Dany N'Guessan

Dany N'Guessan

N'Guessan in Leicester City colours in March 2010.
Personal information
Full name	Djombo Dany-Gael N'Guessan[1]
Date of birth	11 August 1987
Place of birth	Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Left Winger / Centre Forward
Youth career
	Auxerre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2005	Auxerre	0	(0)
2005–2007	Rangers	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Boston United (loan)	23	(5)
2007–2009	Lincoln City	91	(16)
2009–2011	Leicester City	31	(3)
2010	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	3	(1)
2011	→ Southampton (loan)	6	(0)
2011	→ Millwall (loan)	1	(0)
2011–2013	Millwall	29	(2)
2012	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	7	(4)
2013–2014	Swindon Town	24	(8)
2014–2015	Port Vale	11	(2)
2015	AEL	10	(1)
2015–2016	Doncaster Rovers	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:58, 25 October 2016 (UTC).

Djombo Dany-Gael "Dany" N'Guessan (born 11 August 1987) is a French footballer who was released by League Two club Doncaster Rovers in October 2016. An attacker, he can play as a forward and as a winger.

A graduate of the Auxerre Academy, he left France for Scotland when he signed with Rangers in July 2005. He never made a first team appearance for either club, and instead made his senior debut in the Football League on loan at Boston United. He joined Lincoln City in January 2007, and spent over two seasons with the Imps. He was named League Two Player of the Month in January 2009 and was listed on the PFA Team of the Year for 2008–09. He moved on to Leicester City in June 2009, but fell out of first team contention at the club and instead spent time on loan at Scunthorpe United, Southampton and Millwall. He joined Millwall on a free transfer in August 2011, though again never established himself as a first team regular and instead he joined Charlton Athletic on loan. He spent the 2013–14 campaign with Swindon Town. He signed with Port Vale in October 2014, and then moved to Greek side AEL three months later. He returned to England with Doncaster Rovers in July 2015.

Club career

AJ Auxerre to Rangers

N'Guessan was born in France with Ivorian heritage.^[2] He began his career at Auxerre, spending "several years" at the club at youth level without making a first team debut.^[3]

He signed a two-year contract with Scottish Premier League side Rangers in July 2005.^[4] Manager Alex McLeish stated that he would not rush the player into the first team squad. He spent the first half of the 2006–07 season on loan at English League Two club Boston United.^[5] He made his first team debut on 19 August, playing 87 minutes of a 5–0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.^[6] He scored his first goal in senior football on 1 September, converting a late consolation goal from close range in a 2–1 defeat to Hartlepool United.^[7] In total he scored five goals in 26 appearances for Steve Evans's Pilgrims, who were relegated out of the Football League at the end of the 2006–07 season. Despite making a few appearances on the bench, N'Guessan never made a first team appearance for Rangers.

Lincoln City

N'Guessan signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Lincoln City after joining the club on a free transfer in January 2007.^[8] He made nine appearances for John Schofield's Imps in the second half of the 2006–07 campaign.

He scored his first goal for Lincoln on 18 August 2007, scoring the second goal of a 3–1 win over Mansfield Town at Field Mill.^[9] He suffered a poor run of form towards the end of the 2007–08 season, during which time teammate Nat Brown publicly defended him, saying "careful what you say about him, sometimes he can take it to heart... I don't think people recognise how much work he does for the team."^[10] Two weeks after Brown defended him, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Hereford United, running the entire length of the pitch to score his first goal.^[11] He ended the 2007–08 season with eight goals in 41 games.

He was named League Two Player of the Month after scoring four goals in January 2009.^[12] Milton Keynes Dons made two bids for the player during that month, but both bids were rejected.^[13] He stated he was happy at Sincil Bank, but despite this he refused to sign a new contract with Lincoln.^[14][15] He was named in the League Two PFA Team of the Year for the 2008–09 season, and manager Peter Jackson said that "his form's been excellent, he's been a lot more consistent and he deserves the award."^[16]

Leicester City

N'Guessan signed a three-year contract with Nigel Pearson's Leicester City in June 2009,^[17] after he rejected approaches from Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town.^[18] Although Lincoln were entitled to compensation (due to N'Guessan being 21), a compensation fee was not settled between the two clubs until late July.^[19][20][21] He made his competitive debut for the Foxes on 8 August, coming on as a half-time substitute for Andy King against Swansea City, scoring the winning goal as Leicester won 2–1.^[22] He scored his second goal after making his full debut for the club just four days later in a 2–0 League Cup win over Macclesfield Town.^[23] On 6 February, he helped Leicester to their first away victory over Blackpool in 73 years by scoring in a 2–1 win.^[24] He scored six goals in 32 appearances throughout the 2009–10 season, helping City to quality for the Championship play-offs with a fifth-place finish.

He lost his first team place at the King Power Stadium early in the 2010–11 season under new boss Paulo Sousa, and he subsequently failed to win back his place under Sousa or his successor Sven-Göran Eriksson. On 12 November, he joined Scunthorpe United on a one-month loan.^[25] He scored on his Irons debut at Glanford Park on 13 November, netting a header in a 4–2 defeat to Cardiff City.^[26] Despite this good start he was only given three games by manager Alan Knill. On 26 January 2011, he signed a six-month loan deal with Southampton, as Saints manager Nigel Adkins had Adam Lallana out injured and Jason Puncheon struggling for form.^[27] He provided one assist for Rickie Lambert but made only two starts at St Mary's Stadium, as the club secured promotion out of League One at the end of the 2010–11 season.^[28]

Millwall

N'Guessan (bottom) about to come on as a substitute for Millwall.

On 8 August 2011, N'Guessan joined Millwall on a six-month loan.^[29] The following day he scored on his Lions debut, in a 1–0 win over Plymouth Argyle in the League Cup.^[30] At the end of the month he joined the club on a three-year deal after Millwall paid Leicester City an undisclosed fee.^[31] On 19 March 2012, he joined Charlton Athletic on loan until the end of the season.^[32] The next day he scored seven minutes into his debut in a 3–0 victory over Yeovil Town at The Valley.^[33] At the end of the season, manager Chris Powell led Charlton to promotion into the Championship as League One champions.

He scored two goals in 18 games during the 2012–13 season, including five appearances during the club's run to the FA Cup semi-finals. He made his last appearance at The Den on 30 April, when he was substituted off the field after only 14 minutes after entering the match as a substitute himself; manager Kenny Jackett explained that he "didn't think Dany was particularly playing for the team".^[34]

Swindon Town

N'Guessan joined Swindon Town in September 2013, following his release from Millwall.^[35] He enjoyed a good start to the 2013–14 season, but after he began struggling for form Robins manager Mark Cooper made him available on a free transfer in January 2014.^[36] He was not offered a new contract at the County Ground at the end of the 2013–14 season despite finishing as the club's joint-top scorer with eight goals.^[37][38]

Port Vale

N'Guessan signed a two-month contract with League One side Port Vale in October 2014.^[39] He scored his first two goals for the Valiants on 8 November in a 4–3 FA Cup First round defeat to Milton Keynes Dons at Vale Park.^[40] Despite the brace both he and manager Rob Page stated that he was only 70% fit.^[41] He continued to impress for the "Valiants" and was handed a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season.^[42] He marked the occasion with a goal and an assist in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, for which he was named on the Football League team of the week.^[43] He had his contract terminated by mutual consent in January 2015, as chairman Norman Smurthwaite stated that he had agreed to release N'Guessan if the player received a better contract offer from elsewhere.^[44]

AEL

N'Guessan joined AE Larissa FC in the Greek Football League in January 2015.^[45] He scored one goal in ten appearances during the second half of the 2014–15 season.

Doncaster Rovers

He returned to England in July 2015 when he signed a two-year contract with Paul Dickov's Doncaster Rovers.^[46] He was transfer listed by new manager Darren Ferguson after featuring just nine times in the 2015–16 relegation season.^[47] He refused to go out on loan into the National League, and reached an agreement to leave the club in October 2016.^[48]

Style of play

N'Guessan is an attacking player with good technical ability.^[4] In May 2009, his former manager Steve Evans said that he had "pace, power, he can use both feet and he has incredible balance" and stated he could play in the Premier League.^[49] However he has been criticized for his lack of consistency.^[50] Port Vale boss Rob Page stated that N'Guessan was not a target man despite his size, and instead used intelligent runs and technical ability to beat defenders.^[51]

Statistics

As of 25 October 2016.

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Auxerre	2003–04	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2004–05	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Boston United (loan)	2006–07[52]	League Two	23	5	1	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	26	5
Rangers	2005–06[53]	SPL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2006–07[52]	SPL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lincoln City	2006–07[52]	League Two	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	2007–08[54]	League Two	45	8	2	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	49	8
	2008–09[55]	League Two	37	8	2	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	9
	Total		91	16	4	1	2	0	2	0	99	17
Scunthorpe United (loan)	2010–11[56]	Championship	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Southampton (loan)	2010–11[56]	League One	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Leicester City	2009–10[57]	Championship	27	3	2	2	2	1	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	32	6
	2010–11[56]	Championship	5	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	8	0
	2011–12[58]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		32	3	2	2	5	1	1	0	40	6
Charlton Athletic (loan)	2011–12[58]	League One	7	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	4
Millwall	2011–12[58]	Championship	15	1	2	1	2	1	0	0	19	3
	2012–13[59]	Championship	13	1	5	1	0	0	0	0	18	2
	2013–14[60]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		29	2	7	2	2	1	0	0	38	5
Swindon Town	2013–14[60]	League One	24	8	1	0	1	0	5[lower-alpha 1]	0	31	8
Port Vale	2014–15[61]	League One	11	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	12	4
Larissa	2014–15[62]	Football League (Greece)	10	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	1
Doncaster Rovers	2015–16[63]	League One	8	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	9	0
	2016–17[64]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
Career total			243	42	17	7	11	2	10	0	281	51

1. Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.
2. Appearance/s in the play-offs.

Honours

Individual

• Football League Two Player of the Month: January 2009^[12]
• Football League Two PFA Team of the Year: 2008–09^[16]

Southampton

• Football League One runner-up: 2010–11

Charlton Athletic

• Football League One champion: 2011–12

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 21. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
2. "I knew straight away Leicester City was the place for me – Dany N'Guessan". Leicester Mercury. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
3. "N'Guessan game for Rangers". uefa.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
4. "N'Guessan completes Rangers move". BBC Sport. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
5. "Boston capture Gers pair on loan". BBC Sport. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
6. "Shrewsbury 5-0 Boston". BBC Sport. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
7. "Hartlepool 2-1 Boston Utd". BBC Sport. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
8. "Imps snap up N'Guessan and Green". BBC Sport. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
9. "Mansfield 1-3 Lincoln". BBC Sport. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
10. "Imps fans told to back N'Guessan". BBC Sport. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
11. "Lincoln City 2-1 Hereford". BBC Sport. 24 March 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
12. "N'Guessan is player of the month". BBC Sport. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
13. "Jackson fears N'Guessan departure". BBC Sport. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
14. "N'Guessan 'happy' at Sincil Bank". BBC Sport. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
15. "Imps duo reject contract offers". BBC Sport. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
16. "Jackson backs N'Guessan accolade". BBC Sport. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
17. "Foxes sign N'Guessan from Lincoln". BBC Sport. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
18. "Foxes face N'Guessan fight". Sky Sports. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
19. "Foxes close in on N'Guessan deal". BBC Sport. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
20. "Imps hope to agree N'Guessan fee". BBC Sport. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
21. "Foxes agree N'Guessan fee". Sky Sports. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
22. "Leicester 2–1 Swansea". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
23. "Macclesfield 0–2 Leicester". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
24. "Blackpool 1–2 Leicester". BBC Sport. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
25. "Iron agree loan for Leicester winger Dany N'Guessan". BBC Sport. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
26. "Scunthorpe 2 - 4 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 13 November 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
27. "Southampton clinch Dany N'Guessan loan signing". BBC Sport. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
28. "01 February 2011, Exeter City 1 - 2 Southampton". Southampton F.C. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
29. "Millwall sign striker Dany N'Guessan on loan". BBC Sport. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
30. "Plymouth 0 - 1 Millwall". BBC Sport. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
31. "Leicester's Dany N'Guessan makes permanent move to Millwall". BBC Sport. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
32. "Charlton Athletic sign Dany N'Guessan and Lee Cook". BBC Sport. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
33. "Charlton 3 – 0 Yeovil". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
34. "Kenny Jackett explains Dany N'Guessan substitution". BBC Sport. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
35. "Dany N'Guessan: Swindon Town sign Millwall forward". BBC Sport. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
36. Morshead, Sam (27 January 2014). "Cooper confirms striker N'Guessan could leave Swindon Town". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
37. "Swindon Town: Jay McEveley one of 10 players to be released". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
38. "Dany N'Guessan hoping to agree new contract". The Sentinel. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
39. "Port Vale sign striker on two-month contract". BBC Sport. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
40. "Port Vale 3 - 4 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
41. "Two-goal Dan leaves them all Guessan about his true capabilities". The Sentinel. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
42. "Port Vale striker extends Vale Park contract". BBC Sport. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
43. Sharpe, Rich (31 December 2014). "Dany N'Guessan in Football League Team of the Week". The Sentinel. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
44. Baggaley, Mike (2 February 2015). "Dany N'Guessan leaves Valiants". The Sentinel. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
45. "Έκλεισε N'Guessan, Ρίστοβιτς η ΑΕΛ". larissasportnews.gr. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
46. "Dany N'Guessan: Doncaster Rovers sign winger". BBC Sport. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
47. "Five transfer listed by Doncaster Rovers". Sky Sports. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
48. Hoden, Liam (17 October 2016). "Doncaster Rovers: Exiled Dany N'Guessan to be released". Doncaster star. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
49. "Steve Evans backs Dany N'Guessan". Lincolnshire Echo. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
50. "Steve Evans confident Mustapha Carayol has more talent than Dany N'Guessan". Lincolnshire Echo. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
51. "Rob Page keen on deal for Dany N'Guessan". The Sentinel. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
52. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
53. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
54. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
55. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
56. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
57. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
58. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
59. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
60. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
61. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
62. Dany N'Guessan profile at Soccerway
63. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
64. "Games played by Dany N'Guessan in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2013.

External links

• Dany N'Guessan career statistics at Soccerbase