George Oakley (footballer)

George Oakley (born 18 November 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton.

George Oakley
Personal information
Full name George Oakley[1]
Date of birth (1995-11-18) 18 November 1995 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth Tooting, England
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+12 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Greenock Morton
Number 22
Youth career
2007–2014 AFC Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 AFC Wimbledon 9 (0)
2015Kingstonian (loan) 1 (1)
2016Welling United (loan) 7 (4)
2017Maidstone United (loan) 4 (0)
2017–2019 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 46 (12)
2019–2020 Hamilton Academical 36 (8)
2020 Pirin Blagoevgrad 10 (0)
2021 Kilmarnock 7 (1)
2021–2022 Woking 17 (1)
2022–2023 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 18 (1)
2023– Greenock Morton 33 (14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:19, 31 March 2024 (UTC)

Playing career edit

AFC Wimbledon edit

Oakley joined AFC Wimbledon at the age of eleven, and progressed through the youth ranks.[3] On 15 February 2014, he was named as a substitute in a 1–0 league defeat at Portsmouth.[4] He signed a professional contract in May 2014, and scored just days later in the 2014 London Senior Cup final win over Metropolitan Police.[5]

Oakley was ruled out of the opening two months of the 2014–15 season with a hamstring injury.[6] On 7 October 2014, he marked his return in a 4–0 defeat to Charlton Athletic in the U21 Premier League Cup.[7] On 1 November 2014, he made his Football League debut as a late substitute in a 2–0 loss at Northampton Town.[8]

On 30 October 2015, Oakley joined affiliate Isthmian Premier Division side Kingstonian on a one-month loan.[9] He made his debut the following day, scoring in a 5–1 FA Trophy win at Leatherhead.[10] He managed just 12 minutes in his second appearance – a 1–0 victory over Enfield Town – before suffering from injury.[10] A grade two hamstring tear ruled him out for eight weeks and his loan spell was ended prematurely.[11]

In January 2016, Oakley suffered a broken ankle during a training session, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.[12] On 19 July 2016, he made his first appearance after the injury in a pre-season outing at Raynes Park Vale.[13] On 8 November 2016, he made his first appearance of the season for the senior squad in a 2–0 EFL Trophy defeat at Newport County.[14]

On 18 November 2016, Now plays for woking his 21st birthday, Oakley joined National League South club Welling United on a one-month loan.[15] Making his debut in a 3–1 defeat at Hampton & Richmond Borough, he scored his first goal for the club a week later in a 1–0 FA Trophy win at Concord Rangers.[16] He added his second of the season in the next round of the cup, completing the scoring in an 8–1 win over Hythe Town.[17] On 16 December 2016, Oakley's loan at Welling was extended by a further month.[18]

On 17 March 2017, Oakley joined National League side Maidstone United on a one-month loan deal.[19]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle edit

Oakley signed for Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle in July 2017.[20] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 friendly win at Brora Rangers.[21] He then scored his first competitive goal in Inverness's first game of the season, the opening game of the Scottish League Cup group stages, a 3–0 home win against Brechin City.[22] He started in the following match, a 0–0 draw away at Stirling Albion which resulted in a 2–0 penalty shootout a win for ICT, the lowest scoring penalty shootout in Scottish football.[23] His second competitive goal for Inverness came in a 2–1 win away to Forfar Athletic, although this wasn't enough to prevent them exiting the League Cup.[24]

On 30 December 2017, with Inverness down to ten men and losing 2–1 against bottom of the table Brechin City, Oakley came on as a substitute and netted twice to give Inverness the win. On his Scottish Cup debut, he scored a late goal in a 2–2 draw v Dundee, earning Inverness a replay at home.[25]

Hamilton Academical edit

In January 2019, Oakley moved to Hamilton Academical.[26] On 27 February 2019, he scored the opening goal as Hamilton won 2–0 away to Aberdeen, with the goal drawing comparisons to Marco van Basten.[27]

Pirin Blagoevgrad edit

In June 2020, he signed a two-year contract with Bulgarian club Pirin Blagoevgrad.[28] In January 2021, he was training with Kilmarnock after leaving Pirin.[29]

Kilmarnock edit

On 26 January 2021, after a trial period, Oakley returned to the Scottish Premiership with Kilmarnock after signing a deal until the end of the season.[30] He left Kilmarnock at the end of the 2020–21 season.[31]

Woking edit

On 22 June 2021, it was announced that Oakley would join National League side, Woking following his release from Kilmarnock.[32] He went on to feature seventeen times, scoring once before leaving The Cards in July 2022 at the end of his contract.[33]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle (Second Spell) edit

On 2 July 2022, Oakley returned to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, 3 years after leaving initially.[34] A week later, Oakley scored on his second debut in a 1–0 away win over Kelty Hearts in the League Cup. On 20 January 2023, Oakley left Caley by mutual consent.[35]

Greenock Morton edit

On 24 January 2023, Oakley signed an 18-month contract with Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton. He scored his first Morton goal 4 minutes into his debut. [36] Oakley would finish the season with 6 goals in 13 appearances, an average of roughly 1 goal every 2 games.

Career statistics edit

As of 24 January 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AFC Wimbledon 2014–15[37] League Two 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
2015–16[38] 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2016–17[14] League One 2 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 3 0
Wimbledon Total 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 11 0
Kingstonian (loan) 2015–16[10] Isthmian League Premier Division 1 0 0 0 1[b] 1 2 1
Welling United (loan) 2016–17[39] National League South 6 1 0 0 3[c] 2 9 3
Maidstone United (loan) National League 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2017–18[40] Scottish Championship 33 8 2 1 4 2 5[d] 1 44 12
2018–19[41] 13 4 2 0 3 1 1[d] 0 19 5
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Total 46 12 4 1 7 3 6 1 63 17
Hamilton Academical 2018–19[41] Scottish Premiership 15 4 0 0 0 0 15 4
2019–20[42] 21 4 1 0 5 0 27 4
Hamilton Academical Total 36 8 1 0 5 0 0 0 42 8
Pirin Blagoevgrad 2020–21[43] Vtora Liga 10 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
Kilmarnock 2020–21[43] Scottish Premiership 6 0 3 1 0 0 9 1
Woking 2021–22[44] National League 17 1 0 0 0 0 17 1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2022–23[45] Scottish Championship 18 1 1 0 3 1 1[d] 2 23 4
Greenock Morton 2022–23[45] Scottish Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 153 23 11 2 15 4 12 6 191 35
  1. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance in FA Trophy
  3. ^ Two appearances and two goals in FA Trophy and one appearance in Kent Senior Cup
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup

Honours edit

Inverness CT

References edit

  1. ^ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "James Baillie". 11v11. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ Chris Slavin (4 March 2013). "Young striker was "immense"". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Portsmouth 1–0 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. ^ Chris Slavin (6 May 2014). "Young Dons clinch glory". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  6. ^ Chris Slavin (7 October 2014). "Oakley relishes cup tie". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. ^ Laurence Lowner (8 October 2014). "Dons suffer cup knock-out". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Northampton 2–0 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  9. ^ Slavin, Chris. "Oakley goes out on loan". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b c "George Oakley – First Team – Kingstonian FC". www.kingstonian.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  11. ^ Slavin, Chris. "Update on George Oakley". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  12. ^ Cornell, Rob. "Staff rally around Oakley". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Vale return for George". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Games played by George Oakley in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Oakley goes out on loan". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Concord Rangers vs Welling United". www.wellingunited.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Welling United vs Hythe Town". www.wellingunited.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Egli goes out on loan". Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  19. ^ "George Oakley: AFC Wimbledon forward makes Maidstone United loan switch". BBC Sport. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Inverness Caledonian Thistle sign George Oakley and Mark Ridgers". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Brora Rangers Football Club | Ict Home Report". Archived from the original on 30 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Inverness CT 3–0 Brechin". BBC Sport. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  23. ^ "Pars and ICT among penalty winners". Scottish Professional Football League. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Forfar 1–2 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  25. ^ "Dundee 2-2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle". BBC Sport. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  26. ^ "New signing: George Oakley". Hamilton Academical F.C. 31 January 2019.
  27. ^ Elgott, Jordan (27 February 2019). "Aberdeen 0–2 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Английски нападател е десетият нов в Пирин" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Rangers to announce signing, Celtic ace lined up in £35m deal, Ibrox winger to exit, Rafa Benitez to replace Neil Lennon latest - Scottish Premiership Rumour Mill". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Nine is fine as Oakley joins Killie". kilmarnockfc.co.uk. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Squad update following 2020/21 season". 25 May 2021.
  32. ^ O'Sullivan, Daniel (22 June 2021). "George Oakley Signs". Woking F.C. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  33. ^ O'Sullivan, Daniel (18 May 2022). "2021/22 Retained and Released List". Woking F.C. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  34. ^ "George Oakley signs for ICTFC". ICTFC. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  35. ^ Media, ICTFC (20 January 2023). "George Oakley leaves ICTFC". ICTFC. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  36. ^ "George Oakley becomes our third January signing". Greenock Morton FC. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Games played by George Oakley in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  38. ^ "Games played by George Oakley in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  39. ^ "England – G. Oakley – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  40. ^ "Games played by George Oakley in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  41. ^ a b "Games played by George Oakley in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  42. ^ "Games played by George Oakley in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  43. ^ a b "Games played by George Oakley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  44. ^ "Games played by George Oakley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  45. ^ a b "Games played by George Oakley in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  46. ^ Crawford, Kenny (24 March 2018). "Dumbarton 0–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2018.

External links edit