| Michael Cheek | |
| Fullname: | Michael Cheek |
| Birth Date: | 23 August 1991 |
| Birth Place: | Nuneaton, England |
| Height: | 1.85m |
| Position: | Striker |
| Currentclub: | Bromley |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Years1: | –2010 |
| Clubs1: | Marks Tey |
| Years2: | 2010–2012 |
| Clubs2: | Stanway Rovers |
| Years3: | 2012–2014 |
| Clubs3: | Heybridge Swifts |
| Years4: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs4: | Chelmsford City |
| Caps4: | 59 |
| Goals4: | 27 |
| Years5: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs5: | Braintree Town |
| Caps5: | 84 |
| Goals5: | 34 |
| Years6: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs6: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Caps6: | 34 |
| Goals6: | 13 |
| Years7: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs7: | Ebbsfleet United |
| Caps7: | 39 |
| Goals7: | 16 |
| Years8: | 2019– |
| Clubs8: | Bromley |
| Caps8: | 211 |
| Goals8: | 91 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2022 |
| Nationalteam1: | England C |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 16:26, 17 August 2024 (UTC) |
Michael Cheek (born 23 August 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League Two side Bromley.
Cheek began his senior career with Stanway Rovers, signing for Heybridge Swifts in May 2012, alongside teammates Ben Newson and Russell Malton.[1] Prior to joining Stanway, Cheek had played for Marks Tey in the Colchester & East Essex League.[2]
In January 2014, following 13 goals in 20 league appearances for Heybridge Swifts during the opening months of the 2013–14 season,[3] Cheek signed for National League South club Chelmsford City. Cheek's arrival at the club followed former Heybridge manager Mark Hawkes, who had joined Chelmsford in November 2013.[4] On 21 January 2014, in his second game for the club, Cheek scored his first Chelmsford goal, in a 3–1 win away to Concord Rangers.[5] Cheek finished the 2013–14 season with 12 goals from 20 appearances,[3] a tally which included four goals in a 7–1 win against Tonbridge Angels on Easter Monday.[6]
On 28 December 2014, Cheek recorded his second four goal haul for Chelmsford in a 5–3 win away to Staines Town.[7] Despite only scoring one goal in his final 13 appearances for Chelmsford, Cheek scored 23 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions for the club during the 2014–15 season.[3]
On 23 May 2015, it was announced Cheek has signed for National League side Braintree Town. Upon signing, Braintree boss Danny Cowley said "Michael Cheek was the best all-round forward in the Conference South last year".[8] After scoring 15 league goals in his debut season for the club, Cheek signed a new one-year deal with Braintree in June 2016.[9]
Ahead of the 2016–17 National League season, after playing as a lone striker in the previous campaign, Cheek's role at Braintree changed, following the appointment of Jamie Day and the signings of Lee Barnard and Jack Midson.[10] Despite Day's sacking in September 2016,[11] Cheek scored 15 goals in 40 appearances as Braintree were relegated back to the National League South.[3]
Following Braintree's relegation, Cheek opted to the leave the club. In June 2017, he signed for National League club Dagenham & Redbridge on a two-year deal.[12] He scored on his debut for Dagenham, in a 2–1 win against Barrow on 5 August 2017.[13]
In August 2018, Cheek signed for fellow National League side Ebbsfleet United for an undisclosed fee.[14] Due to off-field financial issues at the club, Cheek spent only one season with Ebbsfleet. He described the situation as "difficult" and said it caused him stress due to the players failing to be paid on time regularly. Upon his departure, Cheek said to the local press "This season has definitely taught me a lot, on and off the field. I’ve met some great players and I’ve learned that, as a team, we can do more even if off-field issues are a problem. It’s the best group of players I’ve played with in all honesty, characters and talent-wise. It’s just a shame the way it’s ended."[15]
On 10 May 2019, Cheek signed for Bromley.[16] Cheek scored on his home debut for Bromley against his former club Ebbsfleet in a 3–1 win on 6 August 2019.[17] He scored 13 times in 37 league appearances in his first season with Bromley.
In January 2021, he signed a new deal with the club.[18] Following the 2020–21 National League season, Cheek won the Golden Boot award after scoring 21 league goals for Bromley in the National League, as well as a further four in cup competitions.[19]
On 22 May 2022, Cheek scored the only goal in the 2022 FA Trophy final against Wrexham at Wembley Stadium.[20]
In May 2024, he scored twice at Wembley in the 2024 National League play-off final. Bromley drew the game 2–2 and won 4–3 on penalties against Solihull Moors. Cheek also scored his penalty in the shootout. The win meant that Bromley had secured promotion to the English Football League for the first time in the club's history.[21]
On 10 August 2024, Cheek scored Bromley's first ever goal in the Football League, in a 2–0 win away to Harrogate Town.[22]
In March 2022, Cheek played for the England C team in a friendly against Wales C.[23]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chelmsford City | 2013–14[24] | Conference South | 20 | 12 | — | — | — | 20 | 12 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Conference South | 39 | 15 | 5 | 5 | — | 2 | 3 | 46 | 23 | |||
| Total | 59 | 27 | 5 | 5 | — | 2 | 3 | 66 | 35 | ||||
| Braintree Town | 2015–16 | National League | 40 | 15 | 3 | 2 | — | 4 | 0 | 47 | 17 | ||
| 2016–17 | National League | 44 | 19 | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 50 | 25 | |||
| Total | 84 | 34 | 6 | 5 | — | 7 | 3 | 97 | 42 | ||||
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2017–18 | National League | 34 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 36 | 13 | ||
| Ebbsfleet United | 2018–19 | National League | 39 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 41 | 16 | ||
| Bromley | 2019–20 | National League | 37 | 13 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 41 | 15 | ||
| 2020–21 | National League | 43 | 23 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 47 | 25 | |||
| 2021–22 | National League | 42 | 17 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 5 | 47 | 22 | |||
| 2022–23 | National League | 43 | 15 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | 47 | 17 | |||
| 2023–24 | National League | 44 | 21 | 2 | 1 | — | 7 | 4 | 53 | 26 | |||
| 2024–25 | League Two | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Total | 211 | 91 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 238 | 108 | |||
| Career total | 427 | 181 | 23 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 19 | 478 | 215 | |||
Bromley
2024[26]