Luke Chambers

Luke Chambers (born 28 September 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Primarily a centre back, he could also play at right back.

Chambers made 792 appearances in the English Football League, placing him in the top ten list of all time.

Chambers began his career at Northampton Town, for whom he made over 100 appearances in five years, and Nottingham Forest where he made over 200 appearances.

After coming through the youth system at Northampton, made first-team his debut for the club against Mansfield in May 2003.

He quickly became a regular in the first-team at Northampton, making 29 appearances during his first full season at the club.

He was named captain by then Northampton manager Colin Calderwood, who later signed him for Nottingham Forest.

He helped Northampton win promotion to League One in 2006 after finishing second in League Two during the 2005–06 season, following two consecutive seasons in the play-offs.

He continued to serve as a first-team regular following Northampton's promotion to League One.

His only goal as a Northampton player came against Swansea City in October 2006.

He made 34 appearances for Northampton across all competitions during the first half of the 2006–07 season before joining Nottingham Forest in January 2007.

Chambers signed for Forest for an undisclosed fee on 30 January 2007, rejoining former Northampton manager Calderwood.

His league debut came away against Bradford City.

In his first season, he was mainly used as a substitute.

During the 2007–08 season, Chambers was played regularly at right-back as part of a Forest defence that kept a record 24 clean sheets, eventually earning them promotion to the Championship.

He scored eight goals in total, six of them in the league.

On 4 August 2008, Chambers signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the City Ground until 2011.

He began the 2008–09 season again selected at right-back.

Criticism was expressed at his ability to fulfill that position at Championship level.

In the 2008–09 season he scored two goals: the first was the decider in a 2–1 home win against Sheffield Wednesday and the second came in the last game of the season in a 3–1 home win against relegated Southampton.

It wasn't until the arrival of new manager Billy Davies in January 2009 that Chambers was finally selected at centre-back.

Chambers started the 2009–10 season as he had ended the last and scoring two goals in the process.

This was not enough to keep him in the team however, and the return of Kelvin Wilson from injury, combined with the presence of Chris Gunter at right-back, saw Chambers end the season with a limited number of appearances.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Chambers signed a new two-year contract to keep him at the club until 2012.

Chambers started the 2010–11 season mainly as a substitute, however due to injuries and the poor form of Kelvin Wilson, he was given an opportunity at centre-back.

On 18 December, Chambers scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win against Crystal Palace.

He impressed with consistent performances, keeping Wilson out of the first team and becoming a first choice, alongside Wes Morgan, in the centre of Forest's defence.

He made 45 league starts, scoring 6 goals including two in the 5–1 win over Scunthorpe United.

He was voted Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season.

Chambers' form in the 2010–11 season resulted in interest from the Republic of Ireland national team that Chambers qualifies for through his grandfather.

On 5 August 2011, just before the start of the 2011–12 season, he was appointed as Nottingham Forest captain by new manager Steve McClaren, and continued to skipper the side under the leadership of McClaren's replacement Steve Cotterill.

He joined Ipswich Town in July 2012 on a free transfer, and was appointed club captain in 2014.

He went on to make over 370 appearances for the club before departing in 2021.

He joined Colchester United in June 2021 where he remained until his retirement in 2023.

Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, Chambers started his career at local side Northampton Town.

However, at the end of a difficult season for Forest, he turned down the offer of a new contract, and at midnight on 30 June 2012 Chambers became a free agent.

With his contract at Forest set to expire, Chambers was approached by several other Championship sides, before undertaking a medical at Portman Road on 3 July 2012.

Chambers signed a three-year deal at Ipswich Town on a free transfer on 9 July 2012.

He made his debut on 14 August 2012, in a 3–1 home win against Bristol Rovers in the League Cup.

He made his league debut four days later, in a 1–1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers.