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Jerome Wright to leave

Jerome Wright to leaveAfter 10 seasons at the club, Jerome Wright is to leave.

At 31, the decision has been taken not to renew his contract for the coming season. Manager Karl Marginson explained that "Jerome has been excellent for us for a long time and it was a difficult decision not to keep him on."

Jerome Wright joined the Reds in 2006/07 where he made his debut against Atherton Collieries at Hilton Park (home of Leigh RMI) on 6th January 2007, having impressed from Maine Road when the two sides met at Stalybridge’s Bower Fold two months earlier.

He made 400 appearances for the Reds, his last being in the Manchester Premier Cup Final, which saw him lift our first Cup trophy in nine seasons. He scored 82 goals, with his highest goal tally of 16 coming in 2010/11. The last few seasons though have been affected by spells of injury.

Jerome was instrumental in FC United’s FA Cup run in 2010, and in the league that season, he helped guide the Reds to the play off Final, scoring a vital second goal in that famous night at Bradford Avenue.Wright together with Mike Norton, both missed the final at Colwyn Bay, and you always wonder what might have been had they both played.

His performances that season caught the eye of Chester who had been promoted to the same league as FC (Northern Premier League) for the 2011/12 season. Despite Karl Marginson offering Jerome a better deal, the offer to go to Chester was too great for Jerome to turn down. Of leaving FC in 2011 he said “It was a massively difficult decision and it took weeks to make. I’ve decided to move on but over the years I’ve had a better life football-wise than I ever expected and I’ll never forget the five years FC United gave me."

In the end Jerome only spent one season at Chester, and despite being in the squad that helped them win promotion to the Conference North, manager Neil Young released Wright at the end of the season, as he wanted to further strengthen his squad.

Jerome was welcomed back to FC United for the 2012/13 season, where he would stay for a further 5 seasons.

Speaking before our Manchester Premier Cup Final Jerome explained he never thought he’d spend so long at the club.

"When I joined FC United (in Dec 2006) I thought it’d be a 1 or 2-year thing and they move on with promotions and I’d be on another team in the same league.

“But luckily for me, they have been kind enough to take me with them being able to collect a few promotions and trophies on the way. For me, its the people involved at the club.

“They make me feel welcomed and I can see what hard work they’ve put in to help me succeed which makes me want to put the hard work in to show them my appreciation.

“I’ve met my Mrs and some best friends through the club travelled the world to places I could never dream of going."

Clearly everyone at the club wishes Jerome all the very best for the future and want to thank him for his dedication to the club over such a long period of time.


First Posted ~ 22:27 Thu 25 May 2017
News ID ~ 7470
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021