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 Veteran Striker Joins Ilkeston
Veteran Striker Joins Ilkeston
Adding even more experience to an already strong squad at Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central club Ilkeston Town is striker Leroy Lita.
Saturday 14 January 23 I 11:57:24 I Photo by
The 38-year-old recently announced his departure from league rivals Hednesford Town, where he had been player-coach under former boss Steve Burr but had been a regular since Danny Glover took over. Lita joined the Pitmen in March 2022 from another league rival, Stratford Town. He originally came out of a short retirement to sign for Southern Premier Division South side Salisbury in September 2019 before switching to Vanarama National League South outfit Chelmsford City two months later. Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, he made his professional debut in 2002 for Bristol City, scoring 31 goals in 85 games. He then made the move to Reading, and it was at the Royals where he really made a name for himself. The forward played a crucial role in firing Reading into the Premier League for the first time in their history in his debut season with the club in the 2005/06 season. He then went on to 14 goals in his first season in the top-flight as Reading finished eighth in their debut season in the Premier League, whilst narrowly missing out on a European place. The Royals were relegated the following season and he left the club when his contract expired in 2009. He joined Middlesbrough for a two-year-spell that wasn’t as successful as his time at Reading, and he swiftly left Boro to join Swansea City, and this is where his career started to take a dip. He only made 21 appearances for the Swans in three years with the Welsh side and spent time out on loan at the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion. After leaving Swansea, he joined Barnsley but left after one season, and made the move to Greek side AO Chania, but he only spent a year in Greece after scoring 3 goals in 15 appearances. In March 2016 he returned to England for a short spell at Yeovil Town, but left after making just 8 appearances, scoring just once. In January 2017, he joined Thai League T1 side Sisaket and then had a short stay in the Isthmian League Premier Division with Margate before announcing he was hanging up his boots. However, he joined Southern Premier Central outfit Nuneaton Borough in May 2020 and then switched to league rivals Stratford in January 2022.
Copyright Non League Today. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to the Non League Today website as the source and a link back to the Non League Today website.
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 Veteran Striker Joins Ilkeston
Veteran Striker Joins Ilkeston
Saturday 14 January 23 I 11:57:24
Photo by
The 38-year-old recently announced his departure from league rivals Hednesford Town, where he had been player-coach under former boss Steve Burr but had been a regular since Danny Glover took over. Lita joined the Pitmen in March 2022 from another league rival, Stratford Town. He originally came out of a short retirement to sign for Southern Premier Division South side Salisbury in September 2019 before switching to Vanarama National League South outfit Chelmsford City two months later. Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, he made his professional debut in 2002 for Bristol City, scoring 31 goals in 85 games. He then made the move to Reading, and it was at the Royals where he really made a name for himself. The forward played a crucial role in firing Reading into the Premier League for the first time in their history in his debut season with the club in the 2005/06 season. He then went on to 14 goals in his first season in the top-flight as Reading finished eighth in their debut season in the Premier League, whilst narrowly missing out on a European place. The Royals were relegated the following season and he left the club when his contract expired in 2009. He joined Middlesbrough for a two-year-spell that wasn’t as successful as his time at Reading, and he swiftly left Boro to join Swansea City, and this is where his career started to take a dip. He only made 21 appearances for the Swans in three years with the Welsh side and spent time out on loan at the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion. After leaving Swansea, he joined Barnsley but left after one season, and made the move to Greek side AO Chania, but he only spent a year in Greece after scoring 3 goals in 15 appearances. In March 2016 he returned to England for a short spell at Yeovil Town, but left after making just 8 appearances, scoring just once. In January 2017, he joined Thai League T1 side Sisaket and then had a short stay in the Isthmian League Premier Division with Margate before announcing he was hanging up his boots. However, he joined Southern Premier Central outfit Nuneaton Borough in May 2020 and then switched to league rivals Stratford in January 2022.
Copyright Non League Today. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to the Non League Today website as the source and a link back to the Non League Today website.
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