Leeds United, Stoke City & Preston North End were all stung by ex-England international flop: View | OneFootball

Michael Ricketts' career promised so much, but plenty of EFL sides will tell you it produced so little

It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when Michael Ricketts was wanted by some of the top teams in the land.

Having initially impressed for Walsall, the frontman made his name at Bolton Wanderers, and became the first Trotters star in over 35 years to pull on an England shirt during his time with the club.

That sort of form reportedly left the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in hot pursuit, before a move to high-flying Middlesbrough was finally agreed in the January of 2003, although the move to the northeast soon turned pear-shaped.

18 months, 32 league appearances, and just three goals later, the frontman was on the move again, with Leeds United taking a punt on trying to resurrect the striker’s career, although that would prove to be easier said than done.

Michael Ricketts may have lived to regret forcing Bolton Wanderers move

In truth, Ricketts looked like a player who had lost his love for the game almost before it had began, with the forward forcing his way out of Bolton, when the lure of a move came around.

Former Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce opened up about the situation: "It's always sad to lose a player you feel you've helped. I took great pleasure in him playing for England, but I've got great dissatisfaction with what's happened to Michael since.

"His decline has been based on a lot of false promises by other people. It affected him and affected us.

"They told him what he could get and where he could get it, what other clubs might do for him. That has taken his focus away from what should have been his only aim — scoring goals for this football club.

"If he'd carried on as he was going, we'd have benefited more financially and Michael would have benefited because, with respect to Boro, a bigger club would have taken him."

Leeds United fail to revive Michael Ricketts’ career

Having cost a seven-figure fee the year before, United must have rubbing their hands together at the though of getting Ricketts on a free transfer in the summer of 2006, although the reasons for his lack of price tag would soon be apparent over the coming weeks and months.

Right from the off, the former international looked disinterested during his time at Elland Road, and struggled to maintain a regular spot in the starting line up as a result.

His overall contribution was severely lacking, and with a solitary goal coming in the League Cup against Swindon Town, the one-time golden child was already looking like a busted flush.

Stoke City tried their hand at trying to get the best out of him later in the campaign - as they borrowed the attacker from February until the end of the season - but just as he did in Yorkshire, Ricketts failed to find the back of the net in a league match.

Cardiff City, Burnley spells spark promise before Preston North End nightmare

Leeds will have been regretting tying the striker down to a long-term deal at this stage, and it was no surprise when they allowed Ricketts to move to a divisional rival, with Cardiff City the latest to try and work their magic on his runaway goalscoring touch.

There must have been something in the water in Wales, because back-to-back match winning strikes saw the wily campaigner get his spell off to the perfect start with the Bluebirds, before going on to net five times in 17 league appearances.

That form still couldn’t convince Leeds to give him another go though, with Burnley the next club to offer him a place in their frontline, before he left Elland Road for good in the summer of 2006.

After the briefest of stints with Southend United, the striker soon confined Preston North End to give him a go, with his agent no doubt working wonders for a side to give him another go in the second tier.

And would you believe it, another fruitless spell began at Deepdale, with chances being squandered left, right and centre, with Ricketts living up to his name with his uneventful performances.

A single strike against Ipswich Town is all he had to show for his efforts in Lancashire, before he came tumbling down through the Football League, hitting every branch on the way down.

With his apparent lack of interest in the game that promised him so much, the forward called time on his career by the age of 32, with Ian Thomas-Moore and Chris Shuker keeping him out of the Tranmere Rovers side.

That final sentence isn’t one Ricketts would have thought would be a possibility when he was being touted for the top at the start of his career, but things don’t always pan out the way you thought they would, as Leeds, Stoke and Preston will attest to.