Freddy Eastwood

Football player infobox
playername = Freddy Eastwood


fullname = Freddy Eastwood
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1983|10|29
cityofbirth = Basildon
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=11
currentclub = Coventry City
clubnumber = 10
position = Striker
youthyears = 1999–2002
youthclubs = West Ham United
years = 2002–2003
2003–2004
2004
2004–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = West Ham United
Grays Athletic
→ Southend United (loan)
Southend United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Coventry City
caps(goals) = 000 0(0)
055 (34)
004 0(4)
111 (49)
031 0(3)
007 0(1)
nationalyears = 2007–
nationalteam = Wales
nationalcaps(goals) = 010 0(4)
pcupdate = 22:03, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 20:01, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Freddy Eastwood (born October 29, 1983 in Basildon, Essex) cite news | title = Ferguson is left red-faced after Southend shock | publisher = Times Online | date = 2006-11-08 | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article629780.ece | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ] is an English-born footballer, currently playing for Coventry City. He is a Welsh International, eligible to play for the Welsh national team as his maternal grandfather was born in Llanelli, Wales. He is an active member of the romani community.

Background

Eastwood was born in Basildon, Essex and was often seen exercising his horse on the A127 road in Essex on the morning of a match day when playing for Southend United.cite news | title = Eastwood gets accustomed to life on road to riches | publisher = Guardian | date = 2006-11-09 | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/nov/09/newsstory.southend | accessdate = 2008-06-27 ] He is married with two children - Freddy Jr and Chardonnay.cite news | title = Freddy Eastwood: Let me stay in my gipsy home | publisher = Echo News | date = 2006-08-18 | url = http://www.echo-news.co.uk/search/display.var.886114.0.freddy_eastwood_let_me_stay_in_my_gipsy_home.php | accessdate = 2007-01-21 ]

He appealed to the British Government in August 2006 to keep his home on a travellers site in Basildon after Basildon Council refused planning permission. Eastwood and his family were told in November 2006 that the decision of Basildon Council would not be upheld by the Government and he was free to stay there for at least the next five years. [cite news | title = Freddy wins home battle | publisher = Echo News | date = 2006-11-10 | url = http://www.echo-news.co.uk/display.var.1016345.0.freddy_wins_home_battle.php | accessdate = 2007-01-21 ]

Club career

West Ham United

Eastwood began his career as a West Ham United Academy player after turning down an offer of a scholarship at Southend where he had been a promising youth player. At West Ham, Eastwood played in the same youth team as Jermain Defoe, Anton Ferdinand and Glen Johnson but was not considered good enough by the then manager Glenn Roeder and was released by the Hammerscite news | title = Eastwood: I'm ready for Prem | publisher = The Sun | date = 2006-11-10 | url = http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2006520367,,00.html | accessdate = 2007-07-11 ] in May 2003.cite web | title = Soccerbase: Freddy Eastwood | publisher = Racing Post | url = http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=36902 | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ] After being released, he considered quitting football altogether and worked briefly as a car salesman.

Grays Athletic

Eastwood joined Conference South side Grays Athletic in August 2003 He scored 37 league and cup goalscite web | title = Season 2003-4 in focus | publisher = Grays Athletic F.C. official website | url = http://graysathletic.co.uk/matches/archives/cat_season_20034.html | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ] in his first season, winning the Grays' Golden Boot and prompting attention from a number of professional clubs including Northampton Town, [cite news | title = Eastwood set to become a Cobblers player | publisher = Non League Daily | date = 2003-11-12 | url = http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=13748 | accessdate = 2007-07-11 ] Swindon Town [cite news | title = Players Profile: Freddy Eastwood | publisher = The Little Gazette | date = 2004-10-04 | url = http://www.thelittlegazette.com/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED31&id=181174 | accessdate = 2007-07-11 ] and Charlton Athletic [cite news | title = Eastwood gets Charlton chance | publisher = Non League Daily | date = 2004-04-02 | url = http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=16726 | accessdate = 2007-07-11 ] as well as Southend United.

outhend United

Eastwood joined Southend United in October 2004, initially on loan. [cite news | title = Eastwood joins Shrimpers | publisher = BBC | date = 2004-10-04 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southend_utd/3714802.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-07 ] He made his debut for the club in spectacular style, scoring the opener after 7.7 seconds, an English league record for a debut, and going on to score two more to record his first of three hat-tricks for the club as Southend beat top of the table Swansea City 4-2. [cite news | title = Southend 4-2 Swansea | publisher = BBC | date = 2004-10-16 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/3718620.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ] Eastwood joined Southend on a permanent basis in November 2004 for an undisclosed fee in a three-year deal from Grays. [cite news | title = Southend complete Eastwood deal | publisher = BBC | date = 2004-11-04 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southend_utd/3983489.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ] He finished the 2004-05 season with 24 goals from 42 appearances in all competitions and scored the opening goal in his club's 2-0 win over Lincoln City in the League Two Play-off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in May 2005 that resulted in promotion for Southend United. [cite news | title = Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United | publisher = BBC | date = 2004-05-28 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/4573787.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-10 ]

Eastwood scored Southend United's 5,000th League goal on 2 January 2006 when he smashed home the late winner against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road as the Shrimpers went to the top of League One. [cite web | title = Blues reach 5,000 goal landmark | publisher = Southend United official website | date = 2007-02-04 | url = http://www.southendunited.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10444~762851,00.html | accessdate = 2007-07-27 ] He scored twice at Swansea City on 29 April 2006 to earn Southend United a 2-2 draw, a result which sealed promotion to the Football League Championship. [cite news | title = Southend go up after Swansea draw | publisher = BBC | date = 2006-04-29 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/4933682.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-28 ] By the end of the 2005-06 season, Eastwood was joint 18th in Southend's all time leading goal scorers list with 49 goals, 45 of which were in the league, two in the FA Cup and two in the Football League Trophy. He was also joint top scorer with Billy Sharp in League One in 2005-06 with 23 goals. [cite web | title = Leading scorers: FL1 2005/06 | publisher = The Football League | url = http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/DivisionalScorers/0,,10794~200525,00.html | accessdate = 2007-07-29 ]

The following season, Eastwood scored his 50th goal for the club in the Championship opener game against Stoke City. [cite news | title = Southend 1-0 Stoke | publisher = BBC | date = 2006-08-04 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/5226764.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-29 ] It would prove to be a difficult season for the striker and despite scoring 11 goal in the Championship, Eastwood was unable to prevent relegation back to League One, however the highlight of the Shrimpers season came when Eastwood scored the only goal, a spectacular 30-yard free kick in front of the away fans in the North Stand, during the Football League Cup fourth round win against Manchester United on November 7 2006 to put the holders out of the competition. [cite news | title = Southend 1-0 Man Utd | publisher = BBC | date = 2006-11-07 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/6116346.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-29 ]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Eastwood signed a four-year deal with Wolves in July 2007 after completing a £1.5m move from Southend. [cite news | title = Eastwood completes move to Wolves | publisher = BBC | date = 2007-07-06 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southend_utd/6270492.stm | accessdate = 2007-07-06 ] The striker started the 2007–08 season impressively, scoring his first goal for Wolves on his full debut in the League Cup first round win over Bradford City, and finishing the month with 4 goals to his name. This prolific start earned him the Championship Player of the Month Award for August. [cite news |title=Eastwood bags Championship award| publisher = BBC Sport| date = 2007-09-05 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6979774.stm ] However, his goals dried up in the following months and he was often on the substitutes' bench or left out of the squad completely, with Andy Keogh, Jay Bothroyd, Kevin Kyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake now ahead of him in the pecking order.

He was close to a move away from Molineux to Coventry City in March 2008, but this collapsed at the last minute. [cite news |title=Freddy was close to Coventry deal| publisher = Express & Star| date = 2008-03-27 | url = http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/03/27/eastwood-was-close-to-coventry-deal| accessdate = 2008-03-27 ] He remained popular with many Wolves fans, who believed he had not been given a fair run of games, which caused a split between the fans towards the end of the season. He finished the campaign with just 3 goals in 10 league starts (35 appearances in total), prompting him to be transfer-listed, with manager Mick McCarthy explaining, "It's nothing personal, but it hasn't worked out how either of us would have liked. He hasn't fitted into my team but he wants to play and will do well elsewhere. We wish him luck." [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7375114.stm|title=Wolves put Eastwood up for sale |date=2008-05-08|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=2008-05-18]

Coventry City

In July 2008, he joined fellow Championship club Coventry City in a four-year deal for a reported £1.2million fee. [cite news | title = Eastwood seals switch to Coventry| publisher = BBC Sport| date = 2008-07-12 | accessdate = 2008-07-12 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/7497488.stm ]

International career

As his maternal grandfather was born in Wales, Eastwood is eligible to play for Wales. He was selected for the squad for the international friendly against New Zealand in May 2006 and the crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Czech Republic in June, [cite news |title=Eastwood amongst new Welsh faces |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6611783.stm |publisher= BBC |date= 2007-05-02|accessdate=2007-05-02 ] however an existing back injury did not heal as quickly as hoped and Eastwood was forced to withdraw from the squad. [cite web | title = Freddy may meet and greet | publisher = Southend United Official Site | url = http://www.southendunited.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10444~1028249,00.html | accessdate = 2007-07-29 ] He was selected for the squad to play Bulgaria and went on to score his debut international goal in the first half of their 1-0 victory on August 22, 2007. [cite news | title = Bulgaria 0-1 Wales | publisher = BBC Sport| date = 2007-08-22 | url = http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_of_wales/6954235.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-22 ] John Toshack, the Wales manager, said, "It was a really special goal [...] Now we have got a player up front who knows his business. We have been aware of his goalscoring exploits and have worked hard to make sure he became a Wales international." [cite news |title=Toshack hails 'special' Eastwood |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2007-08-22 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6959534.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-26 ] Despite being out of favour at Wolves during the 2007–08 season, Eastwood continued to be selected for the Welsh national team and scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Luxembourg in March 2008.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_of_wales/7315751.stm|title=Eastwood just happy to be playing |date=2008-03-27|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=2008-05-18] He has scored four goals in ten international appearances.

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=36902|name=Freddy Eastwood
* [http://www.southendunited.premiumtv.co.uk/page/PressTalkDetail/0,,10444~1070090,00.html Feature on Southend United club website]