Fitz Hall

Fitz Hall

Personal information
Full name	Fitz Benjamin Hall
Date of birth	20 December 1980 (1980-12-20)
Place of birth	Walthamstow, London, England
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Queens Park Rangers
Number	5
Youth career
	Senrab
1997–2000	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Barnet	0	(0)
2001–2002	Chesham United	21	(2)
2002–2003	Oldham Athletic	41	(4)
2003–2004	Southampton	11	(0)
2004–2006	Crystal Palace	75	(3)
2006–2008	Wigan Athletic	25	(0)
2008–	Queens Park Rangers	85	(3)
2010	→ Newcastle United (loan)	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:01, 15 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Fitz Benjamin Hall (born 20 December 1980, Walthamstow, London) is an English footballer and actor who plays for Queens Park Rangers. He is a central defender who can also play as a central midfielder. His nickname is "One Size" Fitz Hall.

Club career

Early career

Hall began his career as a West Ham United youth player on the same day as Paul Konchesky, Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel but was released at the age of 15. He played for Senrab in Wanstead Flats. He was also once told that he wasn't good enough to become a professional footballer but found his lucky break through a friend that got him a trial at Barnet He then joined Barnet as part of a Youth Training Scheme, before moving to non-league Chesham United under the management of Bob Dowie.

Oldham Athletic

Hall's performances at Chesham came to the attention of Dowie's brother Iain, manager of Oldham Athletic, who bought him for £30,000 during the 2001/02 season. He made his debut in April 2002 and scored the winner against Stoke City. The following season really saw him shine as he was part of a defence which was only 2nd best to league champions Wigan Athletic and was named in the PFA Team of the Year. Following the financial melt down at the club Hall was sold to Premiership side Southampton for £250,000. However, he did not manage to break into Southampton's first team on a regular basis.

Crystal Palace

Hall re-joined Iain Dowie at Crystal Palace at the beginning of the 2004–05 season for £1.5m, and went straight into the first team for the club's first season back in the Premiership.

In August 2005, Hall was appointed team captain of Palace, replacing Michael Hughes following the club's relegation back to the Championship. Many fans felt that Hall's performance was being hindered by the burden of captaincy,^{[citation needed]} and after several poor performances, and several yellow cards, Hughes was re-appointed team captain in January 2006.

Wigan

Hall moved from Palace to Premiership side Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee on 26 June 2006. New Palace boss Peter Taylor cited a £3m get-out clause in Hall's contract as the reason for the transfer.^{[citation needed]}

Queens Park Rangers

Hall was one of a number of players brought in by Championship side Queens Park Rangers during the early part of the January 2008 transfer window. He signed a four and a half year contract, after Rangers paid an undisclosed fee. Hall scored his first goal for Queens Park Rangers on the first game of 2008–09 season against Barnsley, scoring his second two minutes later, before having a penalty saved for a hat-trick.

Newcastle United

On 29 January 2010, Hall was signed on loan by Newcastle United for the rest of the season. He made his debut in the 5–1 win over Cardiff City at St James' Park and put in a solid performance, before being replaced by Tamás Kádár in the closing stages of the game.

On 20 March, during Newcastle's 2–2 draw with Bristol City at Ashton Gate, Hall injured his hamstring in a chase with Nicky Maynard. After the game, Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton said Hall's injury did not look too good.

On 19 April 2010, Hall was part of the team that confirmed Newcastle as the League Championship champions for the season. During the game he made some excellent last-ditch tackles. Following Newcastle promotion to the Premier League, Hall was keen to make a permanent deal but it never happened and Hall returned to QPR.

Honours

Club

Queens Park Rangers

• Championship: 2010–11

Acting

As a 16-year-old he acted in a minor role in The Fifth Element playing a twelve-year-old.

External links

• Fitz Hall player profile at qpr.co.uk
• Fitz Hall player profile at wiganlatics.co.uk
• Fitz Hall career stats at Soccerbase
• Fitz Hall Career Profile