Titus Bramble
Quick Facts
Biography
Titus Malachi Bramble (born 31 July 1981) is a former English footballer who currently is without a club, having left Sunderland at the end of the 2012–2013 Premier League season. He plays as a centre-back.
Bramble began his career at Ipswich Town in 1998, where he made 48 appearances between 1998 and 2002. During his time at Ipswich, he had a loan spell at Colchester United, where he made two appearances during the 1999–2000 season. He left Ipswich for Newcastle United in 2002, making 105 appearances for Newcastle in five seasons, before leaving on a free transfer. Bramble then joined Wigan Athletic, making 96 appearances between 2007 and 2010, before his move to Sunderland at the start of the 2010-11 Premier League season. He made 51 appearances for Sunderland before being released at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Bramble also made 10 appearances for the England under-21s between 2000 and 2002.
Playing career
Ipswich Town
Born in Ipswich, Suffolk, Bramble started his career at home town club Ipswich Town. After making his debut in the 1998-99 season, Bramble went on to make 48 league appearances for the club, also spending a brief period on loan at Colchester United over the 1999-2000 season. He scored four goals for Ipswich, with strikes against Sunderland in the league, Millwall and Coventry in the League Cup and Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup.
Newcastle United
Bramble joined Newcastle in July 2002 for £6 million, vowing at the time to make himself indispensable to then manager Sir Bobby Robson.
At the end of the 2003–04 season, readers of the football e-mail newsletter The Fiver voted Bramble as the worst player of the year in the Premier League. Bramble scored a volleyed goal against league champions Chelsea on 8 May 2006 in a 1–0 victory that secured qualification for the Intertoto Cup.
On 10 August 2006, Bramble scored another vital goal for Newcastle in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round with a header against Latvian side FK Ventspils.
In December, Bramble was admitted into hospital after his injured calf swelled to double its normal size. On 31 January 2007, Bramble returned to action against Aston Villa in the centre of defence alongside Steven Taylor.
Wigan Athletic
Bramble signed for Wigan Athletic on a free transfer, agreeing to a three-year-deal on 4 June 2007. On 2 January 2008, he scored a goal at Anfield in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool – a 20-yard strike handing Wigan a late equaliser.
Bramble scored an equaliser against Newcastle United at St. James' Park, the match finishing in a 2–2 draw on 15 November 2008. He has expressed his gratitude to Wigan manager Steve Bruce for having faith in him when no one else did and for making him the player he is today. His performances throughout the 2008–09 season picked him up four awards at the club's awards night, including 'Player of the Year' and 'Player's Player of the Year' for Wigan. On 14 July 2009, he was extended his contract with Wigan until 2012.
Sunderland
On 23 July 2010, Bramble joined Sunderland for £1 million. He signed a three-year contract at the Stadium of Light, signed by his former manager at Wigan, Steve Bruce. He scored his first and only Sunderland goal in a 4–0 win against Stoke City on 18 September 2011. Bramble was one of seven players released by Sunderland at the end of the 2012–2013 Premier League season. He played 51 games in all competitions for Sunderland.
After being released by Sunderland he trained with West Ham United playing in their 6–2 pre-season defeat of Cork City. He returned to Ipswich in the pre-season to train, making his playing return in a game against Barnet but was not offered a contract.
Coaching career
Bramble is Under-11 coach at Ipswich Town. In November 2014, he spoke out against a possible English application of the "Rooney Rule" to ensure that compulsory ethnic minority candidates are interviewed for managerial positions, calling it a "disgrace".
Personal life
One of his brothers, Tesfaye Bramble, is also a footballer and has represented Montserrat at international level. The two brothers were arrested on suspicion of rape in September 2010 with Tesfaye being convicted of the offence, and Titus later being released without charge. On 28 September 2011, Bramble was temporarily suspended by Sunderland, after having been arrested on allegations of sexual assault and possession of a Class A drug. He was cleared of these charges on 31 May 2012.
Career statistics
- As of 28 April 2013
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Ipswich Town | 1998–99 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
1999–2000 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2000–01 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
2001–02 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 1 | |
Total | 48 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 62 | 4 | ||
Colchester United | 1999–2000 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Newcastle United | 2002–03 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
2003–04 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 41 | 3 | |
2004–05 | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
2005–06 | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
2006–07 | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 31 | 1 | |
Total | 105 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 156 | 7 | ||
Wigan Athletic | 2007–08 | Premier League | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
2008–09 | Premier League | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
2009–10 | Premier League | 35 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
Total | 96 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 4 | ||
Sunderland | 2010–11 | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
2011–12 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
2012–13 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
Total | 47 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 1 | ||
Career Total | 298 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 43 | 5 | 375 | 17 |
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup.