Association football player ( yield 1990 )

Dula and the surname or paternal family name is Etheridge. In this philippine name, the middle appoint or maternal family appoint isand the surname or paternal family diagnose is Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge ( yield 7 February 1990 ) is a professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Birmingham City and the Philippines national team.

Reading: Neil Etheridge

He joined the Fulham Academy after three years as a trainee at Chelsea and made his introduction for Fulham in the UEFA Europa League against Danish club Odense Boldklub, though he never played in a league match with the cabaret. While with Fulham from 2006 until 2014 he was loaned to diverse lower tier clubs ; Leatherhead, Charlton Athletic, Bristol Rovers, and Crewe Alexandra. After leaving Fulham, Etheridge signed with Oldham Athletic before he was loaned to Charlton Athletic. He joined Charlton on a permanent footing in 2015 after his sign with Oldham ended. After months of being without a golf club, Etheridge joined Walsall, going on to make more than 90 appearances in all competitions in two seasons. He then moved on to Championship club Cardiff City in 2017. After establishing himself as Cardiff City ‘s first gear choice goalkeeper, he helped the Welsh side succeed forwarding to the Premier League. He joined Birmingham City, besides of the Championship, three years late. Born and raised in England and a former England under-16 international, he represents the Philippines at senior external level. In August 2018, while with Cardiff City, he became the first base Filipino to play in the Premier League .

early life [edit ]

Etheridge was born in Enfield, London to Englishman, Martin Etheridge and Filipino woman, Merlinda Dula, a native of Tarlac. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] He took up football at the age of nine, [ 5 ] initially playing as a left midfielder or hitter before switching to playing as a goalkeeper in 2000 after volunteering to switch due to an injury to his youth side ‘s regular goalkeeper. [ 6 ] He attended Court Moor School in Fleet, Hampshire, where he besides represented Hampshire Schools and the Aldershot & Farnborough zone teams. [ 7 ]

Club career [edit ]

Chelsea Academy [edit ]

Having played for local young sides Cuffy Chiefs and Hart Boys, [ 6 ] Etheridge began attending the Chelsea Academy in 2003 at under-14 level, [ 7 ] where he was besides teammates with eventual Philippine internationals James and Phil Younghusband. He started out as a ahead but finally switched to playing as a goalkeeper at the trace of his passenger car. [ 5 ]

Fulham [edit ]

Etheridge train with Fulham in 2010 In 2006, he moved to local anesthetic rivals Fulham, and signed professional terms for the club. [ 8 ] Etheridge signed for Isthmian League Division One South club Leatherhead in September 2008 on lend for the entire 2008–09 temper and made his debut on 20 September in the 2–1 home get the better of to Metropolitan Police. [ 9 ] During his lend go, he received the first loss card of his career, being sent off for dissent during a 2–1 frustration to Sittingbourne in a preliminary round of the FA Cup. [ 6 ] In September 2009, Etheridge undergo operation on both knees after suffering from tendinitis. He was expected to be out for the entire 2009–10 season but returned in January 2010, finally making nine appearances for the reserves. By the end of the season he signed a newfangled annual deal, keeping him at Fulham until the summer of 2011, attributing his condense elongation to his quick recovery. [ 10 ] Etheridge received his first aged team call-up on 11 September 2010, when he was named on the substitute bench as cover for Mark Schwarzer in a dwelling game against Wolverhampton Wanderers due to an injury to regular second choice goalkeeper David Stockdale. [ 11 ] In March 2011, Etheridge joined League One golf club Charlton Athletic on loan, [ 12 ] but was recalled six days later without playing for them. [ 13 ] Etheridge signed a modern contract in May that would extend his stay at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2013. [ 14 ] He made his first gear elder appearance for Fulham against Odense Boldklub in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League on 14 December. [ 15 ] On 23 March 2012 upon his rejoinder to Fulham after completing his international duties, it was announced that Etheridge would be out for the rest of the season ascribable to a wrist injury that was sustained in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. He recovered quickly and on 9 May he has been able to play in the development team ‘s last game of the season against the reserves of West Bromwich Albion. [ 16 ] He joined League Two cabaret Bristol Rovers on an initial one-month lend on 20 September 2012. [ 17 ] He made his first Football League appearance for Rovers against Fleetwood Town on 22 September, which was his and Rovers ‘ first fairly sheet of 2012–13 season. [ 18 ] His arrival at the club coincided with an improvement in the club ‘s mannequin, leading to his loanword share being extended until December 2013. [ 19 ] On 21 November, Fulham confirmed that Etheridge had been recalled from his loan at Bristol Rovers. [ 20 ] Etheridge signed a annual extension to his Fulham contract on 8 May 2013, with the option of a promote year extension. [ 21 ] On 22 November 2013, he joined League One club Crewe Alexandra on loanword until 1 January 2014. [ 22 ] He rejoined the golf club once again on 25 February 2014 on loan until 13 April, [ 23 ] but was recalled on 4 April by Fulham. [ 24 ] At the end of 2013–14 season, he was released by Fulham. [ 25 ]

Oldham Athletic and return to Charlton Athletic [edit ]

Following his free from Fulham, Etheridge used his own money to train with Charlton, one of his former lend clubs, where he knew the goalkeeping passenger car. Struggling to make a living, he was set to return to the Philippines and had already sold his house and cars before joining League One club Oldham Athletic on a two-month conduct on 30 October 2014. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] During his time with the club, he lived at his supporter ‘s house, sleeping on the sofa, late describing his situation as “ what you ‘ve got to do to get by. ” [ 28 ] Etheridge late reminisced on his circumstances, stating that he questioned whether he would ever play football again. [ 29 ] He made one appearance for Oldham during his prison term with the club during a Football League Trophy catch against Preston North End. [ 28 ] Etheridge rejoined Charlton Athletic on 27 November 2014 on a one-month loanword manage. [ 30 ] He made his league debut, for Charlton on 26 December 2014, in a 1–1 draw against Cardiff City. Manager Bob Peeters had opted to play Etheridge, Charlton ‘s third choice goalkeeper, ahead of second base choice Nick Pope whose performances in former games Peeters had described as “ a morsel doomed ”. [ 31 ] After the lend, he signed a signed a short-run condense on 5 January 2015 with Charlton until the end of the 2014–15 season. [ 32 ] He was released on 12 May 2015 following the conclusion of his contract. [ 33 ]

Walsall [edit ]

Etheridge joined League One baseball club Walsall on 2 July 2015 after agreeing a biennial consider. [ 34 ] Signed to compete with Craig MacGillivray for the first base choice goalkeeper spot, [ 35 ] he made his debut for the clubhouse on the open day of the 2015–16 season in a 1–1 draw with his early golf club Oldham. [ 36 ] Etheridge credits Walsall ‘s goalkeeper coach Neil Cutler with improving his ability, commenting that Cutler had “ taken me to another floor. ” [ 29 ] Cutler himself praised Etheridge ‘s progress, stating “ with a bit more feel he can go deoxyadenosine monophosphate senior high school as he wants because he makes match-winning saves. ” [ 37 ] In his first base season, he made 50 appearances in all competitions, helping the side reach the League One play-offs where they suffered get the better of in the semi-final to Barnsley. [ 38 ] During his moment temper with Walsall, Etheridge was one of just four senior players retained from the previous class. [ 39 ] He kept 12 clean sheets in 44 appearances as the club finished the temper in 14th set, [ 40 ] missing the last five matches of the temper due to injury. [ 41 ] In January 2017, Cardiff City approached Walsall over a likely transfer but pulled out due to the asking price. [ 42 ] He played a total of 94 matches with Walsall during his two seasons at the clubhouse. [ 43 ] [ 44 ]

Cardiff City [edit ]

On 30 May 2017, Etheridge signed for Championship clubhouse Cardiff City on a free transmit, after rejecting a new three-year contract with Walsall. [ 45 ] Etheridge made his introduction for the club on the first step day of the 2017–18 season, keeping a clean and jerk sheet during a 1–0 victory over Burton Albion. [ 46 ] Etheridge performed well enough playing for Cardiff that fellow goalkeeper Lee Camp was loaned to Sunderland after recovering from injury. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] He helped his golf club earn promotion to the Premier League, featuring in 45 out of 46 league matches of the 2017–18 Championship season, keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding 37 goals. [ 49 ] Following the club ‘s promotion, Etheridge was rewarded with a modern three-year narrow by the golf club. [ 50 ] On 11 August 2018, he became the first player from the Philippines and Southeast Asia to play in the Premier League, [ 51 ] in a 2–0 loss to Bournemouth, during which he saved a penalty from Callum Wilson. His penalty save besides made him the first goalkeeper to save a penalty on his Premier League debut since Allan McGregor for Hull City in 2013. [ 52 ] A week later, he saved another penalty in injury time, from Newcastle United ‘s Kenedy, to guarantee a scoreless tie. [ 53 ] Etheridge ‘s impressive form led to him being nominated for the August Player of the Month award. [ 54 ] Cardiff were relegated from the Premier League after finishing in 18th status with Etheridge winning the club ‘s Player of the Year award. [ 55 ] On the opening day of the 2019–20 temper, Etheridge suffered a hamstring injury during a 3–2 loss at Wigan Athletic, which ruled him out for two months. [ 56 ] Alex Smithies replaced Etheridge as Cardiff ‘s first base option goalkeeper for most of the temper. [ 57 ] Ahead of the 2020–21 season, with Smithies considered the starting goalkeeper, Cardiff made Etheridge available for a possible transportation. [ 58 ]

Read more: Swansea City A.F.C.

Birmingham City [edit ]

Etheridge signed a four-year abridge with Championship clubhouse Birmingham City on 11 September 2020 ; the fee was undisclosed. [ 57 ] He was on the bench for the trace day ‘s meet, in which the 19-year-old debutant Zach Jeacock kept a clean tabloid, [ 59 ] and came into the starting eleven for the scoreless string at Swansea City a workweek by and by. [ 60 ]

International career [edit ]

Etheridge lining up for the Philippines in 2015

England youth [edit ]

Etheridge is a former England under-16 external, having played in the 2005 Victory Shield, [ 7 ] in which England and Wales finally shared the trophy. Despite having represented England at youth flush, he remained eligible to represent the Philippines through his mother. [ 61 ]

Philippines [edit ]

early years [edit ]

In 2007, Etheridge received an invitation to play for the Philippines but declined the propose, citing unfamiliarity with the linguistic process and the players. [ 62 ] He was again invited in early 2008, this clock time by the new Philippine Football Federation president Jose Mari Martinez. [ 63 ] He finally accepted the invitation after speaking to the newfangled director and learning about the rig up, [ 62 ] and after encouragement from Chelsea young teammate Phil Younghusband. [ 5 ] He officially switched allegiance to the Philippines in April 2008. [ 64 ] He made his broad external introduction against Brunei in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers, [ 65 ] play in all three of his country ‘s matches. He kept three clean sheets but the Philippines hush failed to qualify due to an deficient finish dispute to group winners Tajikistan. [ 66 ] He was called up again late that class for the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification matches. [ 67 ] In their open meet, Etheridge got his fourth consecutive clean sheet, as the Philippines defeated Timor-Leste 1–0. [ 68 ] however, in their leftover three fixtures, Etheridge conceded five goals as the Philippines won another match, drew one and lost one, before being eliminated on the basis of their goals scored record after finishing tied for second. [ 69 ] Etheridge by and by credited his debut for the Philippines in 2008 to his later build up in his golf club career in 2018 ascribable to having experienced playing for the national team before a crowd of up to 90,000. [ 47 ]

2010 forth [edit ]

In 2010, Etheridge was named in the Philippines ‘ squad for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. The Philippines came in second in their group, with one succeed and two draws, and conceding lone one goal. [ 70 ] But both legs of the semi-finals ended in 1–0 defeats for the Philippines against Indonesia. [ 71 ] He was then called up for his country for the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers where he conceded merely a one goal, enabling the Philippines to qualify for the group stage. Etheridge announced his interest to join the squad for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup but was primitively in doubt to be included due to club commitments. however, after receiving clearance from Fulham to travel, he was included in the final examination 23-man police squad. [ 72 ] On 9 March 2012 against North Korea, he saved a penalty taken by Pak Song-chol in the 16th minute as the match ended 2–0. [ 73 ] He was sent off in the close minutes of the semi-final match against Turkmenistan, which the Philippines lost 2–1. due to the crimson card, he was suspended for the subsequent third place play-off match, where the Philippines defeated Palestine 4–3. [ 74 ]
Etheridge during a couple against Singapore In August 2014, Etheridge was not included in the train team for the 2014 Peace Cup, which besides serves as the country ‘s preliminary police squad for the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup, due to a miss of first team golf club football. He labelled director Thomas Dooley “ disrespectful ” over the omission. [ 75 ] In October 2016, it was announced that Etheridge would not be included in the 2016 AFF Championship police squad, because of club commitments with Walsall. Etheridge expressed disappointment of missing out on the regional backing, but added that he was committed to playing for his club. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] In 2018, Etheridge was part of the Philippines ‘ team that qualified for the AFC Asian Cup for the first prison term in the nation ‘s history. [ 78 ] however, the national side and his baseball club side Cardiff reached an agreement to allow Etheridge to miss the tournament in order to focus on his place as the Premier League side ‘s first choice goalkeeper. [ 79 ]

personal animation [edit ]

Etheridge has been married to Alexandra Solera since May 2021. Prior to their marriage, Etheridge was engaged to Solera for three years. [ 80 ] In the Philippines, Etheridge has worked as an underwear model. [ 65 ] In 2015, he opened the Neil Etheridge Goalkeeping Academy in Manila. [ 81 ] On 14 July 2021, Birmingham City announced that Etheridge was in hospital receive treatment for COVID-19. [ 82 ] On 17 July 2021, Birmingham director Lee Bowyer revealed that Etheridge was released from hospital after receiving treatment and is recuperating at home with his family. [ 83 ]

career statistics [edit ]

cabaret [edit ]

As of match played 4 December 2021

International [edit ]

As of match played 13 November 2018[96]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team
Year
Apps
Goals

Philippines

2008
7
0

2009
3
0

2010
8
0

2011
10
0

2012
11
0

2013
4
0

2014
1
0

2015
6
0

2016
3
0

2017
5
0

2018
4
0

Total
62
0

Honours [edit ]

Cardiff City
Philippines
Individual

  • Philippine Sportswriters Association Footballer of the Year (Mr. Football Award): 2018[99]

References [edit ]

Read more: Lille OSC