Louis Laing
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louis Mark Laing (born 6 March 1993) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. He started his career at Sunderland and also played for Wycombe Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Motherwell, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Hartlepool United, Blyth Spartans and Darlington.
|
Laing playing for Sunderland | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Louis Mark Laing | ||
| Date of birth | 6 March 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Sunderland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Sunderland | 1 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Notts County (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Motherwell (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Motherwell | 15 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | → Notts County (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2017 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 14 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Hartlepool United | 40 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Blyth Spartans | 18 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | Darlington | 36 | (0) |
| Total | 178 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | England U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | England U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 2011 | England U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | England U19 | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:59, 19 December 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Sunderland
Laing was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and grew up supporting Newcastle United.[1] Laing started at youth level with Montague B.C.[2] before he joined Newcastle's arch-rivals Sunderland in summer 2009.[3] In his first year at the Sunderland academy, he made 18 appearances, scoring once, despite injuries during the 2009–10 season.[3]
Laing made his Sunderland debut on 14 May 2011, coming on as a late substitute for John Mensah in a 3–1 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.[4] Although manager Steve Bruce was normally keen to let young players out on loan to play first-team football, the Sunderland Echo speculated that Laing might "have a part to play" for his parent club.[5]
On 16 January 2012, Laing signed for League One club Wycombe Wanderers on a one-month loan.[6] On 21 January, he made his debut in a 3–0 win against Rochdale at Adams Park.[7] The loan was extended until the end of the season.[8]
On his return from loan, Laing signed a new contract with Sunderland.[9] His next two seasons were overshadowed by injuries,[10] and he was released at the end of the 2013–14 season.[11]
Nottingham Forest
Despite interest from Blackburn Rovers,[12] Newcastle United[13] and Manchester United,[14] Laing signed a one-year deal with Nottingham Forest.[15]
Having only featured in Forest's reserves and under-21 sides, Laing joined Notts County on a one-month emergency loan on 12 September 2014.[16] He made his County debut the next day in a 0–0 draw with Peterborough United.[17] After helping the club keep four clean sheets in seven matches, Laing's loan spell with Notts County was extended to the maximum 93 days.[18] After making ten appearances for the club, Laing's loan spell with Notts County came to an end, as he made his last appearance against Swindon Town on 13 December.[19]
On 30 January 2015, Laing moved on loan to Motherwell until the end of the 2014–15 season.[20] He made his debut the following day against St Johnstone, but was sent off after 25 minutes.[21] Laing scored his first Motherwell goal in a 2–1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 28 February.[22] He played in both legs of the Scottish Premiership play-off final as Motherwell maintained their top-flight status with a 6–1 win on aggregate against Rangers.[23] At the end of the season, Laing returned to his parent club,[24] although he said he hoped he would be able to come back to Motherwell.[25]
Laing was released by Nottingham Forest at the end of the season, having never made an appearance for the club.[26]
Motherwell
On 30 June 2015, Laing returned to Motherwell, signing a two-year contract with the club.[27] In March 2016, Laing revealed that earlier in the season, while out of the first team at Motherwell, he had considered giving up football.[28]
On 15 August 2016, Laing moved on loan to Notts County until 16 January 2017.[29] He was released by Motherwell on 31 January.[30]
Inverness
Laing signed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 16 February 2017 on a contract due to run until the end of the 2016–17 season.[31]
Hartlepool United
Laing signed for Hartlepool United on 10 July 2017.[32] His contract was terminated by mutual consent in October 2018;[33] he made 40 league appearances for the club.
Blyth Spartans
Shortly after his release from Hartlepool, Laing signed for National League North club Blyth Spartans on 18 October.[34]
Darlington
Laing signed for another National League North club, Darlington, in 2019.[35]
International career
Personal life
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sunderland | 2010–11[38] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13[40] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[41] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 2011–12[39] | League One | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2014–15[42] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Notts County (loan) | 2014–15[42] | League One | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Motherwell (loan) | 2014–15[42] | Scottish Premiership | 11 | 1 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Motherwell | 2015–16[43] | Scottish Premiership | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |
| 2016–17[44] | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| Notts County (loan) | 2016–17[44] | League Two | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2016–17[44] | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Hartlepool United | 2017–18[45] | National League | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 42 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[45] | National League | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 | |||
| Blyth Spartans | 2018–19[45] | National League North | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Darlington | 2019–20[45][46] | National League North | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 4[f] | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[45][47] | National League North | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[f] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 178 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 205 | 6 | ||
- Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- Appearances in Football League Trophy
- Appearances in Premiership play-offs
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
