Abdoulaye Faye

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born 26 February 1978), known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender.

He scored his first goal for the club against his old club Newcastle, which came in the 90th minute of the match to earn Stoke a point in a 2–2 draw.

He scored against Newcastle again later in the season in another draw between the two sides.

Faye's impressive first season did not go unnoticed with fellow Stoke players and fans as he won both Players and Fans Player of the Season Award for Stoke City.

He was also voted player of the year by all of the club's supporters groups.

Faye began his career playing for ASEC Ndiambour and Jeanne d'Arc in his native Senegal before moving to French side Lens in 2002.

He then went on to join Lens in July 2002, integrating into a squad which at that time included fellow Senegalese Papa Bouba Diop.

After spending time out on loan at Istres he attracted the attentions of Sam Allardyce who signed him for Bolton Wanderers in July 2005.

Faye signed for English side Bolton Wanderers in July 2005 on loan.

Faye made his debut for Bolton against Newcastle United where he enjoyed a memorable debut in a 2–0 home win in which, he aerially out-muscled Alan Shearer.

He came on as a substitute for the injured Radhi Jaïdi and never looked back after a dominant display.

Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce praised the form of Faye early into his Bolton career.

In December 2005 Faye signed a permanent contract with Bolton.

Following this Faye expressed his delight at staying in England.

"'I like the English better than the French, they are more pleasant and nicer people. I am having a great time. In France you are almost treated too strictly. Here you work hard, you do your job but are given a little bit more freedom to enjoy life.'"

In the 2006–07 season Faye operated almost exclusively as a central defender following the departures of Bruno Ngotty and Jaïdi to Birmingham City.

Over the course of the season he developed a formidable partnership with Ivorian Abdoulaye Méïté, ensuring that Bolton had a strong home defensive record before the new year.

Soon after they fell away in the second half of the season only just qualifying for the UEFA Cup with sides finding a way through Faye and Meite's dominance.

Faye managed to score two goals against Arsenal in successive seasons helping Bolton to 2–0 and 3–1 victories due to his definite aerial prowess which the Arsenal defenders had no answer to.

He was known for his dominant displays at central defence throughout the season and became a favourite amongst Bolton fans.

On 15 August 2007, there were stories in several newspapers stating that Faye would be moving to Newcastle United for around £2m to join up with former Manager Sam Allardyce.

On 31 August 2007, Faye signed a three-year contract at Newcastle United.

Faye was presented to the Newcastle fans at half-time during the home game against Wigan Athletic on 1 September.

After two seasons at Bolton he followed Allardyce to Newcastle United where he spent one season before joining Stoke City in August 2008 for £2.25 million.

Faye became a popular player at the Britannia Stadium in 2008–2009 as he won the player of the year and was named captain by Tony Pulis for the 2009–2010 season.

On 24 February 2008, Faye scored his only goal for Newcastle United during the 5–1 defeat at home to Manchester United.

On 15 August 2008, Faye joined newly promoted Premier League side Stoke City from Newcastle United for £2.25 million on a three-year contract.

He made his debut for Stoke in a 3–2 win over Aston Villa in August 2008.

Following his first season at Stoke he was awarded the captain's armband on a permanent basis for the 2009–10 season.

Faye had another good season for City but was also hampered by injuries and had to leave the field before 30 minutes on a number of occasions.

He lost the capacity to Ryan Shawcross for 2010–2011 and then had a third spell working with Allardyce at West Ham United.

Manager Tony Pulis gave the captaincy to Ryan Shawcross for the 2010–11 season.

He struggled to make much of an impact during the season and was released at the end of it after he was not offered a new contract.

Faye helped the Hammers gain promotion to the Premier League in 2011–12 before joining Hull City where he was again involved in a promotion winning season in 2012–13 before being released at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Faye was born in Dakar, Senegal and began his career at ASEC Ndiambour, before leaving the then top-three team to go to Jeanne d'Arc.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis and The Sentinel paid tribute to Faye following his released in May 2011.

"'Abdy's contribution to getting the Club where it is today should never be under-estimated, He loved playing for this Football Club and the supporters loved him, so in many respects it is sad to see him move on. But we are moving forward as a Club and unfortunately there are times when you have to make tough decisions that allow you to bring in the new faces which can improve the squad, and this is obviously one of them. We would like to thank Abdy for his contribution over the past three years and wish him well in the future.'"

In June 2011, following his release from Stoke City, Faye signed for Championship side West Ham United on a free transfer linking up with manager Sam Allardyce for a third time and he said: "I am very happy to be here at West Ham – this is a great club, a big club and I cannot wait to get started here," Faye told the club website.

Faye made his debut for West Ham on 16 August 2011 in a 4–0 away win against Watford.

At the end of the season Faye left West Ham after helping them to gain an instant return to the Premier League.