GN Soccer Magazine August 2014 Edition | Page 16

16 Bradley Wright-Phillips Bradley Edward Wright-Phillips (born 12 March 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. He has previously played for Manchester City, Southampton, Plymouth Argyle and Charlton Athletic and earned five England U20 caps. He is the son of former Arsenal and England player Ian Wright, and younger brother to Queens Park Rangers and England International Shaun Wright-Phillips, with whom he used to play at Manchester City. He grew up in Brockley, South London and attended the state school Kelsey Park School in Beckenham and then moved to Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College nearby in New Cross Gate. Football Career Manchester City He was the top-scorer for the Manchester City reserve team in the 2003–04 season. On 6 December 2004, he scored his first Premier Leaguegoal, four minutes after making his league debut as a substitute for Jon Macken against Middlesbrough. His only goal of the following season was the last in a 4–1 win over Birmingham City on 17 December 2005. Southampton After many frustrating appearances for Manchester City, with few goals, he was sold to Championship team Southampton for £500,000 on 5 July 2006.[4] The fee was partly funded by a prize fromCoca -Cola won in a competition amongst fans. He made an immediate impact at Southampton, scoring on his debut againstDerby County at Pride Park, and scoring an impressive goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2–0 win at St. Mary's. He scored a total of 11 goals in the 2006–07 season. n 2007–08 he started the season with goals against Burnley and Queens Park Rangers Plymouth Argyle At the end of the 2008–09 season following Southampton's relegation to League One, WrightPhillips was released from his contract at the club. On 15 July 2009, he signed a two-year deal with Plymouth Argyle of the Championship.[5] After he recovered from a knee injury, Wright-Phillips made his debut for the club on 15 September 2009 against Watford. The knee injury re-occurred once again and he was sidelined for another long-term spell. In January 2010, Plymouth Argyle's manager, Paul Mariner, declared that Wright-Phillips was not far away from full fitness and he made his long awaited return for Argyle in the FA Cup against Newcastle United that month. He made his first start for the club against Coventry City in March 2010 and scored his first goal for Plymouth against Bristol City on 16 March 2010. On 11 December 2010, Wright-Phillips scored both goals against Exeter City in the Devon derby in a 2–0 Plymouth win, the second marked his 12th of the season. Charlton Athletic On 24 January 2011, it was announced that Wright-Phillips was moving to fellow League One club