 Born in Preston , he began playing football at a young age , taking inspiration from his father who played semi @-@ professionally . Carlisle represented his home county of Lancashire at youth level . The start of his professional career was his Football League debut for Blackpool in September 1997 . He moved to Queens Park Rangers in May 2000 . In the same year , Carlisle won three caps for the England under @-@ 21 national team . He missed a number of games for Queens Park Rangers due to a posterior cruciate ligament injury which at one stage led doctors to believe that his career was over . He then missed one month of the 2003 – 04 season because of an alcohol @-@ related problem , and left Queens Park Rangers at the end of that season . In the summer of 2004 , he joined Leeds United on a free transfer . 
