Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on brothers Stefan and Luke Moore.
Families in Football: Stefan and Luke Moore
Stefan Moore
An older brother by three years, Stefan began his footballing career at Aston Villa having joined the club as an academy player.
Before making his senior bow for the Villains, Stefan made his professional debut while on loan at Chesterfield. He returned to Villa following his brief spell away and played twice in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, against Swiss side FC Zürich and French club Lille. He also scored on the Premier League debut and made 14 appearances before injury put him on the sidelines.
Villa’s better performances the following season limited his game time again, with just 12 appearances in all competitions. Another injury saw him miss the action before he was shipped out on loan again to Millwall and Leicester City respectively.
He didn’t return to Villa Park, instead signing for Queens Park Rangers. Stefan made 25 Championship appearances plus 12 in League One in a loan spell with Port Vale. Once again, the striker failed to settle and left Loftus Road to join Walsall, where he scored four minutes into his debut.
He was released in the summer and spent the rest of his once-promising career in the lower leagues of English football where he played for 11 different clubs.
Luke Moore
Similarly to his older brother, Luke Moore also came through the Aston Villa academy before making his breakthrough at Villa Park.
However, he too had to wait with the Villains and spent a short spell on loan at Wycombe Wanderers where he scored four goals in six games, including a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Grimsby Town, before making his Villa debut in a 2-2 draw against rivals Birmingham City.
Luke was in and out of the starting line-up and had to wait until March before netting his first goal in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough. It was also against Boro the following season where Luke netted his first senior hat trick, ending the season with eight goals.
A shoulder injury limited Moore to game time over the next two seasons and marked a return with a goal against, of course, Middlesbrough.
With Luke looking for regular football, he dropped down a division and joined rivals West Bromwich Albion on loan. Despite a return of no goals in ten, he joined the Baggies on a permanent basis in the summer.
Once again, injury thwarted his game time but he helped the newly-promoted side, although the club would see an immediate return to the Championship. However, West Brom regained promotion but Moore managed just six goals in 47 league games over the two campaigns.
Having been left out of the club’s 25-man squad, Luke joined Derby County on loan. He scored four goals in 13 Championship appearances.
He left the Hawthorns and moved to south Wales to sign for Swansea City. He helped the Swans achieve promotion to the Premier League through the playoffs with four goals in 13. His time back in the Premier League didn’t bring many goals but it did bring another piece of silverware after Swansea won the League Cup in 2013.
Shortly after leaving Swansea City, Moore joined Turkish club Elazığspor on a free transfer on 24 August 2013. No goals in 17 matches was the result and he was on the move again, this time to Chivas USA in the MLS. He then joined Toronto and scored a total of seven goals in two years.
Games Played Together and Against
Despite both playing for Villa, Stefan and Luke Moore only played together for three minutes in their senior career. It came in a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United. It was the only time the brothers have shared a pitch having never faced each other.
Interesting Facts
While at Villa, Stefan and Luke Moore were a part of the FA Youth Cup-winning side, with the older brother captaining the team.
Stefan netted on his Premier League debut with an impressive individual effort against Charlton Athletic at Villa Park.
In 2005, Luke netted six times in a 14-0 pre-season friendly victory for Villa over Swedish club Gällstads.
Main Photo
