Full name Ricky Ulric Shakes Years Team Weight 76 kg Number 8 Height 1.78 m | Playing position Role Footballer Place of birth Brixton, England Name Ricky Shakes Career start 2004 | |
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Date of birth (1985-01-25) 25 January 1985 (age 30) Current teams Guyana national football team (Midfielder), Boreham Wood F.C. (Forward) | ||
Ricky Ulric Shakes (born 25 January 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for National League club Boreham Wood. He has made over 110 Football League appearances.
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Club
Born in Brixton, Shakes began his career at Bolton Wanderers in 2004, and made his debut in an FA Cup third-round replay against Tranmere Rovers in January 2004, scoring a last-minute equaliser to take the match into extra time. He failed to make a league appearance for Bolton, and after spells on loan with Bristol Rovers and Bury, joined Swindon Town in July 2005. Shakes made almost 70 league appearances in two seasons at Swindon but was released at the end of the 2006–07 season.
He joined Brentford in August 2007 after training with the club during the summer and scored a late goal on his debut in September 2007 to give Brentford victory at Bury. However, after making 39 league appearances, he was released at the end of the 2007–08 season.
He joined Conference Premier club Ebbsfleet United in July 2008. In August 2010 it was reported that he was on trial with English Football League club Stockport County, before re-signing for Ebbsfleet a few weeks into the season.
Having scored 11 goals for Ebbsfleet in the 2010–11 season, he added to that statistic by scoring 8 goals in 40 league appearances for the club during the 2011–2012 season. On 28 June 2012, Shakes signed for Kidderminster Harriers. Shakes made 17 appearances for Kidderminster in the 2012–13 season, helping the club finish second in the Conference Premier.
On 3 July 2013, Shakes signed for Boreham Wood, with the club fighting off stiff competition from several other clubs to land his signature. Shakes suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season training and is expected to be out for 6 months
International
Whilst playing for Swindon Town, Shakes made his international debut, coming on as a half-time substitute for Trinidad and Tobago in a 2–0 victory against Iceland in March 2006.
In October 2011, Shakes was then called up to Guyana for their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Barbados and Bermuda. Originally, Shakes failed to meet FIFA's age regulations for changing international allegiance, however, Guyana won an appeal in 2010 which allowed him to do so. He made his debut for Guyana in a 2–0 away win against Barbados on 7 October 2011, before scoring his first goal four days later in a 1–1 draw with Bermuda.
Shakes' third international appearance came in the 2–1 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on 11 November 2011 which sealed Guyana's qualification to the third round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In that game, Shakes scored the first goal and created the second for Burnley's Leon Cort, before Kenwyne Jones' consolation for Trinidad & Tobago.
Shakes was eligible to play for Trinidad and Tobago through his mother's heritage, and Guyana through his father's birth.