Nathan Alexander Blake
1972
Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Carribean (Jamaican) and Welsh
Usually list of achievements/ important moments/ items in their life alongside dates
In 2014 he won the award for Best supporting Actor at Film Fest Cymru.
Blake was born and brought up near Newport. He was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunt.
CHELSEA
Blake started playing as a youth player in Chelsea in 1988 but was let go in 1990. He stated that in his time in Chelsea he saw racism ‘’like no other time in my life’’
CARDIFF CITY
He later started playing for Cardiff City and rose to being in the first team. In his time there he made 131 appearances and scored 40 goals
SHEFFIELD UNITED
After his time in Cardiff City, he was bought by Sheffield United for £300,000 in 1994. He was on relegation for some time in Sheffield, but he finished as Blades’ top scorer in the next two seasons. He scored 35 goals in this team before he moved to his next time
BOLTON WANDERERS
He moved to Bolton Wanderers in 1995 for £1,200,000 but did not make an excellent start as the team dropped out of the Premier League. During the 1996-1997 league, he was able to score 19 league goals and another 12 goals in the next season. However, the team still ended up in relegation
BLACKBURN ROVERS
He moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1998 for £4.25 million and started playing in the 1998-1999 season. He scored six goals in his first 12 games. He made 55 appearances for this team and scored 16 goals
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
He later joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £1.5 million. He made his debut appearance against Stockport County and scored a goal in that game. This club yet again suffered from relegation, and this eventually made Blake leave the club with 85 appearances and 26 goals
LEICESTER CITY
Blake joined Leicester City in 2005 an already relegated team. He scored once in his time here, as he mostly appeared as a substitute. He was then loaned to Leeds United in 2005 but he returned to Leicester that same year due to a ruptured hamstring
NEWPORT COUNTY
He finished his career playing for Newport County, this did not have a great effect on his career as he had been suspended in 2005 for testing positive for a recreational drug. His deal ended in 2006 and he later retired
Since retiring, Blake has been in a short movie called The Homing Bird and he has reported for BBC Wales Online. He has also set up and administered a property management company in Wales.
Blake was previously married to Leann, and he has three children.
Racism in football: Black players chance to make ‘powerful statements’- Nathan Blake, https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60072901
Phil Blanche, ‘Nathan Blake: There could be a union for black players in bid to tackle racism’, Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/wales-people-fifa-blackburn-wolves-b1997761.html [accessed 15th March 2022].
Where is Nathan Blake now? Premier League Heroes, https://www.premierleagueheroes.com/nathan-blake/ [accessed 15th March 2022].
Richard Innes, ‘The Premier League relegation XI: A team of stars who suffered most relegations from the Premier League, Mirror, https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/premier-league-relegation-xi-team-10340822 [accessed 15th March 2022]
