Leo Fortune-West

Leopold Paul Osborne Fortune-West (born Leopold Paul Osborne West, 9 April 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Football League for Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Torquay United and Shrewsbury Town.

Fortune-West started his career with Eastern Counties League club Tiptree United, and played for five more non-League clubs before securing a move into the Football League with Gillingham in July 1995. He finished his first season with them as top scorer, and had several short stints with other League clubs before joining Cardiff City, where he played for three seasons. He played for the team as they achieved two promotions, but left on a free transfer.

Fortune-West spent three seasons with Doncaster Rovers, winning promotion in his first, but was released in 2006. He then moved back into non-League football with Rushden & Diamonds, but soon made loan returns to the League with Torquay United and Shrewsbury Town. Fortune-West joined Cambridge United in August 2007 before starting a spell on loan with York City in January 2008. He then had spells further down the pyramid with Alfreton Town, North Ferriby United, Goole and Armthorpe Welfare.

Early and personal life Fortune-West was born and raised in Stratford, Greater London, and grew up as a supporter of Leyton Orient. He played youth football for Senrab, a London Sunday-league side noted for the high number of former players who went on to play professional football.

His surname at birth was West, but he later appended his mother's surname to his own surname, as he felt that having the word "fortune" in his name would make him lucky. Fortune-West married Radmila Cvijetinovic in Tower Hamlets, London in June 1996, and the couple had a child in 2000.

Career Early career in non-League football Fortune-West started his football career in non-League football with Tiptree United in the Eastern Counties League aged 17, with whom he played one season, filling the roles of full-back, centre-back and striker. He scored 7 goals in 17 league appearances for Stevenage in 1994–95, The fee of £5,000 was raised for the cash-strapped club by its Supporters' Club. Becoming a full-time professional necessitated giving up a degree course at the University of Greenwich.

Football League Fortune-West's first season at Gillingham, 1995–96, saw him score in each of his first three league matches. He was Gillingham's top scorer with 15 goals from 45 appearances, Having made eight appearances and scored three goals for Gillingham during 1996–97, he joined Leyton Orient on loan in March 1997 until the end of the season, making three appearances. while the club won promotion to the Second Division as Third Division runners-up. After a month into 2000–01, he joined Cardiff City of the Third Division for a fee of £300,000 on 11 September 2000. and he scored 13 goals from 41 appearances over the season. He scored Cardiff's second goal in their play-off semi-final first leg match against Stoke City, which finished as a 2–1 away victory in April 2002. However, after featuring in a 2–0 home defeat in the second leg, Cardiff missed out on making the final, losing 3–2 on aggregate. He finished 2001–02 with 44 appearances and 11 goals. and were promoted after beating Queens Park Rangers in the final, although Fortune-West was not part of the matchday squad. He was released following this season, in which he made 28 appearances and scored 4 goals. before Doncaster Rovers of the Third Division signed him on a two-year contract. His first season with the club, 2003–04, saw him score 12 goals in 43 appearances During this season, he formed a strike partnership with Gregg Blundell. Fortune-West suffered a knee injury caused by wear and tear to the knee joint in October 2004, which resulted in him undergoing surgery, before returning to the team in March 2005. He was to be offered a new deal in April 2005 and finished the season with 7 goals in 28 appearances. after scoring 4 goals in 33 appearances. He joined Torquay United of League Two on loan in September 2006 as cover for the injured Mickey Evans, but was recalled by Rushden due to an injury crisis in early November 2006. He had made five appearances for Torquay. His Shrewsbury debut came as a 60th-minute substitute in a 2–0 away defeat to Milton Keynes Dons on 18 November 2006, The loan was extended to the end of 2006–07 in January 2007. Following Shrewsbury's 2–0 home win over Notts County in February 2007, manager Gary Peters referred to Fortune-West as 'Ronseal', as he does "exactly what it says on the tin". His final appearance for Shrewsbury came in the 2007 League Two play-off final against Bristol Rovers at Wembley Stadium on 26 May 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute, as Shrewsbury lost 3–1. With the season over, Fortune-West returned to his parent club Rushden, who he left by mutual consent in August 2007.

Return to non-League football

He signed for Conference Premier club Cambridge United in August 2007 after playing for them in a pre-season friendly. He started his Cambridge career by scoring four goals in the first three matches, which included a hat-trick in their 5–1 home victory over Farsley Celtic on 21 August 2007. He signed for Conference Premier rivals York City on loan until the end of 2007–08 on 31 January 2008, after which he said he was looking to sign for the club permanently in the summer. He scored on his debut, a 2–0 home win over Grays Athletic He started ahead of Brodie in the following matches against Halifax Town and Histon, but struggled during these matches. Cambridge attempted to recall him from his loan in March 2008, but league rules meant that he would not be able to return. He returned to Cambridge following the expiration of his loan spell at York in April 2008, in which he made 13 appearances and scored 2 goals. He came on for the last 15 minutes of the final against Exeter City at Wembley Stadium on 18 May 2008, but Cambridge lost 1–0. He was released by the club in May 2008 after making 33 appearances and scoring 8 goals. He made his debut in a 3–2 home victory over Hyde United on 9 August 2008 He scored a 61st-minute equaliser with a close range header at home to Bury Town in the FA Cup first round on 8 November 2008, bringing the score to 2–2, which eventually finished as a 4–2 victory, seeing Alfreton progress to the second round. After struggling to affirm a place in the team, he was released by Alfreton on 28 January 2009. He signed for North Ferriby United of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and made his debut as a 65th-minute substitute in a 4–0 away defeat to Nantwich Town on 28 February 2009. debuting in a 1–1 home draw with Carlton Town on 15 August 2009. In November 2010, he joined Northern Counties East League Premier Division club Armthorpe Welfare. He became player-manager of Armthorpe in May 2012, following the resignation of long-term boss Des Bennett. He resigned from this position on 4 April 2013 before retiring from football.

Style of play Fortune-West played as a striker and had a "no-nonsense physical style".

Career statistics

Honours Doncaster Rovers Football League Third Division: 2003–04