Luke McCormick

Luke McCormick
Personal information
Full name Luke Martin McCormick[1]
Date of birth (1983-08-15) 15 August 1983[1]
Place of birth Coventry, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Plymouth Argyle
Number 23
Youth career
– Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2008 Plymouth Argyle 138 (0)
2004 → Boston United (loan) 2 (0)
2012–2013 Truro City 10 (0)
2013 Oxford United 15 (0)
2013– Plymouth Argyle 134 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:52, 8 October 2016 (UTC).


Luke Martin McCormick (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle. He previously played for Plymouth between 2000 and 2008, but his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in July 2008 after he caused a car crash which killed two children. On 6 October 2008, he was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison, for two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.[2]

McCormick was released from prison on 6 June 2012; he returned to football playing on non-contract terms for Truro City in November 2012, before returning to league football on 31 January 2013 with Oxford United. He was released at the end of the 2012–13 season and, in May 2013, re-signed for Plymouth Argyle on a one-year contract. In July 2014, McCormick was assigned the role of 'club captain' at Plymouth Argyle (although the current captain was Curtis Nelson). In August 2016, McCormick became captain of the club after Nelson joined Oxford United.

Early career

McCormick started the 2003–04 season at Plymouth Argyle as a backup for Romain Larrieu, but when the Frenchman sustained an injury to his cruciate knee ligaments, he soon proved himself a competent replacement. Upon winning a 2–0 game over Stockport County on 24 January 2004, McCormick set a new club record of seven consecutive clean sheets, leading him to be voted the most promising player of the 2003–04 season by Plymouth Argyle fans.

Larrieu regained his place as first-choice keeper shortly into the 2004–05 season. In October 2004, the Plymouth Argyle manager Bobby Williamson sent McCormick on loan to Boston United of League Two, so that he could continue playing first-team football.

Linked with a move away to Leicester with former Argyle manager Ian Holloway, McCormick put in a series of important and impressive displays in the final matches of the 2007–08 season. However, he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and received a prison sentence of more than seven years in October 2008, by which time his Plymouth contract had been terminated.

Car crash and conviction

On 7 June 2008, McCormick was arrested by patrol units of the Central Motorway Police Group on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Returning from the wedding of former team-mate David Norris,[3] McCormick's Range Rover collided with a Toyota Previa at 5.45am between junctions 15 and 16 of the southbound M6 motorway, near Keele Services in Staffordshire. The crash resulted in the death of Arron and Ben Peak, aged ten and eight, from the Partington area of Manchester.[4] Their father, Philip, the driver of the Previa, was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire with fractures to the neck, back, ribs and swelling of the lungs, and a 49-year-old man and his two sons, aged eight and ten, were treated for minor injuries. The group was travelling from the Manchester area to Silverstone in Northamptonshire to watch the World Series by Renault motorsport event.[3]

The following day, McCormick was charged by Staffordshire Police with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol in his blood, and driving with no insurance. He appeared at Fenton Magistrates' Court on 9 June and was granted conditional bail until 16 June when he appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.[5] At this hearing the charge of driving without insurance was dropped against McCormick and the case was adjourned until 8 September and subsequently to 6 October.[6]

On 2 July 2008, McCormick was suspended by Plymouth Argyle,[7] and his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 22 July.[8] He pleaded guilty to charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol, and received a sentence of seven years and four months' imprisonment and a four-year driving ban on 6 October.[9] McCormick served time at both HM Prison Ranby and HM Prison Channings Wood before being released from HM Prison Leyhill on 6 June 2012.[10]

Post-prison career

In May 2012, with his release from prison pending, Swindon Town announced their intention to offer McCormick a trial period,[11] but they finished the trial in August 2012 without offering him a contract.[12]

McCormick signed with Conference South club Truro City on a non-contract basis in November 2012 and made his debut against Farnborough in the FA Trophy on 10 November. Although in administration, Truro were permitted to sign a goalkeeper when their only other keeper, Tim Sandercombe, was injured.[13] McCormick played 11 times for Truro before he rejoined league football for the first time in four and a half years by signing for Oxford United of League Two on 31 January 2013, on a contract until the end of the 2012–13 season.[14] He played 15 matches for Oxford, but lost his first team place to Max Crocombe by mid-April and he was released at the end of the season.[15]

In May 2013, it was reported that McCormick in talks to return to Plymouth Argyle, five years after his departure;[16] on 9 May 2013 he re-signed for the club on a one-year contract.[17] McCormick managed to establish himself as Argyle's first choice goalkeeper ahead of Jake Cole until he fractured and dislocated a finger on his left hand in a 1–1 draw with Mansfield Town on 1 February 2014, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[18] Despite this setback, McCormick signed a new 2-year contract with the club at the end of the season.[19]

McCormick was handed the role of club captain before the start of the 2014–15 season. The campaign was a strong one for McCormick, as he started all 53 league and cup matches, kept 22 clean sheets and won Argyle's player of the year award.[20] The club reached the League 2 playoffs but fell to a 5–3 aggregate defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in the semi final.[21]

Career statistics

As of match played on 14 May 2015.
Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Other[22] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1999–2000Plymouth ArgyleThird Division00———00
2000–0110———10
2001–0200———00
2002–03Second Division30——2050
2003–0440010—20430
2004–05Championship230—10—240
2004–05Boston United[23]League Two20———20
2005–06Plymouth ArgyleChampionship10—20—30
2006–074005010—460
2007–083002030—350
Plymouth Argyle total 140080130401590
2012–13Truro CityConference South100——10110
2012–13Oxford UnitedLeague Two150———150
2013–14Plymouth ArgyleLeague Two27010——280
2014–15450201040510
2015–16440101040500
Career total 269011090803010

Honours

With Plymouth Argyle

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  2. ↑ "Death crash footballer is jailed". BBC News. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  3. 1 2 McGee, Simon (8 June 2008). "Drink-drive quiz for soccer star in motorway crash that killed two brothers aged eight and ten". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "Footballer held over death crash". BBC News. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  5. ↑ "Player charged after crash deaths". BBC News. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  6. ↑ "Player in court following deaths". BBC News. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Plymouth suspend keeper McCormick". BBC News. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  8. ↑ "Plymouth end McCormick contract". BBC Sport. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  9. ↑ "Footballer killed boys in crash". BBC News. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  10. ↑ Mirror 11 November 2011
  11. ↑ "Luke McCormick to join Swindon Town after release from prison". BBC Sport. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Truro City sign death crash keeper McCormick". This is Cornwall. 10 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "Luke McCormick: Oxford United sign Truro City keeper". BBC Sport. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Oxford United: Michael Duberry among 12 released". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Luke McCormick in talks to make Plymouth Argyle return". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "McCormick Returns". www.pafc.co.uk. Plymouth Argyle FC. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Luke McCormick: Plymouth Argyle keeper out for season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Luke McCormick signs new two-year contract with Plymouth Argyle". Herald Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Argyle player-of-the-year Luke McCormick thanks the Green Army for their support". Herald Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  22. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy and FA Trophy
  23. ↑ loan spell
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