Kyle_Lightbourne

Kyle Lightbourne

Kyle Lightbourne

Bermudian footballer (born 1968)


Kyle Lavince Lightbourne (born 29 September 1968) is a Bermudian professional footballer who played as a forward for Scarborough, Walsall, Coventry City, Fulham, Stoke City, Swindon Town, Cardiff City, Macclesfield Town and Hull City.[2] At international level, he made 40 appearances for the Bermuda national team scoring 16 goals.

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Club career

Lightbourne was born in Hamilton, Bermuda and played for PHC Zebras before moving to England to play for Scarborough at the age of 23. He played 21 times for Scarborough before joining Walsall in September 1993. Lightbourne soon struck up a partnership with Kevin Wilson and the pair became prolific goalscorers and earned Walsall some success. He scored 9 goals in 41 appearances in 1993–94 before scoring 27 goals in 1994–95 as Walsall gained promotion. He scored 24 goals in 1995–96 and 25 in 1996–97.[3]

This earned him a lucrative move to Premier League side Coventry City for a fee of £500,000. However his chances at Highfield Road were limited and after making only 7 appearances plus a loan spell at Fulham he moved to Stoke City in February 1998.[2] He didn't get off to the best of starts with Stoke as he struggled with illness and form as Stoke suffered relegation from the First Division in 1997–98. He improved in 1998–99, netting eight goals.[2] In 1999–2000 Lightbourne scored 10 goals in 52 appearances as Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to Gillingham. He played in the 2000 Football League Trophy Final at Wembley as Stoke beat Bristol City 2–1.[2] In 2000–01 he found his chances of first team football more restricted but still managed five goals in 28 appearances. In the latter part of the season he spent spells on loan at Swindon Town and Cardiff City.[2]

He was released by Stoke in the summer of 2001 and after a brief unsuccessful spell in Sweden with IFK Norrköping he played two seasons with Macclesfield Town and had a short loan spell at Hull City before returning to Bermuda.

In 2007, Lightbourne joined Shaun Goater as part of the management team of USL side Bermuda Hogges, making 12 appearances for the team. He officially retired from football in 2009.

International career

Lightbourne made his debut for Bermuda in 1989 and represented his country in 11 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[4]

His final international match was a June 2004 World Cup qualification match against El Salvador.

Managerial career

Lightbourne was coach at PHC Zebras before resigning in summer 2011.[5] In June 2012, Lightbourne was named manager of local side Robin Hood.[6] He missed out on a place at the Walsall bench in 2013.[7] Lightbourne became manager of the Bermuda national team on 8 September 2017 replacing Andrew Bascome.[8]

Cricket career

Lightbourne was a member of the ICC Associates squad at the inaugural 1988 Youth Cricket World Cup. He played five games for Bermuda at the 1990 ICC Trophy, during which he took 11 wickets at an average of 16.81. He was part of a Bermuda side that played the touring Australians in 1991.[9]

Career statistics

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Managerial statistics

As of 21 November 2023
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Honours

Walsall

Stoke City

Individual


References

  1. "Kyle Lightbourne". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  2. Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City: The Modern Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  3. "Kyle Lightbourne interview". Bescot Banter. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  4. Kyle LightbourneFIFA competition record (archived)
  5. Colin Thompson (18 August 2011). "Anderson new man in charge at Zebras". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. Stephen Wright (30 June 2012). "Hood turn to Lightbourne as new coach". Royal Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  7. Stephen Wright (15 May 2013). "Lightbourne overlooked for Walsall number two job". Royal Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  8. "Kyle Lightbourne". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  9. Kyle Lightbourne at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  10. Sidaway, Jon (7 December 2017). "Stoke City FC - Looking Back Down 'Wembley Way'". Stoke City FC. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  11. Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 150.

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