LUKE WEAVER

Goalkeeper

Height 6' 2"

Weight 13lbs 2

Squad Number 1

League Appearances 53

Luke was born in Woolwich on the 26th of June 1979. He signed as a trainee at Leyton Orient  on the 26th of June 1996. Whilst there he had a  loan spell at West Ham from the 19th of March to the 31st of May 1997. Leyton Orient sold him to Sunderland on  the 1st of July 1998 for £250,000.  Luke was unable to break through  into the first team at Sunderland, and had a loan spell at Scarborough between the 11th of December and the 17th of January  97/98.  He  came on loan to Carlisle on the 5th of August 1999 and this became a permanent four year contract on the 7th of September.  Luke was signed on a free, but it is believed Sunderland retain a sell on clause for half the transfer fee if Carlisle were to sell him.

Luke made his debut for Carlisle in the first game of the 99/00 season. In one of those frequent twists in football it was to be a home game against the club where he had been a trainee, Leyton Orient.  It was rather a nervous start with Brightwell  clearing a shot off the line early in the game and in the final ten minutes the ref, Mr A Kaye, adjudged that Weaver had taken too many steps  inside the area, granting  Leyton Orient a free kick barely 10 yards out.  Fortunately, their shot came to nothing and Carlisle started the season with a 2-1 win.

Over the next games Weaver's ability began to show through and he proved to be an excellent shot stopper. After a run of 8 straight games he picked up an injury which meant Keen had to make his debut against Halifax away on the 25th of September, despite having an ankle injury which meant  he couldn't take kicks. A miserable game that ended in a 5-2 defeat. There then followed the sort of goalkeeping crisis that Carlisle United specialise in.  Southend at home saw Ingham in goal, the next match  Brighton at home, saw Dibble  between the sticks, he managed  one more game, Exeter away and then Ingham was back for the next 6 games.

Luke had recovered from injury for the Rotherham home game on the 27th of November and continued as he left off, with a string a run of good performances. He gained his first Carlisle Man of the Match Award for the Rochdale  home game on  the 26th of December. Luke's run of 11 games was again  broken by injury and Keen had to deputise for the Rotherham away match, a disastrous match against the league leaders where Leo Fortune West bagged a hat trick and helped his team to a convincing 4-2 victory. The next match, Shrewsbury at home, saw yet another keeper, Peter van der Kwaak, between the sticks. Van der Kwaak also played in the next game, a 5-0 thrashing by Lincoln Town. Supporters were much relieved when  Weaver to returned for the  York away game that finished a 1-1 draw.

Weaver was struck down by illness for the Hull game at home on the 1st of April and Keen was again deputising when we suffered a humiliating 4-0 home defeat. Weaver was back for the next 5 matches which included a sterling performance at the Chester crunch game on  8th of April but a knee injury kept him out of the game against Southend. Only three games to go until the end of the season with Carlisle United staring relegation in the face, and fans were well aware that Keen had let in 13 goals in his previous three appearances.  Despite a 2-0 defeat Keen got the Carlisle Man of the Match award and proved he could hold his nerve when all around were losing theirs. Keen continued in goal through the last games of the season, Weaver like Whitehead and the fans had to watch from the sidelines.

Luke was voted United's Player of the season 99/00

Luke started the 00/01 season as number 1 and supporters expected a run of consistent performances from him.  He played the first 14 league games without a break but never quite reached the level of performance he had attained the year before. By Blackpool away on the 24th of October,  he was dropped in favour of Peter Keen. On a wild windy night at Bloomfield Road Keen joined the illustrious few  by scoring a goal direct from a free kick.  Unfortunately for Keen the weather was so bad that he didn't actually know he'd scored until the fans told him. Keen played the next two games before he was also stood down in favour of the season long loan signing of Mattie Glennon.

 01/02 proved to be a disappointing year for Luke. At the start of the season he was between the sticks and played the first 10 league games plus the first round of the Worthington Cup away at Stockport County, a 3-0 loss.  Despite some fine saves Luke did not appear to have the confidence he showed in the 99/00 season. He played his last game of  this campaign away at Southend on the 25th of August, a 3-2 defeat.  Peter Keen got his chance for the next game against Hartlepool away on the 29th of August and despite a 3-1 loss (with the blues down to 9 men) Keen made the keepers jersey his own, playing in every subsequent game until the end of the season.

02/03 saw the return of Mattie Glennon as first choice keeper, with Peter Keen as a very able  understudy. Luke's only first team football came in a loan spell at Barrow and he was released by United at the end of the season.

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