Franck Queudrue

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:BLP sources Template:Infobox football biography Franck Roger Queudrue (born 27 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back. He began his career with Lens, for whom he played in Ligue 1, and went on to play in the Premier League for Middlesbrough, Fulham and Birmingham City, and in the Football League for Colchester United. He returned to Lens in 2010, and joined Red Star on a free transfer in 2012. Queudrue retired at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Queudrue played one match for France at B international level,<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref> and considered playing for the Republic of Ireland until being deemed ineligible by FIFA to play for them.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="BBC" />

Early life

Franck Roger Queudrue<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was born on 27 August 1978 in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Club career

Lens

Queudrue began his football career in the youth system of Lens. He made 41 appearances for the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France Amateur (CFA) from the 1997–98 season onwards, scoring seven goals,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and stepped up to the first team during the 1999–2000 season. His debut in Ligue 1 came as a second-half substitute against Montpellier on 16 October 1999, and during that first season he played 16 league games, as well as six in the UEFA Cup.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first league goal came in his third appearance, a 90th-minute winner away to Marseille.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He appeared frequently the following season,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but made only two substitute appearances in 2001–02<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> before leaving for England on loan.

Middlesbrough

Queudrue joined English Premier League club Middlesbrough on loan in October 2001,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the deal was made permanent at the end of the season.<ref name=JoinsBoro>Template:Cite news</ref> He stayed until the summer of 2006. His preferred position was left-back, though he was comfortable at centre-back and, on certain occasions, played for Middlesbrough as a left or central midfielder. He was also renowned for his free kick and penalty converting ability.Template:Citation needed

He became popular with fans when he scored in his second game for the club – against North East rivals Sunderland. Queudrue impressed enough to earn a permanent move in May 2002 for a fee of £2.5 million.<ref name=JoinsBoro/> However, he was also recognised for his poor disciplinary record. His five yellow and three red cards in the 2002–03 season contributed hugely to Middlesbrough missing out on a place in the UEFA Cup through the fair play league – although, conversely, he was a major reason they were high enough up the league to be in contention.Template:Citation needed He was part of the Middlesbrough side who beat Bolton Wanderers to win the 2004 League Cup final.<ref name="2004 League Cup" /> He also started for Middlesbrough in the 2006 UEFA Cup final which they lost 4–0 to Sevilla in Eindhoven.<ref name="2006 UEFA Cup">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2006, Queudrue announced that he was considering switching his nationality to British, after becoming eligible for UK citizenship. He had previously hoped to claim Irish citizenship, before revealing "unfortunately I am one generation out" to be eligible.<ref name="BBC" />

Fulham

Queudrue left for Fulham, signing a four-year contract in July 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Queudrue was a regular for Fulham under Chris Coleman, but he was made available for transfer by new manager Lawrie Sanchez, as he did not agree with Sanchez's long-ball game. He scored once in the league for Fulham, an injury time equaliser against Charlton Athletic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Birmingham City

File:FranckQueudrue 2009 pre-season cropped.jpg

Queudrue playing for Birmingham City in 2009

On 3 August 2007, Queudrue signed a three-year contract with Birmingham City for a fee estimated at £2.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After Birmingham's relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season, co-owner David Sullivan claimed he should have intervened to stop manager Steve Bruce "buying a pile of rubbish"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and singled out Queudrue as "a major disappointment".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sullivan's apology the next day was accepted,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but after Queudrue reported back late for pre-season training, he was told he could leave on a free transfer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he returned to the team the following season, produced man-of-the-match performances, and in October Sullivan issued a public apology in the match programme.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Voted player of the season both by the fans and by the local newspaper, the Birmingham Mail,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Queudrue also received personal message of congratulation from Sullivan via the club website.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In March 2010, Queudrue joined Colchester United of League One on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but injury restricted him to just three appearances. On his return to Birmingham, the club announced that he would be released when his contract expired at the end of June 2010.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Return to Lens

Queudrue had a trial at Peterborough United,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but was reported to have joined Greece Super League club Panionios instead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he chose not to proceed with that move for family reasons, and after several weeks training with his first club, Lens, he rejoined them on 27 September until the end of the season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Red Star

On 1 August 2012, Queudrue signed a two-year contract with Red Star on a free transfer. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Cherbourg, and his second in a 1–1 draw with Quevilly.Template:Citation needed

International career

While a Lens player in 2000, Queudrue earned one cap for the France B national football team.Template:Citation needed He was hopeful of being able to represent Republic of Ireland as he believed he had an Irish grandfather,<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="BBC" /> but it was later discovered he in fact had an Irish great-grandfather,<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="BBC" /> thus making him ineligible.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lens	1999–2000<ref name="wf">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Division 1	16	1	1	0	1	0	6	0	24	1
	2000–01<ref name="wf"/>	Division 1	24	1	1	0	0	0	–		25	1
	2001–02<ref name="wf"/>	Division 1	2	0	0	0	0	0	–		2	0
	Total		42	2	2	0	1	0	6	0	51	2
Middlesbrough (loan)	2001–02<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	28	2	6	0	0	0	–		34	2
Middlesbrough	2002–03<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	31	1	1	0	1	1	–		33	2
	2003–04<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	31	0	2	0	7	0	–		40	0
	2004–05<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	31	5	2	0	1	0	9	0	43	5
	2005–06<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	29	3	3	0	3	0	14	0	49	3
	Total		122	9	8	0	12	1	23	0	165	10
Fulham	2006–07<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	29	1	3	0	0	0	–		32	1
Birmingham City	2007–08<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	16	0	1	0	0	0	–		17	0
	2008–09<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Championship	25	3	1	0	1	0	–		27	3
	2009–10<ref name="s0910">Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	6	0	0	0	1	0	–		7	0
	Total		47	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	51	3
Colchester United (loan)	2007–08<ref name="s0910"/>	League One	3	0	0	0	0	0	–		3	0
Lens	2010–11<ref name="wf"/>	Ligue 1	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2011–12<ref name="wf"/>	Ligue 2	23	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	25	2
	Total		32	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	35	2
Red Star	2012–13<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	National	25	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	2
Career total			328	21	22	0	17	1	29	0	396	22

Honours

Middlesbrough

• Football League Cup: 2003–04<ref name="2004 League Cup">Template:Cite news</ref>
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2005–06<ref name="2006 UEFA Cup" />

External links

• Fulham FC profile