Ricardo Fuller

Ricardo Dwayne Fuller (born 31 October 1979) is a retired Jamaican professional footballer who played as a forward.

Fuller played 77 international matches for the Jamaica national team between 1999 and 2012.

Fuller was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and began his career with Tivoli Gardens.

He had a trial with Charlton Athletic, playing in three reserve team matches.

Fuller started his football career with Jamaican side Tivoli Gardens, before he moved to England with Crystal Palace in February 2001.

He returned to Jamaica and then went on loan to Hearts, before joining Preston North End.

He scored 27 goals in 58 League game at Preston, which prompted Portsmouth to pay £1 million for his services.

He moved to English club Crystal Palace in February 2001 for a possible fee of £1 million (the exact figure being dependent on appearances), after impressing on trial the previous month.

At the time of his transfer he was suspended by the Jamaican football authority for kicking a Wadadah player in the head.

He suffered from knee problems, and played just eight games for the "Eagles".

He returned to Tivoli at the end of the campaign after failing to settle in London.

Fuller spent the next season 2001–02 on loan at Scottish Premier League club Hearts.

He had an instant impact, scoring 8 goals in 27 appearances, and finishing as the club's joint top-scorer with Kevin McKenna.

However, the Edinburgh-based club could not afford to sign Fuller on a permanent basis.

Preston North End stepped in to sign the striker, paying £500,000.

Fuller scored on his Preston debut, a 2–1 defeat at home to old club Crystal Palace, and soon became a vital team player.

He had an explosive scoring rate, but unfortunately he suffered knee ligament damage in early December, which ended his season prematurely.

He had scored 11 goals in only 20 appearances for the club.

A fit again Fuller began the 2003–04 season on fire, including a run of six goals in five games, but his form tailed off as his knee troubled him once more.

Despite this, he still scored 19 goals that season to become the club's top-scorer.

Fuller handed in a transfer request in June 2004 to force through a move to a Premiership club.

Both Leeds United and Portsmouth then displayed their interest, however, Fuller's knee problems meant both clubs withdrew their offers after he failed medicals.

However, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was still keen on the Jamaican and Pompey negotiated a 'pay-as-you-play' deal with Fuller, meaning they would not lose a great deal of money should his recurring knee injuries force him to miss long periods of seasons.

Fuller moved to Fratton Park in August 2004 for £1 million, after scoring 31 goals in only 63 appearances for Preston.

Fuller failed to make a huge impact in the Premier League, falling down the pecking order as the season progressed.

Despite the sale of some of his fellow strikers at the end of the season, the return from long-term injury by strikers Vincent Péricard and Svetoslav Todorov, and the purchase of Collins Mbesuma, meant Fuller was not guaranteed first team football at Portsmouth and new manager Alain Perrin agreed to let Fuller go.

A move to Sunderland fell through when Fuller failed a medical.

Instead he was re-united with Harry Redknapp, who signed him for Southampton for £90,000.

He scored once in his time at Portsmouth, in a 3–1 win over Crystal Palace.

Fuller failed to make an impact at Portsmouth and joined rivals Southampton in 2005 before Stoke City signed him for £500,000 in August 2006.

His start at Southampton was fairly dramatic, scoring Saints' only goal at Coventry on 29 August 2005, and scoring again at Derby on 18 September.

After that his career at Saints declined.

His perceived lack of effort and his history as a former Portsmouth player, combined with the general air of dissatisfaction at St. Mary's led to Fuller receiving a considerable amount of abuse from large sections of the home crowd.

In February 2006, he went on loan to Ipswich Town, where he had an eventful time.

In three games, he scored two goals, collected two yellow cards and one red card in the 2–2 draw at Crystal Palace, for a hand gesture at the crowd.

At Stoke, he became an influential member of the first team and his goals helped the "Potters" gain promotion to the Premier League in 2008.

He remained a key figure in the top-flight, despite a poor disciplinary record, and helped Stoke reach the 2011 FA Cup Final, but missed out on the final due to injury.

After he recovered from his injury he was only given a bit-part role and he left the club in June 2012 for a one-season stay with Charlton Athletic.

He spent the 2013–14 season with Blackpool and 2014–15 with Millwall.

He joined Oldham Athletic in October 2015.