Elliott Ward

Elliott Leslie Ward (born January 19, 1985 in Harrow, London, Greater London) is an England professional Association footballer currently playing as a Defender (association football) for Coventry City F.C..

Playing career

West Ham

Ward came up through the youth system of West Ham United F.C., making his debut for the Under-17 side before joining the first team in August 2003. In 2004, Ward went out for two loan spells, at Peterborough United F.C. and Bristol Rovers F.C. in July 2004 and December 2004 respectively.

Ward made an impact on the West Ham first team during the second half of the 2004-05 in English football season, while the club were in the Football League Championship. Primarily due to injuries to more established defenders such as Christian Dailly and Malky Mackay, he found himself with the opportunity of partnering Anton Ferdinand in the centre of defence. He took his chance with much aplomb and is credited, along with Ferdinand, with helping to turn around what was proving to be a difficult season for the club.

When Ward was brought into the first team, for the 1-3 loss against Reading F.C. on 12 March 2005, the club were lying outside of even the Playoff Playoffs in English football (soccer) places and looked unlikely to make it back to the FA Premier League, a position that was perceived by many to be a major underachievement. The pairing of Ward and Ferdinand brought a level of confidence to the team that had been missing for the first part of the season and, perhaps because of this, the team went unbeaten for the rest of the season. This unbeaten run included the three playoff games, thus ensuring their return to the Premiership for the following season.

At the beginning of the 2005-06 in English football season, to prepare for the upcoming Premiership campaign, West Ham signed a number of players, including central defenders Daniel Gabbidon and James Collins (footballer) from Cardiff City F.C.. Gabbidon became the preferred choice to partner Ferdinand, and this resulted in chances being few and far between for Ward. He played two Carling Cup games, but made only one substitute (football) Premiership appearance (against Bolton Wanderers F.C. on 27 August 2005) before being loaned out to Plymouth Argyle F.C. in November. The month-by-month loan deal lasted three months, and after playing 16 games, Ward returned to the Hammers in February 2006.

Coventry City

Despite signing a four-year contract extension with West Ham in August 2005, Ward left the East London, England club in the summer of 2006, joining Coventry City for Pound sterling1m.

His performances for Coventry have attracted significant interest from Charlton Athletic F.C. and Fulham F.C., or even a move back to former club West Ham United F.C. for reported £2.5 million fees. The speculation heightened when Ward was omitted from the starting line up that faced Bristol City F.C. in an F.A. Cup 3rd round tie on 6th January. Coventry manager Micky Adams vehemently denied the rumour that Ward had been dropped to avoid him being cup-tied, but insisted that Ward had picked up a hamstring strain and thus was unfit to play.

Personal life

He is the brother of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. defender Darren Ward (defender), who turned down the opportunity of joining West Ham and the FA Premier League, at the start of the 2005-06 in English football season, instead opting for Football League Championship side Palace, claiming he didn't want to keep his brother out of the team.