Kris Commons

Stoke City

Commons signed a professional contract with Stoke City on his 17th birthday and made his debut in a 3–2 Football League Trophy defeat away to Blackpool on 16 October 2001. However, shortly after making his first team debut, he was out injured for a year due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Commons managed to come back from this and made his league debut the following season on 10 August 2002 in a scoreless draw against Sheffield Wednesday. Commons won praise from his manager Steve Cotterill who stated "Kris is a great prospect with a fantastic left foot", adding "If he keeps working hard he has a great future." His first goal came in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City on 26 August 2002. His good form and promise led to him to being offered a new contract by Stoke, but he rejected it and joined Nottingham Forest on 1 July 2004. In his time at Stoke City, Commons made a total of 46 appearances for the club in all competitions (22 of which were starts), scoring five goals.

Nottingham Forest

Commons made his Nottingham Forest debut as a substitute for Eoin Jess in a 2–0 League Cup victory over Scunthorpe United on 25 August 2004 and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 away win at Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup. The FA Cup proved to be a successful competition for Commons, as during his time in Nottingham as he was named player of the first round, with over 60% of the votes, after his hat-trick and match-winning display against…

Although he was born in England, Commons qualified to play for Scotland through his paternal grandmother who was born in Dundee. On 12 August 2008, he was named in the Scotland squad for a friendly against Northern Ireland on 20 August. He made his international debut in that game, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute for James Morrison. He made his competitive debut for Scotland in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Macedonia on 6 September, again coming on as a substitute, this time for Paul Hartley. Commons' first full 90 minutes in international football came in Scotland's 1–0 home defeat to Argentina on 19 November 2008. His form for Derby in the 2010–11 season led to speculation of a Scotland recall, with Commons stating "They're well aware that I can play for Scotland. All I can do is concentrate on playing well and scoring goals for Derby and hope that I grab their attention." The following month he was recalled to the squad. His first international goal came in a 3–0 victory over the Faroe Islands on 16 November 2010. Commons was also awarded the Sky Sports man of the match. Commons withdrew from the Scotland squad for the 2011 Nations Cup matches in May 2011, claiming that he was exhausted at the end of the 2010–11 season. Injuries and loss of form meant that he was not selected during the 2011–12 season by Scotland manager Craig Levein. Despite Commons showing improved form early in the 2012–13 season, Levein claimed that he would not pick Commons because he had…

Club

International

Commons was educated at Quarrydale School in Sutton-in-Ashfield. His younger brother Spencer was also a footballer, but his career was ended after he suffered a knee injury in 2002. Commons father was a miner during the 1980s and worked during the entire 1984-1985 Miners Strike. He lives with his fiancée Lisa Hague and the couple have four children; Lola, April, William and Jax. The couple's first child, Lola, was still-born in 2008 and Lisa has since become an ambassador for SiMBA, a Scots charity that helps families cope with the ordeal of stillbirth and preserve memories of their children. She has also set up her own charity, the Lola Commons Fund, which is intended to raise funds to create special care rooms for grieving parents at every maternity unit in Scotland.