Neil Etheridge

Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Birmingham City and captains the Philippines national team.

He joined the Fulham Academy after three years as a trainee at Chelsea and made his debut for Fulham in the UEFA Europa League against Danish club Odense Boldklub, though he never played in a league match with the club.

He took up football at the age of nine, initially playing as a left midfielder or striker before switching to playing as a goalkeeper in 2000 after volunteering to switch due to an injury to his youth side's regular goalkeeper.

He attended Court Moor School in Fleet, Hampshire, where he also represented Hampshire Schools and the Aldershot & Farnborough district teams.

Having played for local youth sides Cuffy Chiefs and Hart Boys, Etheridge began attending the Chelsea Academy in 2003 at under-14 level, where he was also teammates with eventual Philippine internationals James and Phil Younghusband.

He started out as a forward but eventually switched to playing as a goalkeeper at the suggestion of his coach.

While with Fulham from 2006 until 2014 he was loaned to various lower tier clubs; Leatherhead, Charlton Athletic, Bristol Rovers, and Crewe Alexandra.

After leaving Fulham, Etheridge signed with Oldham Athletic before he was loaned to Charlton Athletic.

In 2006, he moved to local rivals Fulham, and signed professional terms for the club.

Etheridge has one British and one Filipino parent; in international football, he played for his native England at under-16 level, and at senior level has represented the Philippines since 2008 and captained the team.

Etheridge signed for Isthmian League Division One South club Leatherhead in September 2008 on loan for the 2008–09 season.

During his loan spell, he received the first red card of his career, being sent off for dissent during a 2–1 defeat to Sittingbourne in a preliminary round of the FA Trophy.

He made six league appearances.

In September 2009, Etheridge underwent surgery on both knees after suffering from tendinitis.

He was expected to be out for the entire 2009–10 season but returned in January 2010, eventually making nine appearances for the reserves.

Etheridge received his first senior team call-up on 11 September 2010, when he was named on the substitutes' bench as cover for Mark Schwarzer in a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers due to an injury to regular second-choice goalkeeper David Stockdale.

By the end of the season he signed a new one-year deal, keeping him at Fulham until the summer of 2011, attributing his contract extension to his quick recovery.

In March 2011, Etheridge joined League One club Charlton Athletic on loan, but was recalled six days later without playing for them.

He made his first senior appearance for Fulham against Odense Boldklub in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League on 14 December.

On 23 March 2012 upon his return to Fulham after completing his international duties, it was announced that Etheridge would be out for the rest of the season due to a wrist injury that was sustained in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

He recovered quickly and on 9 May he has been able to play in the development squad's last game of the season against the reserves of West Bromwich Albion.

He joined League Two club Bristol Rovers on an initial one-month loan on 20 September 2012.

He made his first Football League appearance for Rovers against Fleetwood Town on 22 September, which was his and Rovers' first clean sheet of 2012–13 season.

Etheridge signed a new contract in May that would extend his stay at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2013.

His arrival at the club coincided with an improvement in the club's form, leading to his loan deal being extended until December 2013.

On 21 November, Fulham confirmed that Etheridge had been recalled from his loan at Bristol Rovers.

Etheridge signed a one-year extension to his Fulham contract on 8 May 2013, with the option of a further year extension.

On 22 November 2013, he joined League One club Crewe Alexandra on loan until 1 January 2014.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, he was released by Fulham.

Following his release from Fulham, Etheridge used his own money to train with Charlton, one of his former loan clubs, where he knew the goalkeeping coach.

He rejoined the club on 25 February 2014 on loan until 13 April, but was recalled on 4 April by Fulham.

Struggling to make a living, he was set to return to the Philippines and had already sold his house and cars before joining League One club Oldham Athletic on a two-month deal on 30 October 2014.

During his time with the club, he lived at his friend's house, sleeping on the sofa, later describing his situation as "what you've got to do to get by."

He joined Charlton on a permanent basis in 2015 after his contract with Oldham ended.

After months of being without a club, Etheridge joined Walsall, going on to make more than 90 appearances in all competitions in two seasons.

He then moved on to Championship club Cardiff City in 2017.

After establishing himself as Cardiff City's first choice goalkeeper, he helped the Welsh side win promotion to the Premier League.

He joined Birmingham City, also of the Championship, three years later.

In August 2018, while with Cardiff City, he became the first Filipino to play in the Premier League.

Etheridge was born in Enfield, London to an English father, Martin Etheridge, and a Filipino mother, Merlinda Dula, a native of Tarlac.