Sodje: Samuel Okeremute (Sam)

2009-2009 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Central Defender

Born: Greenwich, London: 25-05-1979

Debut: MK Dons (h): 28-03-2009

6’0” 11st 9lb (2009)

Although born in Greenwich in London Sodje returned to his parents native country in 1983 and started his professional football career in Nigeria as a teenager. The family returned to England and he was taken on to the books of Sheffield Wednesday before joining Northern Counties League club Sheffield FC on trial before the start of the 2000-01 season. His trial was successful and he signed for the South Yorkshire team. He got homesick by Christmas and wanted to return to his family in London. His older brother Efe was playing for Stevenage and a transfer was arranged, but it got a little protracted and he had moved on by the time the younger brother arrived. Initially he Sodje could not make the Stevenage team and was loaned to Isthmian League side, Grays Athletic, where he stayed for most of the rest of the 2000-01 season, scoring once in eleven games. He did, however return at the very end of the season and he made his Stevenage Borough debut on 10th April 2001 in a 4-1 win at Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute F.C. in the Football Conference League. However his indiscipline was soon to rear its head as he was sent off on 28th April 2001 in a 0-0 home draw with Doncaster Rovers for his second yellow card of the game, which was telecast live on Sky TV. He did, however, manage eight games in his first season with Borough. He retained his spot in the Borough team for the start of the 2001-02 season but he was sent off after just seventeen minutes on 18th September 2001 in a 1-2 midweek loss at Margate. He did, however, score in both the weekend fixtures either side of that game with a goal in the final minute of a 1-2 loss at home to Farnborough on 15th September and a seventy-fifth minute equaliser in a 1-1 away draw at Hereford United on the 22nd. He was released at the end of the season, having scored twice from twenty-three starts and three games from the bench in the Football Conference League and one start in a Football League Trophy game. In the pre-season of the 2002-03 season he had trials with Billericay Town, scoring with a spectacular overhead kick in the thirty-seventh minute of a 1-2 defeat at New Lodge by a Tottenham Hotspur XI on 6th August 2002, which was comprised of Under-Seventeens and a few Under-Nineteens. However, four days later, he had a trial with Margate and was outstanding in a 1-0 home win over Millwall in a pre-season friendly. He decided to join Margate and made his debut for them, in the Conference, on 17th August 2001 in a 1-1 home draw with Morecambe in which he scored the equaliser in the sixty-eighth minute. His second Margate goal came on 12th October 2002 in a 2-2 draw at The Shay against Halifax Town, when his sixty-first minute goal got Margate's first equaliser. His third goal came at Scarborough in the fifty-first minute of a 3-2 defeat with Margate's opener to reduce the 0-2 half-time deficit. His fourth of the season came on 21st January 2003 in a 2-1 win at Gravesend & Northfleet when he got the opening goal of the game in the twenty-second minute. His fifth goal arrived on 5th February 2003 with the only goal of the game in the fifty-fourth minute at Barnet. But his indiscipline again caught up with him as he received a two match suspension after ten bookings had been accumulated. On 26th April 2003 he scored his sixth goal of the season in the twentieth minute as he scored the opening goal in a 3-1 home win over Scarborough. On 30th April 2003 he was in the Margate team that defeated Welling 2-1 to win the Kent Senior Cup. He won the 'Supporters Player of the Year' award for the season. He scored six goals in thirty-eight starts and one game from the bench in the Conference, three starts in the F.A. Cup as well as the other games in the Kent Senior Cup. Sodje was interested in playing in the Football League and in July 2003 he had a trial with League Two side Yeovil Town, going on their pre-season tour of Belgium, but getting little or no game time and then he was ultimately rejected. Having failed to make the grade with Yeovil he next had trials with Conference side Chester City, taking part in some of their pre-season friendlies, at home to ADO den Haag on 23rd July 2003, in a 2-0 win, at Connah's Quay Nomads six days later in a 2-1 away win, and at Vauxhall Motors in a 1-1 away draw on 2nd August, in which he had a full game in all fixtures but just after the start of the 2003-04 season started he signed once again for Margate. His indecision caused him to miss the first two games of the season for Margate but on 16th August 2003 he played his first game of the new season in a 1-0 home win over Exeter City as a sixty-third minute substitute for Iain Campbell and then made his first start in a 1-1 draw at Tamworth on 28th August 2003 after which he became a regular starter once more. He scored his first goal of the new season when he opened the scoring six minutes before half-time on 6th September 2003, but Margate failed to capitalize and lost by 1-2 at home to top team Chester City. However, his second goal of the season brought better reward as a fortnight later his fortieth minute header was the only one of the game in their visit to Halifax Town at the Shay. But his unbroken appearances came to an end when he picked up two yellow cards and a consequent dismissal in a 1-2 defeat at Hereford on 15th November 2003. The one match suspension caused him to miss the clash with top team Chester City at Deva Stadium on 29th November 2003. But worse was to follow as he was again dismissed in a 1-3 home loss to Gravesend & Northfleet on 27th December 2003. A four match ban was imposed. He did not return until 8th February 2004 in a 2-0 home win over Halifax Town. He picked up an unwanted "hat-trick" as he received his third red card of the season in a 1-0 home win over Telford on 21st February 2004, when he had been twice booked. He was able to feature in a 2-0 win over Welling in a Kent Senior Cup tie played on 2nd March 2004 before he started a three match ban, returning in a 3-1 home win over Hereford United on 20th March 2004. He could not change his ways and a week later he was again sent off in a 1-0 win at Burton Albion. It was his fourth red card in just thirteen League games. He was able to start Margate's next three games but after a 3-0 home win over Farnborough on 3rd April 2004 the latest suspension ended his season. His ban was for six matches and there were only five games left to play. He had featured in thirty-five games and scored three goals. On 27th May 2004 Sodje finally got his move to the move to the Football League when he signed a two year contract with League One club Brentford on a free transfer. He had scored eight goals in sixty-eight games in the Conference, one of which was as a substitute and three starts in the F.A. Cup and one more in the Football League Trophy while with Margate. He made his debut for Brentford in a 1-4 defeat at Bristol City on 30th August 2004. He scored his first goal for the Bees in his third game for the club with a seventy-ninth minute header to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw at Torquay on 11th September 2004. He became a fixture in the Brentford side and soon won over the Griffin Park fans with his heading ability, goalscoring form and crazy hairstyles. His second goal came in the sixty-second minute of a visit to Huddersfield Town on 7th November 2004 to give them the lead but the home side equalised to leave the final score at 1-1. He also opened the scoring in the home Boxing Day clash with Torquay United when he scored after twenty-six minutes but Leon Contantine got a second half hat-trick as the Bees went down 1-3. His fourth goal was a fifty-ninth minute equaliser in the 1-1 home draw with Barnsley on 25th January 2005. On 19th February 2005 he earned rave reviews for his performance as the Bees drew 2-2 at Premier League Southampton in the F.A. Cup. He set up the first goal with a storming run from his own half and he thenin the fifty-eighth minute he headed Brentford's equaliser. There were three more goals in the League to take his season's overall tally to eight with goals in consecutive games on the 2nd and 9th April with an eighty-sixth minute winner at Stockport County and the only goal of the game in the twelfth minute at home to Bristol City. But although he scored the Bees' first goal to equalise 1-1 in the twenty-first minute, they still could not withstand a late surge by Luton Town to go down 2-4 at Kenilworth Road. While he did pick up ten yellow cards in the season, he managed to avoid any suspension in the season, which saw him gain a local newspaper award for Brentford Player of the Year and was also picked by the PFA in the League One team of the year. He had scored eight goals in a total of 50 appearances for the Bees in his first season with them. During the close season there were stories of possible moves to Premier League clubs, with Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United being mentioned, but he remained at Griffin Park for the 2005-06 season. Once more the goals kept coming, the first of the season being in the second game with his fouteenth minute goal opening the score and leading to a 3-1 away win at Chesterfield on 10th August 2005, with the second following as he scored the final goal with ten minutes left on the clock in a 2-3 loss at home to Bristol City on 24th September 2005. Although born in Greenwich, London, Sodje qualified to play for Nigeria because of his parentage and in November 2005 he was chosen for the Nigerian squad. Sodje made his debut for Nigeria in a 3-0 defeat against Romania in Bucharest on 16th November 2005. Nigeria only arrived in the country four hours before kick-off and didn't have a full squad. They were only able to name one substitute but it gave Sodje his International debut. His third goal of the season came in the Second Round F.A. Cup tie when his sixty-fifth minute strike saw the Bees draw at Oldham Athletic on 3rd December 2005. His fourth on 2nd January 2006 gave Brentford a 3-1 lead in the fifty-eighth minute at Bradford City but once more they let it slip and drew 3-3. On 31st January 2006 he turned down a move to Southampton, and in the next game, on 4th February 2006, he scored Brentford's fourth goal in the seventy-seventh minute in a 5-0 home win over Walsall. Although he had once more made a hobby of collecting yellow cards he had avoided suspension and had collected nine. That was before an eventful game at Bournemouth on 6th May 2006. He had started the game by scoring his sixth goal of the season when he gave the Bees the lead in the twenty-second minute, but two yellow cards saw him dismissed with six minutes to go and in so doing received his first red card in the Football League as the game finished in a 3-3 draw as Bournemouth equalised in the final minute. He had scored six goals in fifty appearances in total for the season. On 14th July 2006 he ended much speculation when he signed for Reading for an initial fee of £350,000 on a three year contract. He had enjoyed two good seasons with the Bees scoring twelve goals in eighty-three starts in the League and netted another two goals in fourteen F.A. Cup starts and also made three starts in League One play-off games. He had his first outing for Reading in a friendly against Lanna Golf of Sweden's Division Six on 5th August 2006 and scored twice as the Royals won 10-1. He made his Reading Premier League debut on 26th August 2006 in a 0-1 away loss at Wigan Athletic, but only because the regular Centre Half Ibrahima Sonko was suspended and he also picked up his customary yellow card. It did not help when he required keyhole sugery on his knee early in September soon after that game and he missed several weeks. In fact his time on the pitch was limited to seven minutes against Liverpool in the League Cup in a 3-4 defeat at Anfield, and a further sixty-nine minutes after starting at the same venue in the League in a 0-2 loss, in which he still managed to collect a yellow card. Then after coming on at Old Trafford on 30th December 2006 in the League as a fifty-ninth minute substitute, he immediately picked up a yellow card. He repeated the offence just ten minutes later and received the same punishment which saw him disappear down the players tunnel as he was sent off. In the F.A. Cup he got his first goal for Reading with a towering fifty-fifth minute header and played a full game in the Third Round 3-2 home win over Burnley on 9th January 2007 and another full ninety minutes in the Fourth Round away win at Birmingham City by the same score, on 27th January 2007. He did come on for four minutes at the end of the Fifth Round 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on 17th February 2007. He was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion on 17th March 2007, initially for a month, and proved to be a vital cog in their march to the play-off Final where they were pipped by Derby County. After making his Albion debut in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City at The Hawthorns on 18th March 2007 he scored his first goal for the Baggies in a 2-1 win at Norwich City on 9th April 2007. It was his only goal in seven starts in the League but he also played in all three play-off games. His final game was in the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley on 28th May 2007, when the Throstles lost 0-1 to Derby County, after his loan period had been extended to allow him to play in those vital matches. He returned to Reading for the new season but in July 2007 he was left out of Reading's Twenty-four-man squad for the Peace Cup tournament in South Korea. In August Reading agreed a fee for Sodje with Sheffield Wednesday but the deal fell through and he played what proved to be his final game for Reading when he lasted fifty-eight minutes before being sent off in a 1-0 away win at Swansea City in the League Cup on 28th August 2007, as he once more picked up two bookings in the same game. While at the Madejski Stadium he started two League games and came off the bench in one more. He scored his only goal for the Royals in the F.A. Cup from two starts and one game as a substitute and also started one and came off the bench once in the League Cup. He joined Championship club Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan on 31st August 2007 and made his debut for the Addicks in a 2-0 win over Norwich City at The Valley on 18th September 2007 and scored his first goal in a 3-0 home win over Cardiff City on 10th November 2007. True to form he was sent off once, getting a red card after just thirty minutes in a 1-1 draw at Norwich City on Boxing Day 2007. He scored twice in twenty League starts and seven appearances as a substitute before returning to Reading at the season’s end. On 26th September 2008 Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd responded to the growing injury crisis at Vicarage Road by taking Sodje on a month-long loan deal. The central defender joined the Hornets as cover for Captain Jay DeMerit, who was injured the previous weekend. Sodje injured his knee in playing in his debut, a 1-2 defeat at Sheffield United on 27th September 2008. It proved to be his only game at Vicarage Road as he was forced to return to Reading to be sidelined for several months. After regaining fitness he spent months in the Reading Reserves before he joined Leeds United on a one month loan on 26th March 2009. He made his debut on 28th March 2009 in Leeds’ vital 2-0 win over MK Dons at Elland Road. It looked ominous as he had to go off after sixty minutes, but it was just a precautionary measure and he was back for a full game in the 1-0 win at Colchester United the following week. He picked up a knock in that game and it was sufficient to keep him out of the 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient the following Tuesday and the 1-0 home win on the following Saturday. He was back for the Easter Monday away clash with top-of the-table Leicester City and a 1-0 defeat and he was there for another full game in a 3-1 home win over Tranmere Rovers which secured a play-off place. He was there for the ninety minutes in a 1-0 win at Hartlepool United but was rested for the final League game in an easy 3-0 win over Northampton Town and his stay was extended to accommodate the play-offs. This ensured he was in the best condition for the play-offs, but there were only to be two, which he played the full game in both, as Leeds were surprisingly beaten on aggregate by Millwall. There was talk that Leeds were interested in taking him on a permanent deal, but it came to nothing as Reading released him at the end of May 2009. On 29th May 2009 Sodje gained his second Nigerian cap when he played seventy-eight minutes before being substituted in their 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Fulham's Craven Cottage and a couple of days later he was released by Reading. He was linked with numerous clubs including Bristol City and Leeds United. He picked up his third Nigerian cap, when he played sixty minutes before being substituted, in a famous 1-0 win away over France on 2nd June 2009 and the home side included the likes of Nicholas Anelka and Frank Ribery. Sodje made his competitive debut for Nigeria when he started in a CAF Third Round 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier in a 3-0 win at the Abuja National Stadium, Nigeria, on 7th June 2009, in which he started and played seventy-six minutes before being substituted. It was his fourth a final Nigerian cap. In July 2009 he was expected to sign for Leeds but they had doubts about his fitness and he ended up joining Charlton of League One on 1st September 2009 on a free transfer. He made his first appearance in a 2-1 home win over Exeter City on 26th September 2009 and in November 2009 he was joined at The Valley by his brother Akpo who signed on loan from Sheffield Wednesday. At Yeovil Town on 21st November 2009 the pair were due to be in the same team for the first time at senior level but he was sent off after twenty-nine minutes before Akpo came off the bench at half-time to score as the match finished 1-1. They had to wait until 1st December 2009, in a 2-0 win at Brighton, before they were on the pitch for Charlton Athletic at the same time. He was also sent off again in a 2-2 draw with Swindon Town at The Valley on Boxing Day 2009 and in January 2010 he was left out of Nigeria's squad for the African Nations Cup in Angola. He scored four times in the League in twenty-four starts and three games from the bench, together with one start in the F.A. Cup and one in the play-offs for Charlton. In April 2010 he was invited to Nigeria's World Cup training camp in England. Unfortunately he didn't make the final squad. on 16th July 2010 he signed for Greek club Skoda Xanthi but his contract was terminated after just a few days as his wife could not settle in Greece. In August 2010 Sam started an extensive trial with Championship side Portsmouth but they did not offer him a deal and in October 2010 he was linked once more with League One side Sheffield Wednesday. At the start of November 2010 he ended up joining Notts County and became new Manager Paul Ince's first signing for the League One club on a contract to June 2012. Sam made his debut for the Magpies in a 2-0 win over Gateshead in an F.A. Cup tie at Meadow Lane on 6th November 2010 but shortly afterwards he went to Nigeria and didn't return to England until February 2011. Ince had left County by the time Sodje got back to the club and, after making his comeback in a 2-0 defeat at Leyton Orient on 5th March 2011 he played regularly for the remainder of the 2010-11 campaign, making twelve appearances in all without scoring. He was sent off in the last game of the season as Notts County drew 1-1 against Brighton at Meadow Lane on 7th May 2011. In July 2011 he was transfer-listed by the Magpies new Manager Martin Allen, his former boss at Brentford, but Sam still featured fairly regularly during 2011-12. In February 2012 former England International Keith Curle took over as County's Manager and he made Sodje available for emergency loan. He did not get a loan move and on 25th May 2012 he was released having scored twice from nineteen outings for County during 2011-12. It brought his record at Meadow Lane to scoring twice in twelve starts and fifteen from the bench and one start and two games as a substitute in the F.A. Cup and one substitute appearance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. He was unable to find a club during the first half of the 2012-13 season but kept fit by training with Charlton Athletic and Dagenham & Redbridge before being signed by League One club Portsmouth on a short term deal on 24th January 2013. He made his debut for Pompey in a 2-3 home defeat by Colchester United on 2nd February 2013 but it was not long before he was once more sidelined for disciplinary reasons as he was sent off five minutes after the interval in a 0-1 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 23rd February 2013. The incident would later become the subject of a National Crime Authority investigation. He was released at the end of the season after just nine starts at Fratton Park. In December 2013 The Sun on Sunday ran a story alleging that the sending off incident at Oldham had been pre-oranged in order to receive £70,000. On 15th January 2015 the Prosecutors dropped the match-fixing case involving Sodje.