Joss Labadie’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Joss Christopher Labadie (born 31 August 1990) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Newport County.

Career

Early career

Born in Croydon, Labadie started his football career with West Bromwich Albion, joining their academy in 2006 after being spotted playing for Barking Abbey College of Sport and being invited for a trial. In the 2007–08 season, he played 19 times for Albion’s reserve team, scoring three times. It earned him his first professional contract in the summer of 2008, on a one-year deal with the option of a second season. Before he was able to break into the Albion first team, he was sent on loan to League Two side Shrewsbury Town on 1 January 2009. He played for Shrewsbury two days later in a league match against Bradford City at Valley Parade, in a game which finished 0–0, but subsequently fractured his foot in training and returned to West Brom less than a week after he had left the club. He returned to Shrewsbury on an initial month-long loan on 3 August. He made his first appearance of the 2009–10 season in a 3–1 victory over Burton Albion, during which he scored a free kick from 30 yards. He returned to West Brom in November, with Shrewsbury manager Paul Simpson saying “I’ve been disappointed with his recent attitude”. Later the same year, he had another loan spell in League Two, this time with Cheltenham Town.

On 24 March 2010, Labadie signed for Tranmere Rovers on loan until the end of 2009–10 season. He made his club debut during a 3–0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. On 14 May 2010, Labadie was released by West Brom.

Tranmere, Notts County and Torquay

On 20 May 2010, Labadie signed a two-year contract with Tranmere. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season.

On 9 July 2012, Labadie signed a one-year contract with Notts County. He made his competitive debut for the club in the first round of the League Cup against Bradford City. He played his first league game for the club in a 2–1 win over Crewe Alexandra coming on as a substitute in the first half to replace the injured Tom Williams. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw away at Oldham Athletic. After being unable to break into the first team Labadie joined Torquay for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal for Torquay in a 2–2 draw with Dagenham and Redbridge. Four days later he scored his second goal in a 1–1 draw with Southend. He was recalled from his loan at Torquay on 5 April, after scoring 4 goals in 7 appearances for the club. He then scored the only goal with a 35-yard free kick in a 1–0 win away at Doncaster Rovers. On 1 May it was announced by Notts County that he had been offered a contract extension.

On 3 January 2014, Labadie re-joined Torquay United on loan until 30 January 2014. On 31 January 2014, his contract with Notts County was terminated by mutual consent, and he signed a contract until the end of the season with Torquay United.

Just 3 weeks into his contract, it was announced by The FA that it was investigating an alleged biting incident in the Football League Two game against Chesterfield on 15 February 2014. A number of Chesterfield players claimed they were bitten by a then unnamed player during the game. On 4 March, the FA announced that Labadie had been charged with misconduct for an incident in the 49th minute of the game. Three days later Torquay and their manager, Chris Hargreaves, announced they were contesting the charge. On 12 March, The FA announced that a commission had found Labadie guilty of biting Ollie Banks and banned Labadie for 10 games and fined him £2,000 for the incident. The ban mirrored punishment given to Luis Suárez for a similar incident in April 2013. The ban took him through to the end of the season when manager Hargreaves told the press that it was unlikely that Labadie would be offered a new contract after the club’s relegation to non-league.

Dagenham & Redbridge

After being released by Torquay, Labadie signed for Dagenham & Redbridge on 8 July 2014 on a two-year contract. On 15 April 2015 he was banned for six months after being found guilty of biting an opponent in a game on 21 March 2015 against Stevenage. Late in the ill-tempered game, Labadie had challenged Stevenage player, Ronnie Henry. The bite occurred after Labadie had failed to release the ball after it had gone out for a throw in.

Newport County

On 7 June 2016 Labadie signed a two-year deal with Newport County. He scored on his debut for Newport on 6 August 2016 versus Mansfield Town. Mansfield won the match 3–2.

Career statistics

As of match played 19 April 2016.