Routledge

Parent company	Taylor & Francis
Founded	1851
Founder	George Routledge
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Headquarters location	London
Publication types	Books, journals
Nonfiction topics	humanities and social sciences
Official website	www.routledge.com

Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint.^[1] Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge. He later founded a publishing company in partnership in 1851 with his brother-in-law, first formally incorporated under the name George Routledge & Co. For the remainder of the century the firm continued to grow and expand its range of popular illustrated fiction, travel and reference titles, undergoing some further partnership and name changes in the process. However by 1902 the company was running close to bankruptcy, but following a successful restructuring was able to recover and began to acquire and merge with other publishing companies. These early 20th-century acquisitions and mergers brought with them lists of notable scholarly titles, and it is from 1912 onwards as Routledge & Kegan Paul that the company became increasingly concentrated on and involved with the academic and scholarly publishing arena. It was soon particularly known for its titles in the social sciences fields.

In 1985 Routledge & Kegan Paul joined with Associated Book Publishers (ABP),^[2] which was later acquired by International Thomson in 1987. Under Thomson's ownership Routledge's name and operations were retained, and in 1996 a management buyout financed by the European private equity firm Cinven saw Routledge operating as an independent concern once more. Two years later in 1998 Cinven and Routledge's directors accepted a deal for Routledge's acquisition by Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), with the Routledge name being retained as an imprint and subdivision.^[3] In 2004 T&F became a division within Informa plc after a merger; Routledge continues as a publishing arm and imprint under the T&F division, with a majority of its titles' range issued as academic humanities and social sciences books.

History[link]

As a name in Camden publishing, it originates in 1836, when George Routledge (1812–1888) founded a firm with W. H. Warne. George Routledge and Co. was set up in 1851 with Frederick Warne, becoming Routledge, Warne & Routledge in 1858, and George Routledge and Sons when Warne left. After refinancing in 1902, the company took over J. C. Nimmo Ltd in 1903. In 1912 an amalgamation with Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. created Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., a major London publishing house. Taylor & Francis bought Routledge in 1998.

People[link]

The famous English publisher Fredric Warburg was a commissioning editor at Routledge during the early 20th century.

Encyclopedia[link]

Taylor and Francis closed down the Routledge encyclopedia division in 2006. Some of its publications were:

• Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Edward Craig (1998) in 10 volumes, but now online
• Encyclopedia of Ethics by Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (2002) in three volumes.
• Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy
• Encyclopedia of Paleontology by Ronald Singer (1987)

Encyclopedic publications of Europa Publications, actually published by Routledge:

• Europa World Year Book
• International Who's Who

See also[link]

• Taylor & Francis academic journals
• Environmental politics

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Routledge
• Routledge- Psychology Press
• Routledge-Cavendish
• Routledge – Mental health imprint
• Routledge – Psychoanalysis arena
• Routledge – The International Who's Who
• Routledge – The Europa World of Learning
• Routledge – History of the Routledges and Their Origins

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Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress best known for her role as Daisy in the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.

Biography[link]

Cornwell's father served in the RAF and she grew up in Britain where she attended a convent school, before moving to Australia where her family emigrated. She has written about her childhood experiences in her autobiography Adventures of a Jelly Baby. She returned to Britain, where she became a professional dancer and comedienne in her teens, working her act between the nudes at the Windmill Theatre before becoming an actress. Her long career includes roles in radio's The Navy Lark, the controversial play Oh! What A Lovely War, her own TV comedy series Moody and Pegg, and several seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Films and television[link]

Cornwell's film roles include Santa Claus: The Movie (as Mrs. Claus) and Mad Cows. On television she has appeared in Dixon of Dock Green, Cakes and Ale, Bergerac, Doctor Who (the episode Paradise Towers), several episodes of Farrington of the F.O., The Famous Five, The Bill, Heartbeat, Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. She also appeared on radio as WREN Cornwell in The Navy Lark. Judy is also appearing in BBC soap opera EastEnders as Queenie Trott, the mean tyrant mother of lovable loser Heather Trott. She is best known, however, for her portrayal of lovable working class housewife "Daisy" in the popular sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, which ran from 1990 to 1995.

Published works[link]

Cornwell has published a number of books, including her autobiography Adventures of a Jelly Baby (ISBN 0-283-07001-3) that was published in 2005 which describes her childhood growing up in Britain during the war, and then in Australia where her family emigrated.

She has also published several novels, including Cow and Cow Parsley in 1985, Fishcakes at the Ritz in 1989, The Seventh Sunrise in 1994, and Fear and Favour in 1996.

Personal life[link]

• Cornwell married John Kelsall Parry on 18 December 1960, and they have one child.
• Her grandmother was music hall singer Sarah Bonner.

Television roles[link]

Film roles[link]

References[link]

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi_fem_%28TV-serie%29

External links[link]

• Official site
• Judy Cornwell at the Internet Movie Database
• Judy Cornwell at AllRovi
• Adventures of a Jelly Baby.

Katherine Patricia Routledge, CBE (born 17 February 1929) is an English character comedy actress and singer. She is best known for her role as character Hyacinth Bucket (supposedly pronounced "Bouquet") in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances and Hetty Wainthropp in the British television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. In addition to her roles in British television, she has a long and successful career in musical theatre, as well as in film.

Early life and education[link]

Katherine Patricia Routledge was born in Tranmere, Birkenhead to parents Catherine and Isaac Routledge. Her father was a haberdasher, and, during WWII, the family lived weeks at a time in the basement of her father's shop. She was educated at Mersey Park Primary School, Birkenhead High School, now a state-funded Academy school, and the University of Liverpool. At Liverpool she graduated with Honours in English Language and Literature^[1] and was not on a path to pursue an acting career. She was, however, involved in the school's Dramatic Society where she worked closely with the academic Edmund Colledge who both directed and acted in several of the society's productions. It was Colledge who persuaded her to pursue an acting career.^[2] After graduating from Liverpool, she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and launched her acting career at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Theatre[link]

Routledge has had a prolific career in theatre, particularly musical theatre, in the UK and the US. She has been a long-standing member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), appearing in such acclaimed productions as the 1983 Richard III, which starred Anthony Sher, who played the title role on crutches.^[3] Her West End credits include Little Mary Sunshine, Cowardy Custard, Virtue in Danger, Noises Off, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Solid Gold Cadillac, as well as a number of less successful vehicles. A classically trained singer, she has occasionally made forays into operetta; including portraying the title role in an acclaimed production of Jacques Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein at the 1978 Camden Festival.

Routledge made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1968 musical Darling of the Day, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, sharing the honour with Leslie Uggams of Hallelujah, Baby!. Following this, Routledge had roles in several more unsuccessful Broadway productions including a musical called Love Match, in which she played Queen Victoria; the legendary 1976 Leonard Bernstein flop 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in which she portrayed every First Lady from Abigail Adams to Edith Roosevelt; and a 1981 musical called Say Hello to Harvey based on the Mary Coyle Chase play Harvey, which closed in Toronto before reaching New York.

In 1980, Routledge played Ruth in the Joseph Papp production of The Pirates of Penzance co-starring American actor Kevin Kline and pop vocalist Linda Ronstadt, at the Delacorte Theatre in New York City's Central Park, one of the series of Shakespeare in the Park summer events. The show was a hit and transferred to Broadway the following January, but Estelle Parsons replaced Routledge. A DVD of the Central Park production, with Routledge, was released in October 2002.

Routledge won a Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 for her portrayal of the Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein's Candide in the London cast of the critically acclaimed Scottish Opera production. She also played the role of Nettie Fowler to great acclaim in the 1993 London production of Carousel. In a 2006 Hampstead Theatre production of The Best of Friends, she portrayed Dame Laurentia McLachlan. In 2008, she played Queen Mary in Royce Ryton's play Crown Matrimonial. More recent work include the narrator in The Carnival of the Animals with the Nash Ensemble in 2010^[4] and the role of Myra Hess in the play Admission: One Shilling in 2011.

Film and television[link]

Routledge's screen credits include To Sir, with Love (1967), Pretty Polly (1967), The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968), Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968), and If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969).

Routledge's early television appearances included a role in Steptoe and Son, in the episode "Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard" (1974) as a clairvoyant called Madame Fontana. She also appeared in Coronation Street, and as a white witch in Doctor at Large (1971). However, she did not come to prominence on television until she featured in monologues written for her by Alan Bennett from 1978 (A Visit from Miss Protheroe) and later Victoria Wood in the 1980s. She first appeared in Alan Bennett's A Woman of No Importance in 1982, and then as the opinionated Kitty in Victoria Wood As Seen On TV in 1985. She performed two further monologues in Bennett's Talking Heads in 1987 and 1998.

In 1990, Routledge landed the role of Hyacinth Bucket in the comedy series Keeping Up Appearances. She portrayed a formerly working-class woman with social pretensions (insisting her surname be pronounced "bouquet") and delusions of grandeur (her oft-mentioned "candlelight suppers"). Routledge delighted in portraying Hyacinth as she claimed she couldn't stand people like her in real life. In 1991 she won a British Comedy Award for her portrayal, and she was later nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards in 1992 and 1993. The series ended at Routledge's request in 1995.

In 1995, Routledge accepted the lead in another long-running series, playing Hetty Wainthropp in the mystery drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, co-starring rising star Dominic Monaghan as her assistant and Derek Benfield as her husband. It first aired in January 1996, and ran until the autumn of 1998, with one special episode in 1999.

She has also played several real-life characters on television including Barbara Pym and Hildegard of Bingen.

In 2001, Routledge starred in Anybody's Nightmare, a fact-based television drama in which she played a piano teacher who served four years in prison for murdering her elderly aunt, but was acquitted following a retrial.

Radio and audio books[link]

Routledge's extensive radio credits include several Alan Bennett plays and the BBC dramatisation of Carole Hayman's Ladies of Letters, in which she and Prunella Scales play retired women exchanging humorous correspondence over the course of several years. A tenth series of Ladies of Letters premiered on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.

Having a distinctive voice, Routledge has also recorded and released a variety of audiobooks including unabridged readings of Wuthering Heights and Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and abridged novelisations of the Hetty Wainthropp series.

In 1966 she sang the role of Mad Margaret in Ruddigore, the title role in Iolanthe, and Melissa in Princess Ida, in a series of BBC radio Gilbert and Sullivan recordings. She took part in a studio broadcast of Tchaikovsky's opera Vakula the Smith (narrating excerpts from the work by Gogol) in 1990. In 2006 she was featured in a programme of the 'Stage and Screen' series on Radio 3.^[5]

Personal[link]

She has never married and has no children and currently resides in Chichester, West Sussex.^[6] She was appointed OBE in 1993, and CBE in 2004.^[1] She is the current patron of the Beatrix Potter Society. ^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Patricia Routledge at the Internet Broadway Database
• selected performances in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
• Patricia Routledge at the Internet Movie Database

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Wayne Routledge

Personal information
Full name	Wayne Neville Anthony Routledge[1][2]
Date of birth	(1985-01-07) 7 January 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Sidcup, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Swansea City
Number	15
Youth career
	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2005	Crystal Palace	110	(11)
2005–2008	Tottenham Hotspur	5	(0)
2006	→ Portsmouth (loan)	13	(0)
2006–2007	→ Fulham (loan)	24	(0)
2008–2009	Aston Villa	2	(0)
2008–2009	→ Cardiff City (loan)	9	(2)
2009–2010	Queens Park Rangers	49	(6)
2010–2011	Newcastle United	34	(3)
2011	→ Queens Park Rangers (loan)	20	(5)
2011–	Swansea City	28	(1)
National team‡
2004–2007	England U21	12	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 March 2011

Wayne Neville Anthony Routledge (born 7 January 1985) is an English footballer who plays for Swansea City. He plays as a midfielder predominantly on the right wing but can also play on the left. He has represented England at under-16, under-19 and under-21 level.

Career[link]

Crystal Palace[link]

Routledge was born in Sidcup, Greater London. He began his career at Crystal Palace, making his starting debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 17 in September 2002, and scoring after just one minute on the field. He made his Palace debut in October 2001 in a 1–0 home defeat by West Bromwich Albion, aged only 16. He was England's second ever player to score at the new Wembley Stadium.

He was an important member of the side which won promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs in 2003–04, and he was ever present as Palace battled for their Premiership place in 2004–05 and, although they just failed to avoid the drop, Routledge proved to be an exciting talent on the wing and up front, chipping in with an impressive 8 assists. He scored his first Premier League goal against Southampton in November 2004. He was not to leave the top flight, though. After rejecting a contract with the side that developed him as a youngster in January, Tottenham Hotspur snapped him up on 1 July 2005.^[3] The clubs could not come to an agreement over a fee for Routledge so the transfer went to a tribunal. There it was agreed that Palace would receive an initial £1.25m, rising to £2m depending upon appearances in future.

Tottenham Hotspur[link]

After impressing in the pre-season, His career at White Hart Lane started slowly as he sustained a broken foot on his league debut for the club, but on 12 December 2005 he made his return as a substitute in only his second game for Spurs against Portsmouth.

He was loaned to Portsmouth in the January 2006 transfer window^[4] and made 13 appearances for them before returning to Spurs at the season's end. Routledge impressed Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp in a home game against Bolton Wanderers in March 2006, when, with Bolton 1–0 ahead with only three minutes left to play, Routledge outpaced three Bolton players into the penalty box to connect with a long pass from Matt Taylor and set Azar Karadas up for a spectacular volley which levelled the match and ultimately earned relegation-threatened Portsmouth a crucial 1–1 draw, a result that began a run of good late season form for them.

After impressing in the pre-season again, he was once again loaned out on a year deal to Fulham as part of the deal that brought Steed Malbranque to Spurs.^[5] This was also partly due to the emergence of Aaron Lennon at both club and international level.

His Fulham bow came as a 34th minute replacement for injury victim Jimmy Bullard in a 2–1 victory at Newcastle United. He went on to create two goals in the final ten minutes of the match. He is most remembered during his time at Fulham for his winning goal in a thrilling FA Cup tie against Leicester City in January 2007, which ended 4–3 to Fulham.^[6]

Aston Villa[link]

On 30 January 2008 Routledge joined Aston Villa on an 18 month contract in a deal worth £1.25 million. He scored the second goal in his reserve debut in a 6–0 away win at Derby County, played at Burton Albion's ground.^[7] He made his first-team debut on 5 April 2008 coming on as a late substitute for Stiliyan Petrov in the 86th minute in a 4–0 win against Bolton.

On 10 July 2008, Routledge was the subject of a scathing verbal attack from Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. Jordan was giving an interview about now ex-Palace midfielder John Bostock, during which he used Routledge as an example of why he believed the youth player should not leave Palace to join Tottenham.

"When Spurs came knocking I told Wayne to stay and learn his trade at Palace, but he went, he grabbed the money, and now he's at Villa not getting in the first team, just like he didn't get in the Spurs team, just like he didn't get in the Portsmouth team and just like he didn't get in the Fulham team."^[8]

Cardiff City[link]

In November 2008 after making just one league appearance for Aston Villa so far during the season, Routledge was allowed to join Football League Championship side Cardiff City on a two-month loan deal after the club suffered a double injury blow when both Joe Ledley and Peter Whittingham were ruled out for one and three months respectively.^[9] He made his debut for the club on 22 November in a 2–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle during which he supplied the through pass for Michael Chopra to score Cardiff's only goal of the game.^[10] He scored his first goal for the club in just his second game when he found the net against Reading during a 2–2 draw on 25 November.^[11] He soon found the net for a second time, this time scoring Cardiff's second goal in the 2–2 draw at Burnley.^[12]

In the lead up to the opening of the January transfer window it was revealed that Cardiff had offered a fee of around £3 in order to sign Routledge on a permanent deal. The transfer was expected to be completed prior to the clubs FA Cup third round match against Reading on 3 January, but the day before Routledge rejected the deal and was subsequently recalled from his loan spell.^[13][14]

Queens Park Rangers[link]

On the same day that his loan spell at Cardiff was terminated, Routledge signed a 3 and a half year deal at rival Championship side Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £600,000,^[15] saying that he was "thrilled" to join.^[16] Routledge made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Coventry City on 10 January. Routledge then scored in his very next game against Derby County on Nigel Clough's first game in charge, and his first away game for QPR.

His performance further improved in a Carling Cup tie against Exeter on 11 August 2009, when Routledge scored a second half hat trick.^[17] He also scored a late goal against Accrington Stanley to seal a second round Carling Cup victory.

Newcastle United[link]

On 26 January 2010 Routledge signed for Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee, on a three and a half year deal, and wears the number 10 shirt.^[18] He made his debut for Newcastle a day later coming on for Peter Løvenkrands in a 2–0 win over former club Crystal Palace and assisted Nile Ranger the second goal of the game.^[19] Routledge scored his first goal for Newcastle in the Championship match against Coventry City with a fine volley from 30 yards out to bring the match to 1–1, Newcastle having previously gone behind. He was later awarded a penalty for Newcastle after being brought down by Leon Barnett, which Løvenkrands put into the back of the net. The match finished in a 4–1 win for Newcastle United.^[20] He netted his second goal for the club against Blackpool, getting the final goal in yet another 4–1 win.^[21] Routledge scored his third goal on 19 April 2010, rounding the Argyle goalkeeper to slot home, as Newcastle beat Plymouth away to secure the Championship title.

Due to his good form in the side, he kept his place for Newcastle's opening games of the Premier League. He started Newcastle's opening five games on the wide right of midfield, in an unchanged side which saw them pick up seven points from the first five games and climb to 5th in the table on 18 September 2010. Routledge lost his place however and found himself serving bench duty. Starting with a 2–1 win over West Ham United in October, the form of Joey Barton wide on the right and Cheick Tioté and Kevin Nolan in the middle ensured Routledge was kept out once more. As the form of the side deteroriated, Routledge returned on 27 November in the 1–1 draw with Chelsea. However, by the start of the 2011–12 season, his squad number 10 has been taken by Hatem Ben Arfa, bringing huge doubts about his future at Newcastle.

QPR (loan)[link]

On 21 January 2011, Routledge returned to Queens Park Rangers, signing a loan until the end of the season, where he scored on his debut.^[22] On 25 April Routledge scored the goal to all but seal QPR's place in the Premier League against Hull City. It was reported on 20 April 2011 that Newcastle United had terminated his contract with mutual consent, allowing him to move to QPR permanently,^[23] however these reports were never substantiated by the club or player.

Swansea City[link]

On 4 August 2011, Swansea City announced the signing of Routledge on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee and he played his debut against La Liga side Real Betis in a pre-season friendly.^[24] On 2 January 2012, Routledge scored his first top flight goal since 2004 during the match against former club Aston Villa.

International career[link]

Routledge has represented England at under-16, under-19 and under-21 level.

Routledge made 12 appearances for the Under-21's between 2004 and 2007 and was part of the England squad that made the Semi Final of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the Netherlands, when England lost 13–12 on penalties to the Netherlands Under-21's after it finished 1–1 after extra time.

Club career statistics[link]

As of 17 March 2012

Honours[link]

Newcastle United

• Football League Championship Winners: Promotion to the FA Premier League: 2009–2010
• Teresa Herrera Trophy: Winner: 2010

QPR

• Football League Championship Winners: Promotion to the FA Premier League: 2010–2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wayne Routledge profile at the Queens Park Rangers website
• Wayne Routledge career stats at Soccerbase
• Wayne Routledge Official Website at Icons.com

v t e England squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Carson 2 Hoyte 3 Baines 4 Taylor 5 Ferdinand 6 Cahill 7 Reo-Coker 8 Bentley 9 Richardson 10 Nugent 11 Young 12 Routledge 13 Hart 14 Rosenior 15 Milner 16 Lita 17 Huddlestone 18 Noble 19 Derbyshire 20 Onuoha 21 Vaughan 22 Alnwick 23 Whittingham Coach: Pearce

Leroy Lita

Lita playing for Middlesbrough.
Personal information
Full name	Leroy Halirou Bohari Lita[1]
Date of birth	(1984-12-28) 28 December 1984 (age 27)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Swansea City
Number	18
Youth career
1999–2001	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2005	Bristol City	85	(31)
2005–2009	Reading	83	(20)
2008	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	8	(3)
2008	→ Norwich City (loan)	16	(7)
2009–2011	Middlesbrough	78	(20)
2011–	Swansea City	16	(2)
National team‡
2005–2007	England U21	9	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 October 2008

Leroy Halirou Bohari Lita (born 28 December 1984 Kinshasa, DR Congo), is a Congolese-born English footballer who plays for Swansea City. Lita was a product of the Chelsea youth system. He failed to play for Chelsea, and moved to Bristol City and Reading, where his form helped him earn a place with the England under-21 side. He has also played on loan with Charlton Athletic and Norwich City.

Club career[link]

Bristol City[link]

Born in Kinshasa,^[2] Lita signed his first professional contract for Bristol City at the age of 18 at the start of the 2003–04 season, after being discovered by scout Roger Barton.^[3] It wasn't until Brian Tinnion took over from Danny Wilson as manager at the start of the 2004–05 season that Lita really established himself in the first team. That year he scored 29 goals in all competitions for club and one U21 international goal taking his tally to 30 for the season.

Reading[link]

Lita moved to Reading (then in the Football League Championship) on 13 July 2005 for a then club record fee of £1 million.^[4] Lita's potential was confirmed when he hit a hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the FA Cup on 17 January 2006.

Lita's 2005–06 season ended early after a broken ankle, but Reading still won promotion to the Premier League that season.

Despite a promising start to life in the Premiership, in which he netted the winner against Middlesbrough on the opening day, Lita endured a barren run and lost his place in the first team. However, Reading still managed to finish eighth in their first ever top division campaign, just missing out on a UEFA Cup place.

He ended his drought by scoring against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the first of ten goals in twelve games.^[5]

On 13 April 2007, Lita was banned for three games for allegedly headbutting Talal El Karkouri of Charlton Athletic on 9 April, a charge disputed by both the player and Reading's manager, Steve Coppell.

In a freak occurrence just prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Lita was faced with a month of downtime after damaging a leg muscle as he stretched in bed upon waking.^[6] Coppell told the BBC: "Leroy is in a great deal of pain. It's a point of laughter but a serious business for him because he's going to be out for three or four weeks."

loan spells[link]

On 5 March 2008, Lita joined Charlton on a one month-loan deal, after finding his first team opportunities limited at Reading during the 2007–08 season.^[7] The loan was later extended to the end of the season,^[8] but he was called back from the loan on 19 April for the last three games of the season.^[9]

Lita then went to Norwich City for a month long loan on 1 October. He scored four goals in his initial six game spell including a hat-trick against Wolverhampton in a 5–2 victory. Reading and Norwich agreed to extend the loan for another six games until 7 December. Following Norwich's 2–0 win over local rivals Ipswich, it was announced on 8 December that Lita would sign a further third month on loan. Lita went onto score 7 goals for Norwich, and in a season which ultimately ended up with relegation, Lita was City's second top scorer - behind own goals.

Return to Reading[link]

Lita returned to Reading and played in the third round FA Cup tie defeat at Cardiff City.^[10]

He then made his first league appearance since August, coming on as a sub, to score a goal against Watford at home on the 9th January 2009, to make it 4–0. Later, in the same week Lita announced that he had changed for the better, and that he would stay with Reading for the promotion push.^[11]

Sheffield United had a seven figure sum accepted by Reading for Lita on 13 January 2009, but the club later withdrew from proceedings after they were not willing to pay the £1.2m signing-on fee being requested by Lita. On 15 May, Lita, Michael Duberry, Marcus Hahnemann and club captain Graeme Murty were told that their contracts would not be renewed.

Middlesbrough[link]

On 3 August 2009, it was announced that he would join Middlesbrough on a free transfer.^[12] He made his debut for Middlesbrough on 7 August 2009 in a 0–0 draw with Sheffield United, but had limited opportunities to score.^[13] Lita scored his first goal for Middlesbrough against Doncaster Rovers, in a 7-1win for the Boro. He received a yellow card for removing his shirt in his subsequent celebration.^[14] He scored his second goal when returning to his old club Reading in Middlesbrough's 2–0 win on 3 October 2009. His third goal for Middlesbrough came on 21 November 2009 against Nottingham Forest off a rebound off a Julio Arca shot. On 5 December 2009, Lita scored two goals in a 5–1 win against QPR, Middlesbrough's first win under new manager Gordon Strachan. Lita again received a yellow card for his goal celebration. On 26 December 2009, Lita received a red card for an elbow during the win against Scunthorpe, which was the first of his career.

Lita's first goal of the 2010–11 season came on 18 September 2010 against old club Reading and his second followed on 27 November 2010 with a headed goal in a 2–2 draw with Hull.^[15][16] On 28 December 2010, Lita's 26th birthday, he scored two goals against Preston in a 3–1 win for Middlesbrough - his first being an individual effort, scoring after a weaving run from the halfway line.^[17] Lita scored twice against the club where he began his career, Bristol City, in Middlesbrough's 4–0 away victory on 15 January 2011.^[18] He was yellow carded for his celebration following his first goal, after being subjected to abuse from the home fans. Lita later took the unusual step of using the Bristol City website to apologising to their fans for his actions.^[19]

Swansea City[link]

On 27 July 2011, newly promoted Premier League side Swansea City had a fee of £1.75m accepted by Middlesbrough for Lita's services.^[20] He completed his medical the following week and signed a 3 year contract. He made his Swansea debut against Manchester City as a substitute. Lita scored his first Swansea City goal on 17th September 2011 against West Bromwich Albion scoring a header in a 3-0 win.^[21]

International career[link]

England U21 breakthrough[link]

Lita turned down the chance to play for DR Congo in favour of pursuing an international career with England, despite having previously stated he wished to represent the country of his birth.^[22] He scored on his debut for England U21 with a goal against Holland U21 in a 2–1 loss on 8 February 2005, coming on as a second half substitute.^[23] He had to wait over a year to make his second appearance, again as a substitute, in a 3–1 win over Norway on 28 February 2006.^[24] Following excellent goal-scoring form in the Premier League, Lita was awarded with a further cap as a substitute in the 2–2 draw with Spain on 6 February 2007, scoring his second goal in three international appearances.

2007 European U21 Championship[link]

Despite being 22, Lita was eligible to compete in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship,^[25] and was called up to the squad.^[26]

In the first group game against the Czech Republic, England were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute which Lita subsequently dragged wide condemning England to a scoreless draw.^[27] However he then scored for England in each of their next three games; a 2–2 draw against Italy, a 2–0 win over Serbia, and a 1–1 (13–12) penalty shoot-out loss to Holland in the semi-finals.

After the tournament he was named in the UEFA Dream Team for the tournament.^[28]

Career statistics[link]

As of 17 September 2011

Personal life[link]

On 30 August 2006, Lita was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in Bristol on 27 August,^[29] but on 18 September 2006 the complaint was withdrawn and police confirmed that no further action would be taken.^[30]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leroy Lita profile at readingfc.co.uk
• Leroy Lita career stats at Soccerbase
• Photo and stats at sporting-heroes.net