Club Wright was born in
Kirby Muxloe,
Leicester. The Foxes were relegated at the end of
the season, and new manager
Micky Adams played Wright 13 times in the
2002–03 First Division promotion campaign. He scored his first senior goal on 18 January, in a 3–2 win over
Gillingham at
Priestfield Stadium; his second goal was the only one of the game against
rivals Nottingham Forest at the
Walkers Stadium on 8 April. He was offered a new contract at the end of the campaign. Despite
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty naming the youngster as "one to watch" ahead of the 2003–04 season13 of the 20 he named went on to become full internationalsWright did not feature for Leicester at all during the campaign. Instead, manager
Wally Downes took him to
Brentford on loan in September 2003. He scored three goals in 25
Second Division matches in
2003–04 before his contribution to the team was ended by an ankle injury in April. Leicester were relegated at the end of the season, and Wright played seven
Championship and two cup games in the
2004–05 campaign. He joined
League One Blackpool on loan at the start of the
2005–06 season, and hit six goals in fifteen games under the management of
Colin Hendry and then
Simon Grayson. Wright signed for League One
Barnsley on 1 January 2006 for a £50,000 fee. Manager
Andy Ritchie led the Tykes to promotion via the play-offs in
2005–06; Wright scored once in 22 appearances. He appeared in the
play-off final victory over
Swansea City at the
Millennium Stadium after coming on for
Marc Richards after 70 minutes. Barnsley's promotion to the Championship saw Wright figure more from the bench for the Yorkshire side during the
2006–07 season, and in November he was sent on a two-month loan to
League Two side
Walsall. Scoring on his debut at the
Bescot Stadium, he netted twice in five starts for the Saddlers, who went on to top the division under manager
Richard Money. Having failed to agree personal terms with
Rotherham United, Wright signed with
Dave Penney's
Darlington, also of League Two. He finished the season with four goals in 13 appearances for the Quakers. He fired Darlington into the play-offs in
2007–08, where they were knocked out by
Rochdale at the semi-final stage; Wright finished as the
club's top scorer with thirteen goals. He was nominated for the League Two player of the month award for January after scoring three goals in the space of six games, but lost out to
Grimsby Town's
Danny North. On 8 August 2008, Wright was transferred to
Scottish Premier League club
Aberdeen, manager
Jimmy Calderwood paying a fee of £100,000; the deal had been delayed while Wright was recovering from a knee injury. Wright caused a stir in his first appearance in an Aberdeen shirt, receiving a yellow card for a reckless challenge, and allegedly attempting to headbutt
Motherwell defender
Stephen Craigan. He scored his first senior goal for the Dons from the edge of the area in a
Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against
East Fife at
Pittodrie on 17 February. Shortly after, on 3 March, he netted his first SPL goal, a "wonderful" header from the edge of the area for a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw with
St Mirren. He finished the
2008–09 campaign with two goals in nineteen games, and Aberdeen finished fourth to secure a place in the
UEFA Europa League. His injury problems continued into the
2009–10 season. By January it became clear that new manager
Mark McGhee had little faith in Wright, and he told the striker that he was available for a transfer. League One club
Stockport County failed to pursue their initial interest, and on 27 January, Aberdeen released Wright from his contract, which still had 18 months to run. Wright promptly signed an 18-month contract with
Grimsby Town of League Two. He struggled to hold a place in the team and finished
the season with just one goal in fourteen games as the team were relegated from the League. Despite initially making public his desire to stay at the club, he rejoined his former club Darlington a few days later having exercised a clause in his Grimsby contract allowing him to leave with immediate effect. The team had fallen into the
Conference Premier in his absence, and were now led by manager
Simon Davey. Davey left the club, and within a few weeks Wright went public with his praise of successor
Mark Cooper. Wright scored five goals in 29 games in 2010–11, and appeared in the
2011 FA Trophy Final against
Mansfield Town at
Wembley; at the very end of normal time, "from eight yards and unmarked, he somehow headed wide", but in the last minute of
extra time, his header looped up off the crossbar for Chris Senior to win the game for Darlington. In September 2011, Wright was released from his Darlington contract, and embarked on a series of short-team deals. He first signed for Conference rivals
Kidderminster Harriers on non-contract terms with the view to earning himself a longer contract, but made only two appearances for the club. On 18 October he joined fellow Conference side
Luton Town for three months, during which he scored three goals in six appearances, including one against former club Grimsby. He began training with League Two side
Port Valemanaged by his former boss at Leicester,
Micky Adamsin January 2012, but then signed for
Forest Green Rovers of the Conference Premier. Wright made a goalscoring debut on 18 February in a 2–1 win against
Gateshead, and contributed two goals from seven appearances before being released at the end of the season. Wright spent 2012–13 as a first-team regular with
Tamworth, and scored five goals from 41 Conference Premier matches as the team avoided relegation on the final day of the season. In June 2013, he became Conference North side
Harrogate Town's fourth summer signing, but he was released in September to begin his managerial career. He played at the
2003 European Championships in Liechtenstein. He played alongside
Stewart Downing in defeats to
Austria and the
Czech Republic and a 2–0 win over
France; the English finished third in the group and were therefore eliminated. He also made four appearances at
under-20 level without scoring. He was a member of the squad for the
2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the
United Arab Emirates, starting in the defeat to
Egypt and coming on as a substitute in the defeat to
Japan and draw with eventual third-place finishers
Colombia; they finished bottom of their group and were eliminated without scoring a goal. ==Managerial career==