Lewis McGugan

Lewis McGugan

Personal information
Full name	Lewis Shay McGugan[1]
Date of birth	25 October 1988[1]
Place of birth	Long Eaton, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Sheffield Wednesday
Youth career
0000–2006	Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2013	Nottingham Forest	202	(40)
2013–2015	Watford	40	(10)
2014–2015	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	7	(0)
2015	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	15	(3)
2015–	Sheffield Wednesday	12	(2)
National team
2004–2006	England U17	10	(2)
2006–2007	England U19	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:58, 10 March 2016 (UTC).

Lewis Shay McGugan (born 25 October 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday. He has also represented England at under-17 and under-19 levels.

Career

Nottingham Forest

Early career

Born in Long Eaton, Derbyshire,^[1] McGugan was a product of Nottingham Forest's youth system and according to Jason Hellawell, he was very good in his youth which resulted in him leaving the club and playing in a trial match for Chelsea against Fulham in the summer of 2005. It didn't work out for him, and Chelsea didn't take him on, but when Ian McParland and Frank Barlow took over at Forest after Gary Megson's departure in February 2006, McGugan returned to Forest and made his debut for them the following season.

2006–07

On 3 March 2007 McGugan was a substitute after just 12 minutes in Forest's match against Huddersfield Town. In his first five minutes of play he netted his second career goal with a shot, from the edge of the box, past the Huddersfield goalkeeper, Matt Glennon. This was Forest's third goal, in their 5–1 victory over Huddersfield. In an earlier match against Gillingham, McGugan scored a match-winning free kick in the 85th minute that ensured Forest would continue fighting for second place in League One. The goal was subsequently voted by fans as Forest's 'Goal of the season' for 2006–07.

2007–08

Although McGugan missed the start of the 2007–08 campaign due to injury, he was recalled to the starting line-up following the absence of Neil Lennon. His performance enabled him to keep his place in the side, whilst Lennon remained on the bench following his own return. McGugan's first league goal of the season came from a 20-yard strike in Forest's 2–2 draw with Northampton Town. He scored his fourth goal of the season, in the second minute of stoppage time, in the New Year's Day 2–1 win, at the City Ground, over Huddersfield a goal which won him Forest's goal of the season for the second year running. He did not score again until April, but then scored three goals in Forest's last four games of the season, including an outstanding free-kick against Yeovil Town in Forest's 3–2 win on the last day of the campaign, which saw Forest promoted from League One into the Championship. He finished the season with seven goals, with his form valuable to Forest to help them gain promotion. This was the youngster's first major honour of his career.

Following some impressive performances, manager Colin Calderwood said on 3 January 2008 "He's a young player with a wonderful future ahead of him."^[2] The youngster put pen to paper and signed a new three and a half-year deal keeping him at the club until 2011.

2008–09

McGugan began the campaign with reasonable performances against Reading and Swansea City, before sustaining a torn Rectus Femoris muscle in his thigh in the latter game. He was due to be out for 3–4 weeks. It was announced before the game against Burnley that McGugan's progress had been hampered by a complete rupture of the same muscle close to where it attaches on his hip. He is now expected to be out for a further six weeks, to the dismay of Forest fans and players. McGugan scored his first goal in the Championship with a superb free-kick against Queens Park Rangers on his return from injury. He was voted the 16th best player outside the Premier League in January 2009.^[3]

2009–10

McGugan started the season mostly coming off the bench, as an impact sub. He scored a 90th minute leveller against Cardiff City on 1 November 2009, following up with two more late strikes against Doncaster and Preston.

2010–11

McGugan playing for Nottingham Forest in 2010

McGugan started the season in the same fashion as the previous one, mostly coming off the bench. His first start came away from home against Preston North End on 14 September where McGugan scored a brace to earn Forest a 2–1 victory. On 25 September, McGugan scored a penalty against Swansea City. McGugan then extended Forest's lead to 2–0 by grabbing another goal, resulting in his second brace of the season. After this he also went on to score in a 3–1 defeat away at Barnsley on 16 October and a 1–0 home win over Middlesbrough at the City Ground on 19 October. On 23 October, McGugan continued his fine goal-scoring form with a "superb long-range free-kick" against Ipswich Town,^[4] this would later be voted as the Championship Goal of the Season. His impressive form and spectacular long range efforts were seen again on 6 November when he scored from 25 yards out in open play against Watford away from home. On 20 November, McGugan added to his great start to the season with the opening goal in a 2–0 win at Cardiff City, who were the league leaders at the time. He continued to score goals and ended the season with a total of 13 goals and finished as the club's top scorer. He also finished the season as the club's top assister with 13 and also won the goal of the season award.

2011–12

McGugan scored his first goal of the 2011–12 campaign in a League Cup match against Notts County, but as the season progressed and Forest became entrenched in a relegation battle McGugan's form was dogged by inconsistency. After the sale of Wes Morgan to Leicester City in the January 2012 transfer window, McGugan became the club's longest serving player having made his first appearance in October 2006.

Watford

On 2 July 2013 McGugan signed a three-year deal with Watford on a bosman free transfer; Watford also have added the option of making this a four-year deal with no extra negotiations. McGugan made his Watford debut away to Birmingham City on 3 August 2013.^[5]

A week later, McGugan netted his first Watford goal at home to Bournemouth on 10 August 2013 in a 6–1 win. McGugan scored his second Watford goal against his former club Nottingham Forest on 25 August from a free-kick.

Sheffield Wednesday

After two successful loan spells the previous season, McGugan signed a three-year deal with Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee on 16 July 2015.^[6] He made his full debut for the Owls in the first game of the new Championship season against newly promoted Bristol City, scoring the second goal in Wednesday's 2–0 victory.^[7] He scored the third goal for the Owls in their 3–1 Victory against Preston from more than 35 yards in the 96th Minute. ^[8]

Career statistics

As of match played 21st February 2016.

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nottingham Forest	2006–07[9]	League One	13	2	1	0	0	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	0	18	2
	2007–08[10]	League One	33	6	3	1	0	0	0	0	36	7
	2008–09[11]	Championship	33	5	3	0	0	0	—		36	5
	2009–10[12]	Championship	18	3	1	0	2	1	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	22	4
	2010–11[13]	Championship	40	13	2	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	45	13
	2011–12[14]	Championship	35	3	2	0	3	2	—		40	5
	2012–13[15]	Championship	30	8	1	0	1	0	—		32	8
	Total		202	40	13	1	7	3	7	0	229	44
Watford	2013–14[16]	Championship	34	10	2	1	1	0	—		37	11
	2014–15[17]	Championship	6	0	0	0	1	0	—		7	0
	Total		40	10	2	1	2	0	—		44	11
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	2014–15[17]	Championship	22	3	—		—		—		22	3
Sheffield Wednesday	2015–16[18]	Championship	11	2	1	2	3	1	—		15	5
Career total			275	55	16	4	12	4	7	0	310	63

1. Two appearances in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs
2. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Lewis In The Limelight". Nottingham Forest F.C. 3 January 2008.
3. "The 20 best players outside the Premier League". The Independent. 9 January 2009.
4. "Nottm Forest 2–0 Ipswich". BBC News. 23 October 2010.
5. "Official: McGugan Joins Watford". Watford F.C. 2 July 2013.
6. "Lewis McGugan: Sheffield Wednesday sign Watford man". BBC Sport. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
7. "Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
8. "Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 Preston Northend". BBC Sport. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
9. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
10. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
11. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
12. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
13. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
14. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
15. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
16. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
17. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
18. "Games played by Lewis McGugan in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 April 2015.

External links

• Lewis McGugan career statistics at Soccerbase