Chris Iwelumo

 ( 1978 Births ) 

Iwelumo had only made nineteen appearances for St Mirren, scoring twice against Berwick in the Scottish League Cup and Dundee in the Scottish Cup, before his performances were being noticed and in early 1998, Aarhus Fremad of Denmark signed him up. Aarhus released him two years later in February 2000 and he had trials at Preston North End and Celtic – the team he supports – before signing a four-year deal with Stoke City.

Barnsley revealed an interest in signing Iwelumo in January 2004. He was subject of a loan move once more when he moved to Brighton & Hove Albion in March 2004. He helped the "Seagulls" to the 2004 Second Division play-off final in Cardiff, winning the penalty that gave Albion promotion. When he returned to Stoke at the end of the season he was released, after four years at the club.

His early season form in front of goal earned him November's Championship Player of the Month Award. However, after this run of form he entered a goalless drought of 16 games before netting against his former club Charlton.

His season was ended prematurely after a high tackle from Lee Carsley in the game against promotion rivals Birmingham City left him with medial ligament damage. In his absence the team secured promotion to the Premier League as champions.

He regained fitness over the summer break but suffered more injury woe as he broke his metatarsal in Wolves' opening pre-season game against Australian club Perth Glory. He eventually returned to first team contention and made his Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Aston Villa in October 2009, though again suffered an injury setback which put him on the sidelines for a further month.

When fit, his Premier League appearance were limited to fleeting substitute roles and he instead moved on a month's loan to Championship side Bristol City in February 2010 to gain more playing time. He scored the first of two goals for Bristol City in a 2–1 win over West Bromwich Albion on 21 February 2010. He returned to Wolves to battle for his place, making a handful of further substitute appearances as the club confirmed their Premier League survival, but failing to score, meaning he had scored just once for Wolves in 18 months.

Following an injury to John Eustace at the start of the 2012–13 season and the departure of Martin Taylor, Iwelumo captained Watford for the first time against Derby County on 1 September 2012.

Iwelumo joined Notts County on loan on 23 November. He returned to Watford after failing to score for the "Magpies" in five matches. On 31 January 2013, Iwelumo joined Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season.

He was called up to the full Scotland squad for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Norway at Hampden Park on 11 October 2008. He came on as a 57th-minute substitute in that game to make his debut, but his performance was overshadowed by an open goal miss from three yards, in a match that finished 0–0. For days after, Iwelumo constantly watched video replays of the incident but was determined not to be remembered for the miss, stated "I'm a proud Scot, I love my country and it's my dream to do well for them." He was recalled for his first international start in a friendly against Argentina on 19 November 2008.

Iwelumo graduated from Staffordshire University in 2016 with a first-class bachelor's degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting.

Iwelumo can often be heard as a co-commentator on talkSPORT.

• Football League Trophy: 1999–2000

St Johnstone

• Scottish Cup: 2013–14

Individual

• Football League Championship Player of the Month: November 2007, November 2008