Mark Pembridge
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mark Pembridge | ||
Date of birth | 29 November 1970 | ||
Place of birth | Merthyr Tydfil, Wales | ||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
Position(s) | Midfield | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1992 | Luton Town | 70 | (6) |
1992–1995 | Derby County | 140 | (37) |
1995–1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | 108 | (13) |
1998–1999 | Benfica | 19 | (1) |
1999–2003 | Everton | 101 | (4) |
2003–2007 | Fulham | 54 | (2) |
Total | 492 | (63) | |
International career | |||
1991–2004 | Wales | 54 | (6) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Mark Anthony Pembridge (born 29 November 1970) is a former footballer whose favoured position was the left side of midfield. He won numerous caps for Wales. He is currently a coach at the academy for Fulham.
Club career
Pembridge began his career at Luton Town in the First Division. He joined as a trainee in 1989 and was sold to Derby County in 1992. During his time at Luton and Derby, Pembridge established himself as a left midfielder. Pembridge had three successful years at Derby but left for Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £900,000. Pembridge played for Wednesday in the Premiership until 1998, when he left for Portuguese side Benfica on a free transfer after a disappointing season at Wednesday, who finished 16th in the Premier League. He struggled to settle in Portugal and returned to England in 1999, signing a contract with Premiership side Everton for £800,000. Pembridge had a good first two seasons at Everton, with his tenacious approach and thrusting runs from deep establishing the Welshman as an integral part of Everton's squad, thus securing him an excellent rapport with the Goodison Park faithful. However, testing times were around the corner for Pembridge, with a persistent calf injury meaning he only played 13 games in the 2001–02 season. The injury still bothered him during the 2002–03 season, but Pembridge still played a part in a dramatic season, which ended in heartbreak as Everton failed to qualify for a UEFA Cup place. Pembridge looked set to stay at Everton for the 2003–04 campaign, but on the transfer deadline day in August 2003, he was signed by Fulham for £750,000 after four years at Everton. Pembridge had an injury free first season at Fulham during which he scored his first goal for the club against rivals Chelsea,[1] and this was followed by a successful second season in which he played 37 games overall, scoring once in the League Cup against Birmingham.[2] Unfortunately, Pembridge missed most of Fulham's 2005–06 season through injury, and only played 5 games. It got worse for Pembridge when manager Chris Coleman deemed him surplus to requirements and he did not play a single game during the 2006–07 season. He was released by new manager Lawrie Sanchez at the end of the season. After this, Pembridge announced his retirement. Reflecting on his retirement, Pembridge quoted: "Ultimately it wasn’t too difficult. I tried exceptionally hard to get back to playing but there comes a time when you just need to stop. You know your own body and despite people saying that I could have carried on, I knew within myself it was time."[3]
International career
Pembridge was called up to play for Wales while at Luton in 1991. He had several highlights while playing for Wales, including scoring arguably his best career goal against Ukraine in 2001 and reaching the qualifying playoffs for Euro 2004, despite narrowly losing to Russia. Pembridge quit the national team in 2004 shortly after John Toshack was named as the new Wales manager. He announced his international retirement in 2005, ending speculation that he might return to play for Wales. He played 54 times for Wales, scoring 6 goals.
Coaching career
On 4 September 2007, Fulham confirmed that Pembridge had stayed on at the club as a coach for the academy.[3] He would later became Under-15s and U16s Coordinator for the club.[4]
Career statistics
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
1989–90 | Luton Town | First Division | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
1990–91 | 18 | 1 | ||||||||||
1991–92 | 42 | 5 | ||||||||||
1992–93 | Derby County | First Division | 42 | 8 | ||||||||
1993–94 | 41 | 11 | ||||||||||
1994–95 | 27 | 9 | ||||||||||
1995–96 | Sheffield Wednesday | Premier League | 25 | 1 | ||||||||
1996–97 | 34 | 6 | ||||||||||
1997–98 | 34 | 4 | ||||||||||
Portugal | League | Taça de Portugal | Taça da Liga | Europe | Total | |||||||
1998–99 | Benfica | Portuguese Liga | 19 | 1 | ||||||||
England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
1999-00 | Everton | Premier League | 31 | 2 | ||||||||
2000–01 | 20 | 0 | ||||||||||
2001–02 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||
2002–03 | 21 | 0 | ||||||||||
2003–04 | 4 | 0 | ||||||||||
2003–04 | Fulham | Premier League | 12 | 1 | ||||||||
2004–05 | 28 | 0 | ||||||||||
2005–06 | 5 | 0 | ||||||||||
2006–07 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
Total | England | 398 | 24 | |||||||||
Portugal | 19 | 1 | ||||||||||
Career total | 417 | 25 |
References
- ^ "Chelsea 2–1 Fulham". BBC. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "Birmingham 0–1 Fulham". BBC. 27 October 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Purely Academic". Fulham Official Website. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Mark Pembridge". Fulham Official Website. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ マーク・ペンブリッジ
- Use dmy dates from July 2013
- 1970 births
- Living people
- People from Merthyr Tydfil
- S.L. Benfica footballers
- Derby County F.C. players
- Everton F.C. players
- Fulham F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
- Welsh footballers
- Welsh expatriate footballers
- Wales international footballers
- Premier League players
- Primeira Liga players
- Expatriate footballers in Portugal
- British expatriates in Portugal
- Fulham F.C. non-playing staff