Marc Bridge-Wilkinson
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marc Bridge-Wilkinson | ||
| Date of birth | 16 March 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Coventry, England | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Derby County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | Derby County | 1 | (0) |
| 1999 | → Carlisle United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2000–2004 | Port Vale | 124 | (31) |
| 2004–2005 | Stockport County | 22 | (2) |
| 2005 | → Bradford City (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Bradford City | 83 | (12) |
| 2007–2011 | Carlisle United | 90 | (11) |
| 2010–2011 | → Darlington (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Darlington | 46 | (12) |
| Total | 386 | (71) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (born 16 March 1979) is an English former footballer. A left-sided midfielder and also a winger, and was known for his goal-scoring ability.[2]
Starting his career at Derby County in 1998, he instead made his name at Port Vale following his transfer in 2000. He made over 100 appearances in four years, scoring 31 league goals, and lifting the Football League Trophy in 2001. He spent 2004–05 with Stockport County, before signing with Bradford City in 2005. He spent two years at Bradford, making close to 100 appearances. He signed with Carlisle United in 2007, and went on to pick up a League Trophy runners-up medal with the club in 2010. After four years with Carlisle, he joined Darlington in 2011, breaking his run of ten consecutive seasons in the third tier of English football. With Darlington he lifted the FA Trophy in 2011, before his contract was terminated in January 2012 but was re-signed on a non-contract basis until the club folded in the summer of 2012.
Playing career
Derby County
Born in Coventry, Bridge-Wilkinson was a product of the Derby County youth academy and made his debut for Derby in a 2–1 victory against Liverpool at Anfield on 7 November 1998.[3] This Premier League clash would be his only appearance for the club. He joined Carlisle United of the Third Division, where he played seven games in a six-week loan spell at the end of the 1998–99 season.[3][4] He returned to Derby and was released by the club at the end of the following season, after which he was given a trial at Port Vale.[5]
Port Vale
Bridge-Wilkinson joined Port Vale on a free transfer following his trial and made his debut in a 4–1 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 12 August 2000. The following week he scored twice in his first Vale start when they defeated Oxford United 3–0.[6] He scored fourteen goals in 52 games throughout his first season at Vale, which included one in the final of the Football League Trophy final – which Vale won 2–1 over Brentford.[7][8] He also scored the winner in the Potteries derby in the Northern Section semi-finals with a 105th minute golden-goal penalty.[9][10]
He spent much of the next season out with a hamstring injury, and did not feature between August and late-January.[11] His return to the side coincided with Vale's climb up the table, and he consequently signed a new two-year contract with the club.[12] Recovering from a knee injury,[13] his nine goals in 2002–03 were enough to make him the club's top-scorer, as the Second Division club posted a mid-table finish. He struck seven times in 37 games during the 2003–04 campaign, as the club finished outside of the play-offs on goal difference. At the end of the season manager Martin Foyle offered him a new contract at reduced pay due to the club's dire financial situation,[14][15] an offer which Bridge-Wilkinson rejected in order to sign for League One rivals Stockport County on a two-year contract in June 2004.[16]
Stockport County
Bridge-Wilkinson made just 22 starts with Stockport, and in February 2005 joined Bradford City, also of League One, on a month's loan deal to cover for injuries.[17] The loan soon become a permanent transfer.
Bradford City
Bridge-Wilkinson made his City debut on 25 February 2005 in a 1–1 draw with Walsall[18] and after four games he signed a two-year deal on transfer deadline day to stay at Valley Parade permanently.[19] He celebrated his new contract with his first Bradford goal in a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers later the same day.[19] He scored another two goals in a 4–1 victory over Brentford,[20] finishing the season with three goals from his 12 games.
At the start of the following season he missed more than two months after sustaining a knee injury in training.[21][22][23][24] He finished the season with six goals in forty games. On 16 September 2006, he scored against his former club Port Vale,[25] but it was just one of four goals for Bridge-Wilkinson that season, as Bradford were relegated into League Two.[26] He was one of many players released by Bradford in May 2007.[27]
Carlisle United
In June 2007, Bridge-Wilkinson rejoined Carlisle United.[4] He played 52 games in his first full season at the club, including both legs of the League One play-off semi-final with Leeds United. He scored Carlisle's second at Elland Road to give his side a 2–1 first leg victory.[28] However, in the second leg he could not help his side avoid a 2–0 defeat.[29]
A regular in 2008–09, he picked up a toe injury in January, which ended his contribution to the campaign.[30] The problem was a floating bone in his big toe.[31] He made 26 appearances in 2009–10, as Carlisle posted a mid-table finish. He also made an appearance at Wembley Stadium in the Football League Trophy Final, which ended in a 4–1 defeat to Southampton.[32]
Darlington
Searching for first team football,[33] in October 2010 he joined Conference National outfit Darlington on loan for one month.[34] After the midfielder impressed manager Mark Cooper,[35] this one month then got extended until January.[36][37]
On 18 January 2011, he signed for Darlington on a permanent basis after he was released from Carlisle United two days earlier.[38] He scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 6–1 victory against Eastbourne Borough on 12 February.[39][40] All Bridge-Wilkinson's goals, which included two penalties, came in the first half and within the space of 14 minutes.[41] At the end of the campaign he picked up the second significant honour of his career, as Darlington lifted the 2011 FA Trophy with a 1–0 victory over Mansfield Town at Wembley.[42] Darlington suffered financial difficulties during Bridge-Wilkinson's time at the club and his contract was terminated on 16 January 2012, along with the rest of the playing squad and caretaker manager Craig Liddle; he stated that "to say I feel sick is an understatement".[43] However a surprise decision meant that the club would continue to complete their remaining fixtures, and Bridge-Wilkinson returned to Darlington on a non-contract basis.[44] Darlington were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season, having been deducted ten points for entering administration and as the club reformed to Darlington 1883 in the Northern Football League, Bridge-Wilkinson left the club and had a trial at League Two outfit Accrington Stanley.[45]
Playing style
"He's always got a chance of creating you something. He'll give balls away sometimes, but you have to put up with that because he's a clever player."
Statistics
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Carlisle United (loan) | 1998–99[47] | Third Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Derby County | 1997–98 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99[47] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Port Vale | 2000–01[48] | Second Division | 42 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7[lower-alpha 1] | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 52 | 14 |
| 2001–02[49] | Second Division | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | |
| 2002–03[50] | Second Division | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 33 | 9 | |
| 2003–04[51] | Second Division | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 36 | 7 | |
| Total | 124 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 140 | 36 | ||
| Stockport County | 2004–05[52] | League One | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Bradford City | 2004–05[52] | League One | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 2005–06[53] | League One | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| 2006–07[54] | League One | 39 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 5 | |
| Total | 87 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 14 | ||
| Carlisle United | 2007–08[55] | League One | 45 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] | 2[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] | 52 | 8 |
| 2008–09[56] | League One | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | |
| 2009–10[57] | League One | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 26 | 1 | |
| 2010–11[58] | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 90 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 110 | 14 | ||
| Darlington | 2010–11[58] | Conference National | 27 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 36 | 11 |
| 2011–12[59] | Conference National | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 29 | 6 | |
| Total | 55 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 65 | 17 | ||
| Career total | 386 | 71 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 443 | 83 | ||
Honours
- with Port Vale
- Football League Trophy winner: 2001[60]
- with Carlisle United
- Football League Trophy runner-up: 2010
- with Darlington
References
- ↑ "Name: Marc Bridge-Wilkinson". stockportcounty.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ↑ "Port Vale pen pictures". BBC Sport. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- 1 2 "Marc Bridge-Wilkinson". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- 1 2 "Bridge-Wilkinson joins Carlisle". BBC Sport. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ↑ "Trialist at Vale Park". BBC Sport. 5 July 2000. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Port Vale 3–0 Oxford". BBC Sport. 19 August 2000. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Vale vault Brentford to lift Vans trophy". BBC Sport. 22 April 2001. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Vale deal Brentford killer blow". BBC Sport. 22 April 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ Westbrook, Ian (18 April 2001). "Port Vale's route to Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ "Port Vale 2–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. 5 March 2001. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ "Vale savour derby win". BBC Sport. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson signs deal". BBC Sport. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson not ready yet". BBC Sport. 25 September 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson in talks". BBC Sport. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ "Foyle hopes stars will sign". BBC Sport. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson makes move". BBC Sport. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bantams bring in Bridge-Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Walsall 1–1 Bradford". BBC Sport. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- 1 2 "Looking to the future". Telegraph & Argus. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bradford 4–1 Brentford". BBC Sport. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson ordered to rest". BBC Sport. 8 October 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Todd dilemma over Bridge-Wilkinson". Telegraph & Argus. 15 November 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson back in training". BBC Sport. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson blow for Bantams". BBC Sport. 19 October 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bradford 2–0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 16 September 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ Parker, Simon (28 April 2007). "Woeful City relegated". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ↑ "Bradford player exodus continues". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ↑ Sanghera, Mandeep (12 May 2008). "Leeds 1–2 Carlisle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ Sanghera, Mandeep (15 May 2008). "Carlisle 0–2 Leeds (agg 2–3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ "Carlisle man reveals fitness goal". BBC Sport. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ↑ "Double injury blow for Cumbrians". BBC Sport. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ Shemilt, Stephan (28 March 2010). "Carlisle 1 - 4 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington extend Marc Bridge-Wilkinson loan spell". BBC Sport. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington sign Carlisle United's Marc Bridge-Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington hope to extend Marc Bridge-Wilkinson loan". BBC Sport. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson joins on loan". The Northern Echo. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ↑ "Darlington face battle to sign Marc Bridge-Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Marc Bridge-Wilkinson leaves Carlisle for Darlington". BBC Sport. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington 6-1 Eastbourne Boro". BBC Sport. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ Stoddart, Craig (14 February 2011). "A first hat-trick of his career for Marc". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington 6-1 Eastbourne Boro". BBC Sport. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ↑ "FA Trophy final: Darlington 1-0 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Darlington axe manager Craig Liddle and players". BBC Sport. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ↑ Stoddart, Craig (19 January 2012). "Quakers need reinforcements". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ↑ Flanagan, Chris (4 July 2012). "Trialists on show as Accrington Stanley return for pre-season". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ↑ "Darlington boss Mark Cooper hails Bridge-Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- 1 2 "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- 1 2 "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- 1 2 "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Vale vault Brentford to lift Vans trophy". BBC Sport. 22 April 2001. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
