Will Hoskins
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Will Hoskins | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rotherham United | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8th October 2006 | |||
Will Hoskins, born 6 May, 1986 in Nottingham, is an highly-rated young English striker who currently plays for Rotherham United F.C. in Coca-Cola Football League One. Hoskins is currently League One's highest goalscorer with 8 goals in the league and 1 in the Carling Cup.
Will is one of the young players on whom Rotherham United will be relying to turn their fortunes round after the recent seasons of turmoil. He has come through the youth scheme at Millmoor and has represented England at many levels up to Under 20.
England Youth
Hoskins made an immediate impact when first introduced into the England U-18 squad, setting up the winning goal against Sweeden on the 29th April 2004. [1] He made his full first team debut for the international U20's side in the 4-0 defeat to Russia on the 16th August 2005 in Moscow.
Rotherham United
Hoskins was heralded as a Boy Wonder when at just 17 he came in to the first team fold at Rotherham and made a huge impact scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Wigan Athletic in December 2003. Since then he has had a stop start Rotherham career and prior to this season had only made 13 starts, all but one of those under Alan Knill. Previous manager Ronnie Moore failed to notice the potential of the youngster and despite many promising performances, refused to give Hoskins a run in the first team. Ultimateley, Rotherham United were relegated from The Championship and Moore was relieved of his managerial duties. However, Moore's sucessor Mick Harford also appeared to overlook Hoskins in his team selections, raising many questions amongst supporters.
Alan Knill took over as manager half-way through the 2005/06 season and saved the club from a second sucessive relegation. Knill rates Hoskins as one of the best prospects in the game and has always had faith in the youngster, bringing him up through the youth ranks at Milmoor. Despite the lack of faith shown in him by previous managers, Hoskins showed tremendous loyalty to Knill and Rotherham United by being the only one of six out-of-contract players at the end of the 2005/06 season to sign an immediate contract renewal. Hoskins has praised the current management, stating that he feels much more a part of the team under Alan Knill than under previous managers Moore and Harford. When he first arrived on the scene, he was much younger than all the rest of the squad and despite many impressive performances, he was never given a regular first team place. Knill has now lowered the age of the squad considerably, and this combined with the new reigime at milmoor should lead to him featuring regularly.
The 2006/07 Season
He had an excellent pre-season, notably scoring twice against European opposition, Gretna. However, he suffered a slight injury before the first match of the season and Dave Hibbert had to step up to take his place. Will returned to the squad less than a week later, coming on as a second half substitute against Huddersfield Town. The following week he came off the bench to score the winner against Blackpool, securing his place in the starting eleven for the millers. He has started 11 of the 12 games since then (missing the match against Northampton Town due to suspension) and has netted an impressive nine goals in all competitions, six of those in sucessive away games. He is currently the highest goalscorer in League 1 and is proving himself to be the player most millers could see he was 3 years ago.
Quotes
"He is a striker in great form... everything he hits seems to go in." -Alan Knill