Carl Asaba

Carl Edward Asaba (born 28 January 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League. He began his career with non-league Dulwich Hamlet, his goalscoring prowess earning him a move to Brentford in 1994. He played for Colchester United on loan, before moving to Reading in 1997. He had successful stints with Gillingham, where he scored 36 goals in 77 league appearances, and Sheffield United, scoring 23 times in 67 league games. He also played for Stoke City and ended his career with Millwall. Returned to involvement in the world of professional football in 2021 via co-commentary for BBC Radio Sheffield and expert analysis for Sheffield United TV live. Appointed ambassador for the Sheffield children's hospital charity in 2020 and has organised charity events via Sarbs Charity Events with events giving people a chance to ‘beat-a-Blade’ (himself and former players) in sporting activities with all proceeds going directly to the Children's Hospital Charity.

Carl Asaba
Personal information
Full name Carl Edward Asaba[1]
Date of birth (1973-01-28) 28 January 1973[2]
Place of birth Westminster, London, England[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Dulwich Hamlet
1994–1997 Brentford 54 (25)
1995 → Colchester United (loan) 12 (2)
1997–1998 Reading 33 (8)
1998–2001 Gillingham 77 (36)
2001–2003 Sheffield United 67 (23)
2003–2005 Stoke City 70 (9)
2005–2006 Millwall 21 (3)
Total 334 (106)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Westminster, London, Asaba started his career with Dulwich Hamlet. He earned a moved to Brentford in 1994 having scored a number of goals at non-league level. He made little impact in his debut season, however in his first full season his form improved considerably, developing pace and strength on the ball.[3] Asaba made 12 league appearances and scored two goals for Colchester United on loan in 1995.[1] He made his professional debut at Colchester, where he scored on his debut against Barnet.[1] He returned to Brentford, scoring 23 goals in the 1996–97 season as the Bees lost out in the play-offs.[4] Asaba's goalscoring exploits then saw him earn an £800,000 move to Reading in 1997.[2]

After failing to make an impact at Reading, scoring just eight goals in 32 league appearances, Asaba was signed to Gillingham for a club record fee of £590,000.[2] He soon formed a formidable partnership with Robert Taylor and finished the 1998–99 season as the club's top scorer, scoring 23 goals in all competitions.[5] He scored in the season's play-off final against Manchester City, opening the scoring 1–0 to Gillingham in the 81st minute.[6] Strike partner Taylor scored the second in the 86th minute, but a last minute comeback from City took the tie to extra time and then on to penalties, which City won 3–1.[6] In a spell that was dogged by injury, Asaba scored 40 goals in 91 appearances in all competitions.[5]

Asaba joined Sheffield United for a fee of £92,500 on 9 March 2001.[2] He became a fan favourite after scoring the winner in a 2–1 win over bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby on 1 April 2001.[7] On 16 December 2002, Sheffield United reported Reading player John Mackie to The Football Association and Professional Footballers Association after racially abusing Asaba during a 2–0 win for United on 14 December 2002,[8] prompting an apology from Mackie and two weeks' of his wages donated to the Kick Racism Out of Football campaign.[9] Mackie was later handed a three-match ban and a £1,500 fine, with a five-match ban and another £1,500 suspended until the end of the following season.[10]

On 6 August 2003, Asaba signed for Stoke City on a free transfer,[11] and made his debut three days later in a 3–0 win over Derby County.[12] His time with Stoke was largely unsuccessful, scoring only nine league goals in 70 appearances.[2] With 12 months remaining on his Stoke contract, Asaba handed-in a transfer request in May 2005.[13]

Millwall moved to sign Asaba on 25 August 2005 on a free transfer.[14] He played in 24 games and scored four goals for Millwall[2] before being one of eight players released from the club at the end of the 2005–06 season.[15]

After leaving Millwall, Asaba began training with Leicester City on non-contract terms in October 2006.[16] However, he failed to agree a permanent deal with the club, and also failed to agree to terms with Nottingham Forest and Yeovil Town.[17] In November 2006, he was given a trial at Chesterfield, where he also failed to sign permanently.[18]

Personal life

After retiring from football, Asaba settled in Sheffield and entered the motor trade.[19] During the 2021–22 season, he worked as a co-commentator for BBC Radio Sheffield and Sheffield United's in-house television channel.[19]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1994–95[20] Second Division 0000001111
1995–96[20] 102101010132
1996–97[21] 44233040515624
Total 54254050727027
Colchester United (loan) 1994–95[1] Third Division 122000000122
Reading 1997–98[22] First Division 3283173004212
1998–99[23] Second Division 10― 21― 21
Total 3383194004513
Gillingham 1998–99[23] Second Division 41201000724922
1999–2000[24] 116100020146
2000–01[25] First Division 25100032002812
Total 77362032929140
Sheffield United 2000–01[25] First Division 10500――105
2001–02[26] 2972020―337
2002–03[27] 28111051303712
Total 67233071308024
Stoke City 2003–04[28] First Division 3782010―408
2004–05[29] Championship 3311011―352
Total 7093021007510
Millwall 2005–06[30] Championship 2130031―244
Career total 334106151299194397120
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League play-offs and Football League Trophy.

Honours

Club
Brentford
Gillingham
  • 1998–99 Football League Second Division play-off runner-up (level 3)
  • 1999–2000 Football League Second Division play-off winner (level 3)

Individual
All honours referenced by:[31]

References
  1. "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  2. Carl Asaba at Soccerbase
  3. "Brentford – Carl Asaba". Vital Football Brentford. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  4. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  5. "11. Carl Asaba (1998–2001)". Brian Moore's Head. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  6. "Shoot-out success for City". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  7. "Asaba swings steel city derby". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  8. "Blades report Mackie". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  9. "Mackie says sorry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. "Mackie handed ban". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  11. "Stoke sign Asaba". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  12. "Derby 0–3 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  13. "Striker Asaba set to leave Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  14. "Millwall swoop to snap up Asaba". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  15. "Eight players released by Lions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  16. "Farrelly to train with Leicester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  17. "Asaba & Foxes fail to agree deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  18. "Asaba given trial at Chesterfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  19. Sutcliffe, Richard. "Carl Asaba: 'I found retiring from football so hard. It was like my identity had been taken away'". The Athletic. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  20. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 480–481. ISBN 9781906796723.
  21. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  22. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  23. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  24. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  25. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  26. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  27. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  28. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  29. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  30. "Games played by Carl Asaba in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  31. "Division Two (League One) Play-off Finalists". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  • Carl Asaba at Soccerbase
  • Carl Asaba at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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