George Elokobi facts for kids
Elokobi playing for Nottingham Forest in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Nganyuo Elokobi | ||
| Date of birth | 31 January 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Mamfe, Cameroon | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Maidstone United (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2004 | Dulwich Hamlet | ||
| 2004–2008 | Colchester United | 39 | (2) |
| 2005 | → Chester City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2008–2014 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 85 | (2) |
| 2012 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Bristol City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Oldham Athletic | 24 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Colchester United | 46 | (3) |
| 2016 | → Braintree Town (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Leyton Orient | 24 | (2) |
| 2019 | Aldershot Town | 13 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Maidstone United | 55 | (2) |
| Total | 311 | (14) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2023– | Maidstone United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George Nganyuo Elokobi (born 31 January 1986) is a football coach and former player from Cameroon. He is currently the manager of Maidstone United.
George played as a centre back during his career. He moved from Cameroon to England when he was 16. He started playing for Dulwich Hamlet before joining Colchester United. He also played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, helping them get promoted to the Premier League. George also had loan spells at Chester City, Nottingham Forest, and Bristol City. Later, he played for Oldham Athletic, returned to Colchester United, and then played for Leyton Orient, Aldershot Town, and Maidstone United.
During his playing career, George won promotion four times with different clubs. He even scored goals in every division, from the Premier League down to the National League South.
Contents
Early Life and Moving to England
George Elokobi was born in Mamfe, Cameroon. When he was just eleven years old, he sadly lost both his father and grandfather. He then went to live with his grandmother. His mother moved to England to study and later found work. She was able to send George to a good boarding school in Cameroon called St. Joseph's College Sasse.
At 16, George moved to London to live with his mother. He went to college there and studied subjects like business, IT, and sociology.
Playing Career Highlights
Starting at Colchester United
After arriving in England in 2002, George joined the youth team at Dulwich Hamlet. Scouts from Colchester United noticed his talent. He had a trial with Colchester and then signed with them in June 2004.
First Professional Games
George did not play for Colchester's main team in his first season. Instead, he was loaned to League Two club Chester City in January 2005. He made his professional debut for Chester on 29 January 2005. In his fifth and final game for Chester, he was sent off.
First Goals and Promotion
George made his debut for Colchester United on 24 August 2005. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 September in a 1–1 draw against Huddersfield Town. He also scored in a cup game against Northampton Town. That season, he helped Colchester finish second in their league and get promoted to the Championship.
George continued to play for Colchester, becoming an important player. In November 2007, he asked to leave the club. He played his last game for Colchester on 5 January 2008.
Time at Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 31 January 2008, George joined Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves). He quickly became a regular player for them.
Promotion to the Premier League
In August 2008, George suffered a serious knee injury. Despite this, he signed a new contract with Wolves. The team went on to win the Championship league title and were promoted to the Premier League. George even made a short appearance in the final game of the season to lift the trophy.
Playing in the Premier League
George made his Premier League debut on 22 August 2009. He played 26 games in the 2009–10 season. He scored his first goal for Wolves in a League Cup game against Manchester United in October 2010. He played 32 games in the 2010–11 season, helping Wolves stay in the Premier League.
Loan Spells and Injuries
In February 2012, George was loaned to Nottingham Forest. He played 12 games there, helping them avoid relegation. Later, in September 2012, he was loaned to Bristol City. Sadly, he suffered a serious ankle injury in his very first game for Bristol City. His loan was ended early so he could have surgery.
George returned to Wolves and played in their final game of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he left Wolves after making 85 appearances.
Later Playing Career
After leaving Wolves, George signed with Oldham Athletic in August 2014. He scored his first goal for Oldham in December. He played 27 games for them before leaving.
In July 2015, George returned to Colchester United for a second time. He scored an equalizing goal in his first start back. He played 19 games in the 2015–16 season.
Loan to Braintree Town
In October 2016, George was loaned to National League side Braintree Town. He scored two goals in an FA Cup game for Braintree.
Back at Colchester and Leyton Orient
George returned to Colchester in November 2016. He played 29 games that season. He then joined Leyton Orient in July 2017, playing 24 games for them.
Aldershot Town and Maidstone United
In February 2019, George signed for Aldershot Town. Later that year, he moved to Maidstone United. His final season as a player saw Maidstone win the National League South title, earning him his fourth career promotion. He scored in his very last game as a player on 7 May 2022.
International Football
George was called up to the Cameroon national team for training camps and qualifying games in 2010 and 2011. He was an unused substitute in a game against Senegal.
Coaching Career
In January 2023, George Elokobi became the caretaker manager of Maidstone United. On 24 March 2023, he was named the permanent manager.
Under his leadership, Maidstone United had an amazing run in the 2023–24 FA Cup. They reached the fourth round for the first time ever. On 27 January 2024, they caused a big upset by beating Ipswich Town 2–1 away from home. This meant they reached the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in their history! They were the first club outside the top five tiers of English football to reach this stage since 1978.
Personal Life
George Elokobi also appeared in the second season of the Apple TV series Ted Lasso. He was one of the former professional players hired to play for the opposing teams in the football scenes.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Colchester United | 2004–05 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | League One | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Championship | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 19 | 1 | ||
| Total | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 3 | ||
| Chester City (loan) | 2004–05 | League Two | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2007–08 | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | League One | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 85 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 103 | 4 | ||
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2011–12 | Championship | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||
| Bristol City (loan) | 2012–13 | Championship | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 2014–15 | League One | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| Colchester United | 2015–16 | League One | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 2016–17 | League Two | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| Total | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Braintree Town (loan) | 2016–17 | National League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| Leyton Orient | 2017–18 | National League | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | National League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 2 | 28 | 4 | |||
| Aldershot Town | 2018–19 | National League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Maidstone United | 2019–20 | National League South | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | National League South | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | National League South | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 55 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 69 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 311 | 14 | 18 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 361 | 21 | ||
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Maidstone United |  |
9 January 2023 | Present | 116 | 49 | 29 | 38 | 42.24 | |
| Total | 116 | 49 | 29 | 38 | 42.24 | — | |||
Honours
As a manager
Maidstone United
- National League South: 2021–22
- Kent Senior Cup: 2023–24
Individual
- National League South Manager of the Month: December 2024
See also
In Spanish: George Elokobi para niños
