November 2007, Wallace was called up to the Scotland B team squad for the first time. He made his B team debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Republic of Ireland B team on 20 November 2007. Throughout his football career, Wallace made statements that moving to new clubs and performances would benefited his hopes of getting a call–up from the

national team. There were public calls from teammates and managers to convince the national team to call him to the squad, but was overlooked instead. With the exception in October when he was called up to the national team squad. Wallace made one full international appearance for

, in a friendly match with

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 10 October 2009.

Post-playing career

Following his release by St. Mirren, Wallace retired from professional football.
He previously announced his intention to move to coaching once his playing days is over. In March 2021, Wallace re–joined Burnley as club's youth development. In December 2023, he returned to Fleetwood Town as first-team coach.

Personal life

Early in his football career, Wallace developed a reputation for taking off his shirt after scoring a goal. After his sending off against Hull City on 28 October 2006, Wallace said he would stop taking off his shirt and learn from his mistake. In response, manager Keane said he had no sympathy for Wallace, but decided not to "crucify him" and hope the player learned his lesson. After scoring his first goal in the Premier League, he took off his shirt once again and was booked as a result. After the match, Wallace, once again, apologised and promised not to do it again, but did not express regret over his actions. He acknowledged of facing a fine from manager Keane. Two years later, Wallace was again sent–off for taking off his shirt after celebrating a goal against Birmingham City, which turned to be a winning goal, in a 2–1 win on 25 April 2009 and was suspended for one match. In October 2013, Wallace became a victim of

Death hoax A death hoax is a deliberate report of someone's death that is later revealed to be untrue."Ordinary reactions to extraordinary events", by Ray Broadus Browne, Arthur G. Neal, 2001, , chapter "Dead or Alive", pp. 21-42 In some cases, it might be ...

when a Twitter users tweeted that he died in a car crash. Four months later, Wallace spoke in the interview about the tweet for the first time and was bemusement about, as well as, the acknowledgment use of social media.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Celtic *

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

: 2005–06 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2003–04 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2005–06 Sunderland *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2006–07 Burnley *

runner-up: 2013–14

References

External links

*
Scotland stats
at 11v11
U21 stats
at Fitbastats {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Ross 1985 births Living people Footballers from Dundee Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's B international footballers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football wingers Celtic F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Premier League players St Mirren F.C. players Burnley F.C. non-playing staff Fleetwood Town F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century Scottish sportsmen