Bridcutt: Liam Robert (Liam)

2015-2017 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Defensive Midfield

Born: Reading: 08-05-1989

Debut: Queens Park Rangers (a) : 28-11-2015

5' 9" 11st 4lb (2015)

Born in Reading, Berkshire, but qualified to play for Scotland via an Edinburgh born grandfather, he joined Chelsea at an early age and passed through the Stamford Bridge Academy before signing professional terms in the 2007 close season. Like most young professionals with large clubs, he was farmed out to lower league clubs to gain first team experience On 8th February 2008 he joined Yeovil Town and the following day he made his first team debut in a 0-2 loss at Walsall and went on to make six starts and come of the bench on three occasions in his two month stay. The following season he went on loan to Watford from 27th November 2008 and two days later he started in a 1-1 home draw with Doncaster Rovers in a Championship fixture. In his two month loan he went on to start four, and come off the bench in two more League games, came from the bench twice in the F.A. Cup and start one League Cup game. His next loan spell was a Stockport County and started on 20th August 2009 and ended on 2nd January 2010. He did not make the best of starts, being sent off in the eighty-fourth minute of his first League One game on 22nd August 2009 in a 4-2 win at Brighton. He scored his first goal on 6th October 2009 in a 3-1 defeat at Port Vale in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy encounter. He made fifteen League One starts, two F.A. Cup starts and two more in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, in which he scored one goal. He had not made any first team appearances for Chelsea and on 27th August 2010 he signed a five month contract with League One side Brighton and Hove Albion, making his debut in a 0-2 home defeat by Leyton Orient in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy , follwed by his League debut as an eighty-ninth minute substitute in a 2-0 home win over MK Dons on 11th September 2010 and ten days later he made his League One starting debut in a 2-0 win at Plymouth Argyle. On 5th November 2010 he signed a further contract until the end of the season. He ran into further disciplinary problems when he was sent off in the seventy-seventh minute of a 3-1 defeat at Hartlepool on 13th November 2010, but he became a vital cog in the team's performances and scored his first goal for the club with an injury time clincher in a 4-3 home victory over Carlisle United on 5th March 2011. There was a second when he netted the third goal to equalize the scored in fifty-sixth minute of a home game with Dagenham and Redbridge which Brighton went on to win 4-3. These were wins which helped Brighton to gain promotion to the Championship as champions of League One. Bridcutt went on to win the Player of the season award from Brighton in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. He had become a target for Premiership clubs and in particular Sunderland, who were now managed by former Brighton boss, Gus Poyet. On 30th January his transfer request was rejected by Brighton but the following day he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Sunderland for a fee in excess of £2.5 million. In his time with Brighton he had scored twice in onehundred and twenty-three League starts and another nine from the bench, as well as ten starts and one game as a substitute in the F.A. Cup, four starts and one game as a substitute in the League Cup and one start in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and two in the Championship play-offs. He made his Sunderland debut on 1st February 2014 in a 3-0 away win at Newcastle United. After Gus Poyet left Sunderland in March 2015 Bridcutt, whose record was littered with yellow cards and one more red card when sent off in the forty-ninth minute of a 0-1 home defeat by Liverpool on 10th January 2015, fell out of favour at the Stadium of Light with subsequent management of first Dick Advocaat and then Sam Allardyce. He had started nineteen and come off the bench eleven times in League games and started four games in the F.A. Cup and two in the League Cup, but had started just one and come off the bench twice since Poyet left and had not taken the field in the 2015-16 season. He went on loan to Leeds United on 26th November 2015, initially until January 2016, but Leeds Manager, Steve Evans, was soon talking of agreeing a deal until the end of the season with the player and Sunderland, after he had made his debut at Queens Park Rangers, two days after signing. On 5th January 2016 it was agreed he would stay until the end of the season. On 13th March 2016 Steve Evans said he wanted to sign Bridcutt permanently. He made twenty-three League starts and one more from the bench together with three starts in the F.A. Cup before returning to Sunderland at the end of the season with one year of his contract still to run. Bridcutt had received his first Scottish cap, when a Brighton player on 26th March 2013, when he played a full game in the 0-2 defeat by Serbia at the Karadorde Stadium, Novi Sad in a World Cup qualifier. While at Leeds he gained his second cap when he and his teammate Liam Cooper were selected for the squad in a Friendly with Denmark at Hampden Park, which the home team won 1-0 with a goal in the eighth minute and saw Bridcutt come on as a sixty -ninth minute substitute for Shaun Maloney, while Cooper remained unused on the bench. While on loan Bridcutt had started twenty-three League games for Leeds and come off the bench on one occasion, as well as having started three F.A. Cup ties. Leeds did not immediately move to sign him on a permanent basis despite his obvious success and his solving a major problem for Leeds. So he went back to Sunderland where David Moyes had taken over after Sam Allardyce had taken the England position. It made little difference as like Allardyce, Moyes also saw him as surplus to Sunderland's needs. It was not until 16th August 2016 that Leeds finally signed him on a two year contract for an undisclosed sum. He made his debut for Leeds as a permanent player on 20th August 2016 at Sheffield Wednesday, but, like many regulars he was rested for the League Cup tie at Luton Town, but played a full game in the 1-3 loss at Nottingham Forest and the two home games with Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers. Unfortunately, four minutes into the second half of the latter game, on 13th Setember 2016, he had to be replaced by Kalvin Phillips and the injury saw him out for three months until he came on as a thirty-fifth minute replacement for Chris Wood in the 1-0 home win over Reading on 13th December 2016. He was a seventy-second minute replacement for Kalvin Phillips in the 1-0 home win over Brentford, four days later and that saw him return to lead the team for most of the rest of the season. He was taken off in the fifty-sixth minute of the 0-1 home loss in the penultimate final home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17th April 2017 and missed the final three League games. The emergence of Kalvin Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira, and the purchase of several defensive midfielders, including Polish international Mateusz Klich from FC Twente, saw Bridcutt in danger of a slide down the pecking order, which was only re-enforced when the captaincy was given to Liam Cooper at the start of the 2017-18 season. He failed to make the squad for the opening game at Bolton Wanderers but was a fifty-second minute replacement for Hadi Sacko in the 4-1 home win over Port Vale in the League Cup on 9th August 2017. He did not make the squad in the 0-0 home draw with Preston North End on 12th August and sat unused on the bench six days later as the team struggled to another goalless game at home to Fulham. He was also left out of the squad for the 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light against his old club Sunderland on 19th August. Therefore it came as no surprise that Nottingham Forest, who had been showing interest since the start of the season announced, on 21st August 2017, that Liam Bridcutt was poised to make his Nottingham Forest debut against Leeds in the forthcoming game at the City Ground on 29th August. "Mark Warburton's side are close to securing the capture of the former Brighton and Sunderland midfielder, who could get his first taste of the action with the Reds against his former club next weekend" claimed Paul Taylor, who went on to say "Liam Bridcutt is poised to swap clubs in time to make his Nottingham Forest debut against Leeds this weekend. The Reds are hoping to tie down the final details of the midfielder’s move to the City Ground over the next twenty-four hours, with the former Brighton and Sunderland man expected to undergo a medical today. Bridcutt, 28, would not be eligible to play at St James’ Park in the second round clash as his only action of the season so far for United came in the competition, as he made a substitute appearance during the first round victory over Port Vale. The midfielder has found himself down the pecking order at Elland Road this season, following the capture of several new midfielders, including Polish international Mateusz Klich from FC Twente. Bridcutt had captained the side last season, after making the permanent switch from Sunderland last summer, following a successful loan move. But he was now increasingly likely to be in the opposition camp when Leeds visit the City Ground that weekend, with the two clubs having agreed terms over a potential switch. Bridcutt, who has only one year left to run on his Leeds contract, made forty-five Championship starts and four sub appearances for United. He is viewed as being the ideal figure to add some energy and experience in the centre of the pitch for Forest, by boss Warburton. "I would like to think that somebody could make their debut against Newcastle. If we can get it right; if we can get it done, I would like to see that happen,” said Warburton after the final whistle against Middlesbrough – presumably unaware that Bridcutt would not be available to face the Magpies if he does sign, as he is cup tied following that brief appearance against Vale. Mark Warburton will speak to the media today “But it is not that easy. It is not a case of putting a bid in, having it accepted and then the player signing the next day, after he has sailed through a medical. It does not work that way. “The fact is that you have to go through the process and you have to get every stage of it right and all the parties involved have to be happy. We have been so, so close with a couple. But we cannot forget the quality work that has been done by Frank (director of football Frank McParland) and the board over the summer. We are already in good shape and, if we can add one or two more, it will be fantastic.” On 22nd August 2017 he was sold for £1m and made his debut in the game between the two clubs on 26th August 2017. By the end of the season he had started twenty-four League games and been a substitute on three occasions and had scored his first and only goal in the fiftieth minute of a 1-2 defeat at Cardiff City on 21st April 2018.