Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme recently made his 200th appearance for the club.
Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme may well be the undisputed number one at Molineux these days, but the 30-year-old needed to remain resilient and determined in order to reach his current status as the owner of the gloves.
Ikeme, who graduated from the Wolves academy, spent parts of the club’s 2003-04 Premier League campaign on the substitutes’ bench, but would not see any game time in the top flight as Wolves finished bottom of the division and were relegated into the Championship.
However, Ikeme made the first of his eight career loan moves the following season, by joining League Two side Accrington Stanley – where the stopper kept a clean sheet on his professional debut against Aldershot Town. Ikeme would replicate a similar loan spell a year later, this time with Stockport County in 2005-06, which saw the 6ft 1in keeper concede 22 goals in ten games for the Hatters.
Ikeme’s first league appearance for his parent club was in August 2006, against Luton Town, as an 87th minute replacement for Matt Murray. Unfortunately, a long-term injury absence kept Ikeme out of the picture at Wolves from late 2006 until 2008.
Upon regaining fitness, Ikeme commenced a series of loan moves at Charlton, Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Doncaster Rovers – before finally becoming Wolves’ first choice keeper for the 2012-13 Championship campaign, under manager Stale Solbakken.
After gaining the number one spot, Ikeme continued to make 160 appearances in the next four and a half seasons and has become a firm favourite amongst the Wolves supporters and his teammates – as signified by the reaction on social media outlet Twitter following the Nigerian international’s 200th senior showing for the club. The disappointing midweek loss to Wigan Athletic also marked Richard Stearman’s 250th appearance for the Wanderers.
As for the man himself, Ikeme reflected on his achievement with pride and pragmatism. When speaking to the club’s official website, Ikeme said, “It’s a great achievement and hopefully I can make 200 more appearances.
“I played a handful of games when I was in my early twenties and then went on loan while the club was in the Premier League.
“I probably didn’t come back here until I was 25 or 26 to start playing regularly. There’s been a lot of highs and a few lows as well but that’s just part of football.
“It’s an honour to be at this club and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Here’s a taste of the expression of congratulation towards Carl Ikeme after he became a member of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ ‘200 Club’.
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