Layton Maxwell

Layton Jonathan Maxwell (born 3 October 1979) is a Welsh convicted criminal, and former professional footballer and manager.

Layton Maxwell
Personal information
Full name Layton Jonathan Maxwell
Date of birth (1979-10-03) 3 October 1979
Place of birth St Asaph, Wales
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1997–1999 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Liverpool 0 (0)
2000–2001 → Stockport County (loan) 20 (2)
2001–2004 Cardiff City 34 (1)
2003 → Barry Town (loan) 1 (0)
2004 Swansea City 3 (0)
2004 Carmarthen Town 8 (2)
2004–2005 Mansfield Town 1 (0)
2005 Rhyl 6 (0)
2005–2006 Bangor City 31 (4)
2006–2008 Caernarfon Town 50 (10)
2008–2009 Aberaman Athletic 15 (1)
2009–2010 Maesteg Park ? (?)
2010 Barry Town 11 (4)
2011–2012 Pontypridd United ? (?)
Total 180 (24)
International career
1999–2001 Wales U21 14 (0)
Managerial career
201?–2020 Cardiff Draconians
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played as a midfielder, notably for Liverpool where despite not featuring in the Premier League he would play and score in a single Football League Cup game in 1999.[1] He also played in the Football League for Stockport County, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Mansfield Town. He also played in the League of Wales for Barry Town, Carmarthen Town, Rhyl, Bangor City, Caernarfon Town and Aberaman Athletic. He was capped 14 times at Wales U21 and later had a spell as manager of Cardiff Draconians.

In 2022, he was jailed for eight years for his part in a drug operation that saw police find drugs worth £6 million and £2.5 million in cash at his Cardiff home.

Playing career

Liverpool

Born in St Asaph and brought up in nearby Dyserth, Maxwell began his career as a trainee with Liverpool. He became a regular in the reserve team, keeping Steven Gerrard out of the squad on occasion, and signed a professional contract with the club by the time he was 19. He made his debut for the Liverpool first team in a League Cup match against Hull City, scoring Liverpool's second goal at the Kop End in a 4–2 win.[2]

However, that proved to be Maxwell's only appearance for the Reds, and he was loaned out to Stockport County for the final year of his contract, scoring two goals in 23 appearances. When his contract expired at the end of the 2000–01 season, Maxwell was given a free transfer and signed for Cardiff City.

Cardiff City

Maxwell made a promising start to his Cardiff career, making 21 appearances in his first season at Ninian Park. His second season with the Bluebirds went in a similar fashion, making a further 22 appearances in the first six months of the 2002–03 season. However, he was loaned to Barry Town for the remainder of the season.

Maxwell returned to Cardiff for the start of the 2003–04 season, but only made two more appearances before being granted a free transfer to Swansea City in March 2004. His only goal for Cardiff came in a league match away to Northampton Town.[3] Before the end of the 2003–04 season, Maxwell managed to play three games for the Swans, but was again given a free transfer in June 2004.

League of Wales

In the summer of 2004, Maxwell signed for Carmarthen Town and made eight appearances before transferring to Mansfield Town. He went on trial with Newport County later in the season before finally moving back to North Wales to sign for Rhyl. Again, his tenure with Rhyl was short-lived and he signed for Bangor City for the 2005–06 season.[1]

It was at Bangor that Maxwell finally managed to hold down a first team place, making 31 appearances and scoring 4 goals, but he was yet again sold on at the end of the season and moved to Caernarfon Town in July 2006. After an inconsistent spell at Caernarfon (his final season yielded only 13 starts and 1 goal), Maxwell went on trial with Port Talbot Town in the summer of 2008, but failed to earn a contract. Shortly before the start of the 2008–09 season, Maxwell signed for Welsh League side Aberaman Athletic, followed by spells at Maesteg Park and Pontypridd United, either side of a return to Barry.[1]

Management career

He managed Cardiff Draconians[4] but stepped down in December 2020 citing increased work commitments.[5]

Criminal activity

In 2020, Maxwell was arrested in the National Crime Agency's Operation Venetic after they broke the encrypted Encrochat messaging service. In May 2021, he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class-A drug, namely cocaine.[6][7] On 18 October 2022, Maxwell was jailed for eight years for his part in the operation. It was reported police had found drugs worth £6 million and £2.5 million in cash at his Cardiff home and had allowed a gang to use his premises as a safe house. Maxwell was paid £500 a month to be courier for the gang who were moving cocaine between Cardiff and Liverpool.[8]

Honours

Cardiff City

References
  1. "Liverpool career stats for Layton Maxwell". LFCHistory.net. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. "Liverpool 4–2 Hull City". LFCHistory.net. 21 September 1999. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  3. "Northampton 1–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 March 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  4. "DRACS LOOKING FORWARD TO TON TEST". Football Association of Wales. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. Jones, Jordan (2 December 2020). "Layton Maxwell leaves post of manager of Cardiff Draconians". Y Clwb Pel-Droed. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. Wace, Charlotte (7 May 2021). "Drug gangster once played for Liverpool". The Times.
  7. McCoid, Sophie (6 May 2021). "Former Liverpool FC player facing jail over his role in £6m cocaine gang". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  8. "Gang used ex-footballer's Cardiff house to stash £2.5m in cash". 18 October 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.