Biography
In the Nationwide League
title-winning campaign of 2001-2002, Shaun Wright-Phillips started to
reverse the equation that had been applied to him. The process that started
with him being known as the adopted son of the former Arsenal and England
striker Ian Wright is one that will end in Ian Wright being as well known as
the father of the City midfielder if Shaun's promise is fulfilled.
Shaun was released by Nottingham Forest, upon which the then City manager
Joe Royle snapped him up for the Blues' Youth Academy. The work Shaun has
put in since then is something that has impressed everyone at Maine Road.
His first season saw him make several reserve team appearances but he began
to come into his own as he made five appearances for the first team. At
nineteen Shaun made his first start in the Premiership against one of his
step-father's old clubs, West Ham. The midfielder came close to scoring a
goal in many of his games in City's relegation campaign in 2000-2001 but, at
just 19 years of age, he was rested when it appeared the exposure was taking
it's toll. He continued to play in the reserves where he picked up a knee
injury damaging his ligaments in a tackle and was ruled out of contention
for the rest of the season.
Shaun returned to the team the following season under Kevin Keegan and it
was at that point that he started to fulfil Royle's prediction that he would
be unable to stop scoring once he hit the target once. In 41 appearances in
all competitions, Shaun scored eight goals in a team in which there was no
shortage of strike options. In a side in which Paulo Wanchope, Darren
Huckerby and Shaun Goater were scoring for fun, Shaun managed to score and
create most impressively in City's title-winning season.
He scored his first goal for the club in City's win over Millwall but his
delight was tinged with some disappointment as there were no City fans there
to see him smash home the winner at the New Den. He made up for that as City
cruised past Bradford City 4-1 in December and nearly disappeared in the
Platt Lane crowd as he celebrated his second goal for the club, his first at
Maine Road.
The contribution he made in the latter half of the season was one of the
brightest points of the campaign and he was rewarded with the club's Young
Player of the Year award for the second season running. Another sign of the
progress he has made was being selected for the England under-21 squad,
making the team for a friendly against Italy.
He made a big impression on the Barclaycard Premiership in 2002/03, even
with two red cards (although one was rescinded). Kevin Keegan picked him out
as one of City's best players in a mixed season at Maine Road, and the
youngster will surely only get better with this experience.
Wright-Phillips continued to shine during the following campaign, and in
over 40 appearances he scored 11 goals. He earned a call up to the senior
England squad in March although was robbed of a cap as he suffered a calf
injury.
The 2004/05 season saw Wright-Phillips truly come into his own as he became
a mainstay in the City frontline. He played 37 times and scored 11 goals as
City finished the season in 8th place.
He also had a sensational start to his international career as he scored in
his first game for England - the third in a 3-0 friendly victory against the
Ukraine.
Wright-Phillips completed his transition to the big-time in July 2005 when
he left City to join champions Chelsea for £21million, although he still
faces a challenge to get into the first team on a regular basis at Stamford
Bridge.
Source : http://www.4thegame.com
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