Nathan Blake
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathan Alexandar Blake | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Newport County | |||
| Chelsea | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1994 | Cardiff City | 131 | (35) |
| 1994–1995 | Sheffield United | 69 | (34) |
| 1995–1998 | Bolton Wanderers | 107 | (38) |
| 1998–2001 | Blackburn Rovers | 55 | (13) |
| 2001–2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 75 | (24) |
| 2004–2005 | Leicester City | 14 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Leeds United (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| 2006 | Newport County | 5 | (1) |
| Total | 458 | (146) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991–1993 | Wales U21 | 5 | (4) |
| 1991 | Wales B | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–2003 | Wales | 29 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Nathan Blake (born 27 January 1972 in Cardiff) is a Welsh former professional footballer, who played in the Premier League for several clubs and also represented his country at international level. Blake was relegated from the Premier League five times, a record he holds jointly with Hermann Hreiðarsson. He was relegated in 1993–94 at Sheffield United, twice for Bolton Wanderers in 1995–96 and 1997–98, in the following season for Blackburn Rovers and in the 2003–04 season while at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Blake was a trainee at Chelsea but was released in 1990, without graduating to the first team. He moved back to his home-city club Cardiff City after this, where he quickly made his senior debut against Bristol Rovers in March. He quickly rose to being a first team regular in 1990–91 and went on to become a firm favourite with fans.
He helped the club to the Third Division title in 1992–93, scoring 11 times, and made a strong start to life in the third tier the next season, scoring 14 goals in 20 games. It was during this season that he rose to national prominence when he scored a spectacular goal against Manchester City to send them crashing out of the FA Cup. This form attracted Premier League Sheffield United to snap him up for £300,000 in February 1994. In total, he scored 40 goals in 164 appearances for the Welsh side.
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