Michael Kightly
Michael Kightly was born in Basildon, England, United Kingdom on January 24th, 1986 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 38, Michael Kightly biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 38 years old, Michael Kightly has this physical status:
Michael John Kightly (born 24 January 1986) is an English footballer who played as a winger. Kightly was rejected as a schoolboy by Tottenham Hotspur, but with Southend United, he returned to League football.
He slipped into the non-League again, before being discovered by Wolverhampton Wanderers while playing for Grays Athletic.
He was a key role for Wolves soon after and was instrumental in their promotion to the Premier League in 2009.
However, injuries ruined his time in the top flight before the club's relegation after three seasons.
He joined Stoke City in August 2012 for an undisclosed fee.
Kightly spent the 2012–13 seasons at Stoke before joining Burnley on loan in August 2013.
In June 2014, after assisting the Clarets in their promotion to the Premier League, he made the switch permanent.
Personal life
Alexa and Leo are twins and they have a daughter Alexa. He grew up cheering Manchester United but changed allegiances to Tottenham Hotspur.
Club career
Born in Basildon, Kightly, Kightly played schoolboy football for Tottenham Hotspur, but was suspended and subsequently picked up by his hometown team, non-League Basildon United. Following a five-game trial period, his stay was brief and he was soon back in professional football. Southend United won a two-year scholarship on December 16, 2002. In a 1–0 loss at Exeter City on May 3, he made his league debut for the club on May 3rd.
Despite being in all their cup games this season, and winning once in the Football League Trophy against Luton Town, he only made 13 league appearances in three different seasons for them. He joined Farnborough Town on loan from September 22nd, and spent three months with the club before returning to Southend United on January 20, 2005. Southend boss Steve Tilson suspended him at the end of the season.
Grays Athletic, a conference player, has signed Kightly, where he scored 15 league goals in his first season and captured the FA Trophy. He started the 2006–07 season with the Grays and had scored ten goals by November. On November 17, 2006, a scout at Wolverhampton Wanderers caught his eye, to whom he made a two-month emergency loan transfer.
He would then return to play against Grays for Wolves in a pre-season friendly, as part of the club's permanent deal.
Kightly scored his first ever league goal, earning a 1–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers in December 2006. Sir Alex Ferguson, who played for Grays Athletic, was nicknamed "the Ryan Giggs of non-league football," and it was reported that he was interested in signing Kightly for Manchester United. After scoring two goals in five games, his loan modification was made permanent when he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal for a nominal fee on New Year's Day 2007.
He was a first-team regular for the remainder of the season, and his six goals helped the team advance to a play-off position. His results saw him finish runner-up for Wolves' Player of the Year 2006–07, losing out to goalkeeper Matt Murray. After expressing a lack of interest from Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Everton, Kightly signed a new four-year contract with Wolves in June 2007.
His first full season with the club was severely hampered by a persistent ankle injury in November 2007, which prompted him twice to return to first team football before undergoing surgery in February 2008. Kightly suffered with more injuries, keeping him out of the Wolves side of the league, but he returned to play in the final four fixtures after missing the play-off positions on goal difference. In June 2008, he signed an enhanced new four-year contract with the club.
He scored eight goals in the 2008–09 season, as Wolves led the promotion campaign. However, his campaign was prematurely halted due to a fractured metatarsal sustained during a reserve game in March 2009. He returned to make his first appearances in the Premier League following promotion in September, but he suffered a new ankle injury after needing an ankle brace. Despite planning to return early in the 2010–11 season, he suffered a more setback and was therefore barred from the club's 25-man squad for the first part of the season. After 16 months on the sidelines from various injuries against Newcastle United in April 2011, he returned to first team action.
In October 2011, he joined Watford in the first one-month loan contract to regain match fitness, making his debut against Crystal Palace on October 15, 2011. This was later extended to January 2012, when Kightly made twelve appearances for the Hornets, scoring three times.
Following his loan spell, Kightly returned to Wolves and oversaw his longest time in Premier League football. However, he could not avoid the team from suffering relegation at the end of a difficult campaign that culminated in manager Mick McCarthy's departure from the team. Despite Wolves' poor form towards the end of the season, Kightly maintained his good form against Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, and Stoke City. Kightly was in negotiations with Stoke City in August 2012, when the former servant refused a job extension in order to remain in the top flight. Stoke Kightly revealed that after missing 15 months of football at Wolves, it left him depressed and angry against depression.
Kightly signed with Stoke City in the Premier League on August 8, 2012 for an undisclosed price. He made a quick impact in a 1–1 draw with Spvg Greuther Forth, Germany. In a 1–1 draw away from Reading, he scored on his Premier League debut for Stoke. In a 4–2 loss at Manchester United on October 20, he scored his second goal for Stoke. Nevertheless, he fell out of favour with manager Tony Pulis and discovered himself inside and out of the team. On April 6, he scored against Aston Villa on April 6, 2013. Stoke finished in 13th position, with Kightly ending the season with 26 appearances to his name, 19 of which 19 were launched. Pulis was promoted by Mark Hughes and Kightly in May 2013 and has also expressed his desire to become the first team regular under new ownership, despite the fact that the 2012–13 season was rocky with optimism.
Burnley's Kightly joined Burnley on loan from September 2nd through the 2013-14 season. In a 1–0 victory over Barnsley on December 7, 2013, he scored his first goal for Burnley. Burnley's Kightly scored five goals in 38 games as they gained promotion to the Premier League. He made his move to Turf Moor permanent on June 27, 2014, after agreeing to a three-year deal.
Kightly joined Burton Albion on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season on January 31, 2017. In a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 4, 2017, he scored on his debut for the club. He made 12 appearances for the Brewers, scoring four goals when they earned their Championship status, earning four goals. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Burnley's Robert was released.
Kightly returned to Southend United on a three-year deal in July 2017. On August 12, Kightly revealed that he had resigned from football.
Kightly came out of retirement and signed for Rushall Olympic on September 4, 2020.
International career
In August 2007, Kightly was called into the England U21 squad for a friendly against Romania and went on to make his debut in the first half of the game.