Jabo Ibehre
Jabo Oshevire Michael Ibehre is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Ibehre made over 200 appearances for Leyton Orient between 2000 and 2008, before moving onto Walsall. A successful season with Walsall resulted in a move to Milton Keynes Dons in 2009. Ibehre's spell with the Dons saw him in and out of the first-team as he was sent out on loan on three occasions with Southend United, Stockport County and Colchester United. After an impressive loan stint with Colchester, Ibehre permanently signed for the U's in January 2013. He was later loaned out by Colchester to Oldham Athletic and Barnsley, and then Carlisle United on a permanent basis in 2015. Ibehre has been capped by England at youth level.
Career
Leyton Orient
Ibehre was born in Islington, London. He grew up as an Arsenal fan, and began his professional career at Leyton Orient at the age of 13. He turned down the opportunity to join Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 15 to remain with the O's, where he progressed through their youth system, before making his full debut at the age of 17. His first match saw him replace Wim Walschaerts after 85 minutes on 7 March 2000 as the O's fell to a 2–1 Division Three defeat to Northampton Town at Sixfields Stadium. He played two further games in the 1999–2000 season, with substitute appearances away to Swansea City and Hull City.2000–01 season
Ibehre scored in Orient's pre-season friendly against Enfield on 19 July 2000, scoring the winner for a young O's side that defeated their counterparts 2–1. His first appearance of the 2000–01 season came as a late substitute in Orient's 2–1 loss to Kidderminster Harriers on 16 September. Ibehre featured only three further times in 2000, with appearances from the bench in Orient's 1–1 draw with Newcastle United and a 2–0 reverse at Brighton & Hove Albion in September, and another substitute appearance against Cheltenham Town in a 1–1 draw in November. He didn't make a single first-team appearance for the club until the reverse fixture on 28 April 2001, when the O's held Cheltenham to a 0–0 draw at Brisbane Road. He made his first professional start in the final game of the season on 5 May 2001, an away game with Macclesfield Town. Repaying the faith manager Tommy Taylor had shown in him, Ibehre duly scored his first professional goals in the 2–0 win, netting just before the half-time break and in the 77th minute to secure Orient's place in the Football League play-offs. This came on the back of helping the under-19 side to the Youth Alliance league and cup double, where Ibehre had scored 19 goals in 26 appearances. With the cup final being played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Ibehre was determined to play at the stadium again to help his side gain promotion to Division Two.Ibehre played in both play-off semi-final legs against Hull City, starting in the 1–0 away defeat on 13 May, and also starting in the 2–0 home win on 16 May to put Leyton Orient through to the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium against Blackpool. He played for the full 90 minutes in the final on 26 May as his side crashed to a 4–2 defeat after leading twice in the first-half.
2001–02 season
After the disappointment of missing out on promotion, Ibehre began the 2001–02 pre-season scoring goals when he netted a brace in a friendly with Saffron Walden as he looked to cement a regular place in the starting line-up for the new season. He scored again in another friendly win against Dartford before starting the opening game of the season on 11 August 2001, a 1–1 draw with Cheltenham. He sealed his first goal of the season in a 2–0 win over Hartlepool United on 27 August and scored his second of the campaign on 15 September, the opening goal in a 2–1 victory against Rushden & Diamonds. Ibehre began proceedings in an eventual 4–2 win at home to Rochdale on 27 October and he secured his fourth of the season with a header from inside the six yard box on 20 November in a 3–0 victory against Oxford United. For his next goal, Ibehre described his 20-yard equaliser in Orient's 2–1 win against Lincoln City in the FA Cup as "probably the best goal" he had scored in his so-far short career.Ibehre was ruled out of action from mid-January to mid-March 2002 on the back of a double groin operation. He made his return to action as a substitute in Orient's 2–0 triumph over Mansfield Town on 19 March. He went on to make a total of 33 appearances in all competitions during the season, netting himself five goals. In addition, Ibehre was awarded the club's 'Goal of the Season' award at the end of the campaign.
2002–03 season
Having spent the summer out of action due to a reaction to his groin operation, Ibehre returned to reserve team action in late August 2002. His 2002–03 season didn't kick off until 14 September, replacing Gary Taylor-Fletcher in a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City at Brisbane Road. His first goal of the season came on 2 October in a 3–2 defeat to Premier League side Birmingham City, netting two minutes after coming on as an 80th-minute substitute to give the Orient faithful hope of a comeback after Stern John's hat-trick. He once again scored in a 3–2 defeat, on this occasion at the hands of Kidderminster at Aggborough. His first put the O's ahead after 19 minutes, and again on 60 minutes after the Harriers had equalised late in the first half. He notched again in the following game two days later, lifting his shot over Carlisle United goalkeeper Matt Glennon in a 2–1 victory for Orient. Ibehre continued his good form by scoring in a 2–0 win at home to Hull on 18 January 2003 and salvaging a late 1–1 draw with Cambridge United on 28 January. Ibehre said that despite hitting five goals in six games, he had been "playing through the pain barrier" because of his ongoing injury problems. Despite this, he ended the season with 28 appearances to his name, but could only muster six goals.2003–04 season
With his contract set to expire in May 2004, Ibehre's 2003–04 season kicked off with a bang, netting three goals in five games. He opened his account for the campaign in a League Cup defeat to Cardiff City on 12 August 2003, scoring Orient's consolation goal midway through the second half. His next goal arrived two games later on 20 September when he rescued a point for the O's with a last minute equaliser against Scunthorpe United. He had been ruled out of action for almost one month prior due to his injury woes. His third goal of the season arrived on 30 September, the solitary goal in a win away at Carlisle United.Netting his fourth goal of the season on 21 October against Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium in a 1–1 draw, Ibehre had to wait until the reverse fixture on 2 March to score his fifth and final goal of the term, despite ending the season with 39
2004–05 season
Ibehre remained with Orient for the 2004–05 season, signing a two-year contract extension as he looked to put his injury troubles behind him and retain a place in manager Martin Ling's starting line-up. He got off the mark for the season on 14 August 2004 in the O's 2–1 win at Cheltenham. He took his tally to two for the season when he opened the scoring against Woking in a 3–0 Football League Trophy match on 28 September. He netted what would prove to be a crucial goal on 23 October as Lincoln and Orient played out a seven-goal thriller at Sincil Bank. The O's came out on top, winning 4–3, with Ibehre's goal levelling the match at 2–2 shortly before half time. With Ibehre back in the starting line-up due to injuries to other strikers, he was looking to hold down a regular starting berth. He justified his place in the team with a goal in Orient's 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 2 November in the Football League Trophy.In December 2004, Ibehre was ruled out for an estimated three months with a knee injury that required specialist treatment. In late February 2005, it was announced that Ibehre faced another four weeks out of action, before returning to reserve team action on 22 March 2005 in a 1–1 draw with Rushden. However, he did not recover to return to the first-team before the end of the season, resulting four goals in 25 appearances between August and mid-December for Ibehre.
2005–06 season
Ibehre declared himself fit for the new season in early September 2005, having finally recovered from his long-running knee problem. He scored in his first appearance for nine months against Barnet in a 3–2 win on 10 September, putting the ball in the back of the net from eight yards out. He scored again on 24 September, helping his side come from behind to beat Carlisle 3–2 with a fierce shot, before notching his third of the season in only four games against Torquay United on 27 September. His next goal didn't arrive until Boxing Day in the O's 5–1 rout against Rushden & Diamonds, He then bagged goals in successive wins against Notts County, a 1–0 on 31 December, and giving Orient the lead in a 2–1 away victory at Boston United on 2 January 2006.Ibehre came off the bench at half-time on 31 January to bag himself a brace in a 3–3 draw with Bristol Rovers. He scored 90 seconds after his introduction, striking the ball home from ten yards, before lobbing Pirates goalkeeper Scott Shearer ten minutes later for his second goal. Ibehre's eight goals in 38 appearances helped the O's to automatic promotion to League One on the final day of the league season, beating Oxford United 3–2 at the Kassam Stadium and sending their opposition out of the Football League. After the season came to a close and with his contract expiring, he made it known to manager Martin Ling that he wanted to stay and sign a new contract and play at a higher level in League One. Ling himself stated that he wanted to keep his squad together and was ready to open contract talks with Ibehre and his other out of contract players.