| Luke Daley | |
| Fullname: | Luke Aaron Daley[1] |
| Birth Date: | 10 November 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Northampton, England |
| Position: | Winger |
| Youthclubs1: | Mulbarton Wanderers |
| Youthyears2: | 2003–2008 |
| Youthclubs2: | Norwich City |
| Years1: | 2008–2011 |
| Caps1: | 11 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2011 |
| Clubs2: | → Stevenage (loan) |
| Caps2: | 2 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2011–2012 |
| Caps3: | 18 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2012 |
| Caps4: | 5 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2012–2014 |
| Caps5: | 60 |
| Goals5: | 8 |
| Years6: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs6: | Dartford |
| Caps6: | 31 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2015–2018 |
| Caps7: | 67 |
| Goals7: | 5 |
| Totalcaps: | 194 |
| Totalgoals: | 15 |
Luke Aaron Daley (born 10 November 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He previously played for Norwich City, Stevenage, Plymouth Argyle, Lincoln City, Braintree Town, Dartford and Chelmsford City.
Daley, who lived in Cley next the Sea,[2] was signed to Norwich after being spotted playing football for local team, Mulbarton Wanderers. After scoring four goals in six reserve team games, Daley was named as a substitute versus Stoke City in March 2008, as an 18-year-old "second-year Academy scholar". Aged 18, he was given a squad number of 39.[3]
In November 2008, Daley came to further attention, when scoring a hat trick in a 4–2 Reserves win against an Arsenal Reserves team that "featured seven players from the squad that beat Wigan Athletic in the League Cup" a week earlier.[4]
Daley made his professional debut for Norwich in a 1–1 draw against Burnley at Carrow Road on 21 February 2009 as a 78th-minute substitute for Jamie Cureton.[5] He made two further substitute appearances towards the latter stages of the 2008–09 season,[6] [7] as Norwich were relegated to League One.[8] The following season, Daley made his first starting appearance for Norwich, playing the whole game in the club's 4–1 home defeat to Sunderland in the League Cup.[9] He made a total of ten appearances for Norwich in all competitions during the 2009–10 season, as the club were promoted back to the Championship.[10] [11]
In January 2011, Daley joined League Two side Stevenage on a one-month loan deal.[12] Stevenage manager Graham Westley had previously tried to bring in Daley ahead of the 2010–11 season, but a thigh injury which had kept Daley out for a large part of the season meant any hopes of signing the player were scuppered.[13] Daley made his debut for Stevenage on 22 January 2011, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute in Stevenage's 2–0 victory against Morecambe.[14] It was to be Daley's only appearance during the first three weeks of his loan spell, appearing as an unused substitute in games against Accrington Stanley and Gillingham.[15] [16] He scored twice for Stevenage's reserve side in a 2–2 draw against Colchester United's second string on 9 February 2011.[17] Daley made two appearances during his one-month loan spell at Stevenage, before returning to his parent club on 22 February.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Daley went on trial with League Two side Plymouth Argyle.[18] He signed for Plymouth Argyle on a permanent basis on 19 July 2011.[19] On 6 August 2011, Daley made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Shrewsbury Town.[20] On 30 August 2011, Daley scored his first goal in senior football with a long-range effort against Exeter City in the Football League Trophy.[21] On 18 February 2012, Daley scored his first league goal in a 4–0 win over Accrington Stanley.[22] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Daley was released after not being offered a new contract.[23]
Daley joined Grimsby Town on trial on 3 August 2012 and appeared in the club's final pre-season friendly against Stalybridge Celtic.[24] He joined Lincoln City on a non-contract basis on 10 August,[25] [26] and made his debut the next day in a 1–0 win against Kidderminster Harriers.[27]
In August 2015, Daley joined National League South side Chelmsford City after a successful trial.[28] In January 2018, Chelmsford manager Rod Stringer confirmed Daley had left the club and retired from football.[29]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Norwich City | 2008–09 | Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[30] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
| Stevenage (loan) | 2010–11 | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Plymouth Argyle | 2011–12 | League Two | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 2 | |
| Lincoln City | 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Braintree Town | 2012–13[31] | Conference Premier | 30 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14[32] | Conference Premier | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |||
| Total | 60 | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 63 | 8 | ||||
| Dartford | 2014–15[33] | Conference Premier | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[34] | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Chelmsford City | 2015–16[35] | National League South | 38 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[36] | 0 | 47 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10[37] | 2 | 33 | 2 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[38] | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 67 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 90 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 194 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 233 | 18 | |||