Liam Simon Moore (born 31 January 1993) is a former professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spalding United. Born and raised in England, he represented Jamaica at international level.
Club career Leicester City Born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, Moore began his career with Leicester City, joining the club when he was eight years old and his boyhood club. Moore was captain of the youth team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 FA Youth Cup. He appeared twice as an unused substitute for the first team throughout the 2010–11 season. By the summer of 2011, Moore graduated.
Moore signed a one-month loan contract with Bradford City on 5 August 2011. He made his senior debut on 6 August 2011 in a 2–1 defeat away to Aldershot Town. Moore quickly became a first team regular for the club before he lost his first place in his remaining months there. Moore's announced his desire to stay with Bradford City at the end of the initial month's duration, and his loan was later extended until 31 December 2011. Moore returned to his parent club following the end of his loan deal on 31 December 2011. Moore ended his Bradford loan with 22 appearances to his name.
After returning to Leicester, Moore made his debut for them two days later, starting the game against Crystal Palace on 2 January 2012. Two weeks later on 19 January 2012, he signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2013. He did not make another appearance for Leicester until 28 April 2012, when he played in their 2–1 win against Leeds United.
Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Moore was allocated the number 22 shirt. He started in the first six matches of the 2012–13 season before dropped for two matches. After becoming a first-team regular at the start of the 2012–13 season, Moore was scouted by Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Aston Villa. He signed a new three-year contract with the club in September 2012. Moore returned to the first team, coming on as a 28th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 win against Middlesbrough on 28 September 2012. In a follow–up match against Huddersfield Town, he set up a goal for Anthony Knockaert, who scored twice in a 2–0 win. By November, Moore soon found himself placed on the substitute bench and made only two appearances until being loaned out to Brentford.
On 20 February 2013, Moore joined Brentford on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season. He made his Brentford debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Crawley Town on 26 February 2013. Moore became a first team regular for the club despite suffering from ankle injury along the way. Following his recall by his parent club, he made seven appearances that season.
Moore was recalled to Leicester on 30 March 2013 to act as cover during club captain Wes Morgan's suspension. Moore made his first appearance for the side since being loaned out, coming against Barnsley on 1 April 2013, as Leicester City lost 2–0. He then made two more appearances for the side, as the club were unsuccessful in the Championship Play–Offs.
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Moore was allocated the number 18 shirt. At the start of the 2013–14 season, he regained his first team place, forming a centre–back partnership alongside Wes Morgan and then rotating to the right–back position. Moore scored his first ever senior goal for Leicester City on 14 September 2013, scoring the opener in an eventual 2–0 home victory over Wigan Athletic. His impressive performances early on in the 2013–14 season saw him being named the Football League Young Player of the Month for September 2013. Moore has credited club captain Wes Morgan and manager Nigel Pearson with his improved form.
In January 2014 he was the subject of transfer bids from Premier League club Fulham. However, during a 2–0 win against Middlesbrough on 25 January 2014, Moore suffered a rib injury and was substituted in the 9th minute as a result. He made his return to the first team on 22 February 2014 against Nottingham Forest, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw. Since returning from injury, Moore found himself placed on the substitutes bench, due to the good form of Morgan and Marcin Wasilewski, only appearing five times for the club in the remaining matches of the 2013–14 season. Despite this, his contributions to Leicester City saw them get promoted to the Premier League. For his performance, making thirty–three appearances in all competitions, he was nominated for Football League's Young Player of the Year award but lost out to Will Hughes.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Moore signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2017. He then made his Premier League debut in Leicester's opening day, playing the entirety of a 2–2 draw at home to Everton on 16 August 2014. Moore then started in the next eight league matches for the side. However, he was dropped from the first team and was placed on the substitute bench. Moore also faced his own injury concern along the way.
On 26 February 2015, Moore joined Brentford on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He went straight into the starting line-up, displacing Harlee Dean, before being dropped from the squad in favour of Dean after three "stuttering" appearances. Moore failed to appear again and was recalled to the King Power Stadium on 2 April.
Moore made his only appearance of the 2015–16 season for Leicester City, coming against Bury in the second round of the League Cup at Gigg Lane, as they won 4–1. However, his first team opportunities was limited once again, due to strong competitions within the defence.
Moore signed on loan for Bristol City on 1 September 2015, until 4 January 2016. He made his debut for the club, starting a match and played 63 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–2 loss against Birmingham City on 12 September 2015. Since making his debut for Bristol City, Moore found himself in and out of the starting line–up for the side despite facing sidelined along the way. Having made ten appearances for Bristol City, he returned to his parent club.
Following his loan spell at Bristol City came to an end, he made no further appearances for the club before Leicester's Premier League trophy presentation on 7 May 2016, making him ineligible for a winner's medal (a minimum of five league games is required). Moore later reflected this in an interview with The Atlantic, saying: "It would have taken just five appearances to get a winners' medal, and that medal I would have cherished for ever. I remember crying, trying to hide my tears, but saying I would be back stronger for this. It was so difficult, but it was such an eye-opener. It will go down as an amazing day, but a tough day in my career. My family were coming and everyone was adamant I had played a part in how we had got to that point. Everything was great during the game (a 3-1 win over Everton), but it hit me when I wasn't on the podium — I hadn't played any minutes in the league (for Leicester) that season. The moment they said, 'And this season's Premier League champions are… Leicester City', and Wes lifted the trophy, it was one of the best and worst feelings in my life. I had just seen my boyhood club, the club that means so much to me, become champions, but I then realised that some of the decisions I had made in the past year had cost me the chance of being involved."
Reading Moore signed a four-year contract with Reading on 20 August 2016 to seal a permanent switch from Leicester. The move was reported to be an undisclosed fee, which later to be revealed to have cost £1.5 million. Upon joining the club, he said Leicester City wanted him to stay but opted to leave for Reading.
Moore made his Reading debut, starting the whole game against Milton Keynes in the second round of the League Cup, and played throughout 120 minutes following a 2–2 draw and went on to win 4–2 in the penalty shootout. He made his the club's league debut, keeping a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Cardiff City on 27 August 2016. Since making his debut for the club, Moore quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the centre–back position alongside Paul McShane. He then kept four consecutive clean sheets between 22 October 2016 and 19 November 2016 for Reading. Moore started in every match until he was suspended for one match, due to picking up five yellow cards this season so far. Despite this, his impact at Reading was praised by the club's technical director, Brian Tevreden. Moore scored his first goal for Reading against Blackburn Rovers on 17 December 2016. However during a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United on 7 March 2017, he suffered a hamstring injury in the 50th minute and was substituted as a result. After recovering from a hamstring injury, Moore regained his first team place for the rest of the season and helped Reading reach the playoffs at the end of his first season with them; which his name was mentioned in the BBC Sport article, describing him as playing a "key role". He then played in both legs of the semi–final Championship play–offs against Fulham, as the club won 2–1 on aggregate. In the EFL Championship play-off final against Huddersfield Town, Moore started the whole game, playing 120 minutes, and was two Reading players to miss the shootout, resulting in the opposition team promoted to the Premier League.
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Moore signed a new four-year contract with Reading on 2 August 2017. At the start of the 2017–18 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre–back position alongside Tiago Ilori and McShane. Moore then set up the club's second goal of the game, in a 2–1 win against Aston Villa on 15 August 2017. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Norwich City on 30 September 2017. His performance later earned him Player of the Month for September. It wasn't until on 4 November 2017 when Moore scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–2 win against Derby County. Two weeks later on 21 November 2017, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Bolton Wanderers. This was followed up by keeping two consecutive clean sheets against Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley. His performance attracted interests from clubs that wanted to sign him in the January transfer window but no move was materialised. Throughout the 2017–18 season, Reading struggled that left the team 20th in the league table, just three points of relegation. Despite this, Moore was further awarded three more times, including Player of the Season.