Chris Carruthers
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chris Carruthers | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bristol Rovers | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
Chris Carruthers (born August 19, 1983 in Kettering) is an English footballer, currently playing for Bristol Rovers F.C. in League One. He can play as a defender or midfielder.
Playing Career
Carruthers joined Northampton Town F.C. at the age of seventeen and was named in the first team squad for the 2000-01 when Town were in League One after being promoted the season previous. He managed to make three appearances that season, filling in at left-back. He is known to many at Bristol Rovers F.C. as 'CC'.
Next season Carruthers was able to make more of an impact in the first team, taking part in thirteen games and playing convincingly well at both left-back and left midfield. He managed to net his first goal for the club as well, with a late long-range volley to seal a win against Wycombe Wanderers.
During the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, he cemented his place in the first team, whether that be at left-back, left wing-back or left midfield, playing fifty-seven games in these two seasons. Cobblers fans were very pleased to see a home-grown player and a local at that to be featuring regularly in the team. To make matters even better for Carruthers, he represented the England under-20s in the summer of 2003.
However, in the 2004/05 season, manager Colin Calderwood thought Carruthers would benefit from a loan move, in order to gain both confidence and match practice. Consequently, he was loaned out to nearby non-league clubs such as AFC Hornchurch and Kettering Town. He returned to Northampton in January but only managed to play one league game before being loaned out again to Bristol Rovers F.C.. Former Cobblers manager Kevan Broadhurst, who was a coach at Rovers at the time, advised the club to sign Carruthers on a permanent deal in the summer. He played five times during the loan spell and impressed the club enough for them to sign him on a free transfer.
He has been a regular at the Memorial Stadium since then, appearing in forty-five matches and scoring once in his first full season at the club in 2005-06.
Trivia
- As a child he idolised the talented England midfielder John Barnes
- He considers his goal against Wycombe Wanderers in 2001 as the best he's ever scored
- His favourite film is Gladiator