Lloyd Sam
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Ekow Sam is a professional English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer of Ghanaian heritage, who plays in midfield
Midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports pitch that lies approximately in the center. It is a term most commonly associated with football to refer to the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region, but it can be used in field hockey to describe the same area, or in...

 as a Winger who is comfortable playing on either side of the pitch. He is currently playing for Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 after leaving Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

. As a child he spent some of his childhood living in Senegal before moving to England. He was called up to the Ghana national football team
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...

 during the 2009–10 season but had to pull out of the squad through injury.

Early career

Sam was born in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 but Lloyd and his family moved to London two months later. In his first season of youth football for Jets FC, midfielder Lloyd scored five hat-tricks and 23 goals in 25 games. This attracted Charlton scouts’ attention, leading to Lloyd signing School of Excellence forms in 1995.

However, Lloyd’s family’s emigration to Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 curtailed his involvement in Charlton’s youth set up and it was at the Dakar Academy where he was to nurture his footballing talent as well as track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

.

In 1998, Lloyd was asked to attend a trial at Italian side Empoli
Empoli
Empoli is a town and comune in Tuscany, Italy, about 20 km southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the latter river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The commune's territory becomes a hilly one as it departs from the river...

, with his older brother Andrew. However, neither was successful and, when Lloyd’s family returned to London in 1998, he was offered trials at both Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 and Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, but instead re-joined Charlton on Academy terms after an Arsenal scout asked Micky Beard at Charlton to have a look at him

Charlton Athletic

Sam became a professional in 2003 at the age of 18, his first involvement in a Charlton squad was after the Charlton youth team beat Leeds United, he and Osei Sankofa
Osei Sankofa
Osei Omari Kwende Sankofa is an English footballer, who plays for Conference South club Boreham Wood. He plays as a defender who can play anywhere across the back line. His father was born in Jamaica and his mother was born in England of Jamaican descent...

 impressive form for the youth side meant they were called up to the first team squad against Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, but it was two years before he made his debut for Charlton against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 on the final day of the 2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...

 season. Before this, he spent time on loan with Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 in the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

. He later had loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 and Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

.

After Charlton were relegated from the Premier League the 2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...

 season saw Sam received an opportunity to break into Charlton's first-team. He was given the number 18 shirt. He started the season well, scoring his first ever goals against Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

 in the League cup and Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

 but was sent-off in October 2007 following a clash with Ian Ashbee
Ian Ashbee
Ian Ashbee is an English professional footballer currently playing for Preston North End. He has previously played for Hull City, Derby County and Cambridge United, and has also played in Iceland, on loan to ÍR....

 of Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

. Sam and Charlton narrowly missed out on promotion back to the Premierleague after poor end of season form saw them drop out of the play-off positions to 11th place.

Sam suffered relegation with Charlton from The Championship to League One during the 2008-09 season. This was his second relegation with Charlton, having played a minor part in the squad that was relegated from the Premierleague in 2006/2007.

He narrowly missed out on promotion the following season when Charlton reached the League One playoff semi finals but ended up losing against Swindon Town.

Sam was not offered a new contract by Charlton after they failed to gain an immediate return to the Championship as they could not afford his wages, which had been set during their final Premier League season in 2006/2007 under Ian Dowie.

Leeds United

Sam signed a two year deal with his hometown club Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 on 9 July 2010 on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic. Leeds had finished the 2009–10 season two points ahead of Charlton, and had gained automatic promotion from League One as runners up. The contract came with an option to extend it further than the initial two years. He made his Leeds debut in the first game of the season against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 on 7 August 2010 which ended in a 2–1 defeat with Sam conceding a penalty on his debut after fouling Tomasz Cywka
Tomasz Cywka
Tomasz Cywka , is a Polish footballer who plays for Derby County.-Club career:Cywka was part of the winning U-19 Gwarek Zabrze team which captured the 2006 Polish U-19 Championship.-Wigan:...

.

Sam scored his first goal for Leeds in his second appearance, the goal came in the League Cup against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

. He scored his first league goal in the following match against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

, he also received the man of the match award for his performance. On 21 August 2010 he struck his second league goal and his third goal in all competitions for his new club against Millwall, cancelling out Richard Naylor
Richard Naylor
Richard Alan Naylor is an English footballer who plays as a centre back for Doncaster Rovers after leaving Leeds United where he had been Captain...

's early own goal.

After being an ever present for Leeds, Sam had a minor foot injury was dropped for the game against Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...

 on 11 September and replaced in the starting lineup by Max Gradel
Max Gradel
Max-Alain Gradel is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Saint-Étienne in the French Ligue 1 after joining from Leeds United....

, Sam came on in the same game as a second half substitute for Sanchez Watt
Sanchez Watt
Herschel Oulio Sanchez Watt , more commonly known as Sanchez Watt, is an English footballer who plays as a winger for Arsenal, currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday...

. Sam came back into the starting lineup for the following game against Barnsley. After being an unused substitute vs Doncaster, Sam returned to the starting lineup against Sheffield United. However Sam suffered an ankle injury and was ruled out of a few games for Leeds. Sam returned to a Leeds squad when he was named on the bench against Coventry City. Sam made his playing return as a second half substitute against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

 Sam came on as a second half substitute against Bristol City and had an impressive impact and helped assist one of Luciano Becchio
Luciano Becchio
Luciano Héctor Becchio is an Argentine footballer who plays for Leeds United as a striker. Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Becchio began his career at Boca Juniors before moving to Europe on an Italian passport, where he established himself in the Spanish lower leagues.He moved to England in the...

's goals after David James
David James
David James may refer to:*David James , cell biologist who discovered the glucose transporter GLUT4*David James , stage, television, and film actor...

 parried Sam's shot. Sam again made an impressive impact as a substitute against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 helping Leeds earn a 2-1 win. Sam came on as a substitute against Cardiff City
Cardiff city
Cardiff City may refer to:* Cardiff city centre* Cardiff City Council* Cardiff City F.C.* Cardiff City L.F.C.* Cardiff City Stadium...

 but picked up a thigh injury 6 minutes after coming on and had to be substituted himself. Sam was involved in some controversy against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

 when he accidentally collided with Liam Rosenior
Liam Rosenior
Liam James Rosenior is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a defender. He is the son of former Brentford manager Leroy Rosenior, and spent time on loan at Torquay United, where his father was manager, during their promotion season .-Club career:Born in London, Rosenior started his...

 who suffered a neck injury. Hull manager Nigel Pearson
Nigel Pearson
Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...

 called Sam a coward, but Sam claimed the incident was accidental, Rosenior also accepted Sam's apology. After a positive start for Leeds, Sam season was disrupted with Leeds after picking up various injuries during the course of the season, which ruled him out for large periods.

2011–12 season

After an injury hit 2010–11 season, Sam revealed he had been doing extra work in the gym over the summer period to help strengthen his leg. After providing several assists in the pre season matches, Sam topped off a fine pre-season with a goal against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. Sam came on as a substitute for Leeds the opening day of the season as they suffered a 3–1 defeat against Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. He made his first start of the season in Leeds' 3–2 win over rivals Bradford City in the league Cup. Sam made his first appearance in over a month after coming on a substitute against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

 on 22 October.

International

Sam has also played for the England U20
England national under-20 football team
- Round of 16 :-Friendlies:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup running from 29 July to the 20 August 2011.-Recent call-ups:...

 team alongside former Leeds team mate Neil Kilkenny
Neil Kilkenny
Neil Martin Kilkenny is an English-born Australian football player who plays for Bristol City as a midfielder. He is a member of the Australia national team.-Early life and career:...

. He scored once for the team, against Russia in a match at his then home stadium, The Valley, in 2005.

Despite previously representing England at youth levels. In July 2010 Sam's agent claimed after the 2010 World Cup that Sam was looking to break into the Ghana national team
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...

, the country of his parents birth. “Lloyd has enjoyed watching his native Ghana in the World Cup and he would like the opportunity to play at a higher level and grab the attention of the national team manager,” said Eric Walters, Sam’s agent.

On 28 August 2010, Sam told The Sun newspaper that he was still hoping to earn a cap for the Ghana national team, after receiving a call up for Ghana during the 2009–10 season, but Sam had to pull out of the squad through injury.

In October 2010, Ghana officials asked the English FA to get written confirmation that Sam would be eligible to play for the Ghana national team and also get official confirmation from FIFA so that Sam's switch to Ghana could be fully confirmed. On 28 January 2011, Ghana officials revealed they were close to securing Sam's international status for Ghana.

Personal life

His brother, Andrew Sam, currently plays for Dartford
Dartford F.C.
Dartford F.C. are an English football club based in Dartford, Kent. After finishing as champions of the Isthmian League Division One North in the 2007–08 season, they compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division. They finished in 8th position in their first season...

. Lloyd Sam is a supporter of Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

.

Career statistics

! colspan=18|England> ! rowspan=2|Season !! rowspan=2|Club !! rowspan=2|Loan !! rowspan=2|Division
! colspan=2|League
! colspan=2|FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...


! colspan=2|League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...


! colspan=2|FL Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...


! colspan=2|Play-Offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...


! colspan=2|Total> ! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !!
!!
> | 2010–11> ! colspan=4| Leeds United Total
! 5 !! 2 !! 0 !! 0 !! 1 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 4 !! 3 !! 0 !! 0> | 2009–10
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

 > | 2008–09
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...

 > | 2007–08 > | 2006–07 > | 2006–07 > | 2006–07 > | 2005–06 > | 2004–05 > | 2003–04 > ! colspan=4|Charlton Athletic Total
! 119 !! 6 !! 7 !! 0 !! 5 !! 1 !! 1 !! 0 !! 2 !! 0 !! 134 !! 7 !! 16 !! 1> ! colspan=4|Career Total
! 138 !! 8 !! 7 !! 0 !! 6 !! 2 !! 1 !! 0 !! 2 !! 0 !! 154 !! 10 !! 20 !! 1>
Discipline
|Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 3
2 0 0 1 1 - - - ! 4 !! 3
> 0
0
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 
League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 43
4 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 ! 47 !! 4
> 7
0
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 38
0 3 0 1 0 - - - ! 42 !! 0
> 3
0
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 28
2 2 0 2 1 - - - ! 32 !! 3
> 5
1
> 7 0 1 0 1 0 - - - ! 9 !! 0
> 1
0
|Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 
Loan  Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 2
0 0 0 0 0 - - - ! 2 !! 0
> 0
0
|Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 
Loan  Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 4
0 0 0 0 0 - - - ! 4 !! 0
> 2
0
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 
> 2 0 0 0 1 0 - - - ! 3 !! 0
> 0
0
> 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - - ! 1 !! 0
> 0
0
|Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 
Loan  League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 10
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - ! 10 !! 0
> 2
0

(correct as of 11 August 2010)

External links

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