1st November – Carl Cort

Newcastle United have a history of having great strikers and sometimes it is tough to live up to the expectations in the North East but unfortunately for Carl Cort he never got the chance to show his true potential.

The striker had a lot of potential and could have become an England international had it not been for the amount of time he spent on the sidelines. He was one of the many young players that Bobby Robson brought to St James’ Park but unlike the others he never got a run in the side.

Now 37, Cort started his career at Wimbledon but had his first taste of professional football on loan at Lincoln City in February 1997, where scored once in six games before returning to his parent club and making his debut on the 9th April against Aston Villa. Cort would have to wait until the 13th September to make another appearance and he showed his potential by scoring in the first minute against Newcastle in a 3-1 win. He followed this up three days later with a double against Millwall in the League Cup. His greatest moment in a Wimbledon shirt was also in the League Cup as he scored a hatrick against Sunderland in October 1999.

After 16 league goals in 73 games and an impressive goal record for the England under 21s, he joined Newcastle in the summer of 2000 for £7 million. He made his debut against Manchester United and then scored on his home debut against Derby County. However, this would be one of the few high points at the club as he began to struggle with hamstring problems kept him out for a long time. He eventually returned in March 2001 and scored five times in the final 10 games.

But during the 2001-02 season he suffered more injuries and barely played. With seven goals in 22 games it shows that when he was on the pitch he was a fantastic option and one that could have made a big difference to the side. But the problem was that he only made 22 league appearances in three and a half seasons.

In January 2004 he joined Wolves for £2 million and scored five times before the end of the season but this was not good enough to keep the club in the Premier League. During the 2004-05 season he had a relatively injury free season and he was a regular goalscorer, hitting the back of the net 16 times and causing a lot of problems for opposition defences. Cort began the following campaign in phenomenal form, scoring nine goals in the first 11 games but unfortunately his old injury problems returned and he only managed another 13 appearances and two goals over the rest of the season. After another season of injuries he was released by Wolves in May 2007.

On the 8th June 2007 he signed for Leicester City but this was a largely unsuccessful time as he only scored once in the League Cup and was released on the 11th January, allowing him to join Spanish side Marbella. After seven appearances and one goal he returned to England and signed for Norwich City. He scored once for the club against former team Wolves but this was not enough to stop Norwich getting relegated to League One.

After leaving Norwich, Cort spent the next two seasons at Brentford and scored six times in his 31 league games for the club. But on the 10th August 2012 he joined American side Tampa Bay Rowdies and has been there since.

The final word can go to Bobby Robson. “I still have a lot of faith in his ability. When he first came to the club he looked superb alongside Alan Shearer and he did very well for us. We did our research and we knew what a good player he was. It’s not his fault he has been injured the whole time.”

27th October – Rhys Weston

Rhys Weston may not be the most recognisable name but he has had a very interesting career and if it wasn’t for injuries he may have played at a higher level for a prolonged period of time.

The defender will be fondly remembered by Cardiff City fans as he helped them climb from the bottom division of the Football League to the Championship and even took a pay cut in 2005 to help the club. The 34 year old can also say that he played at the highest level as he featured seven times for Wales between the years of 2000 and 2005.

Now 34 he doesn’t have a club but has played in a few different countries and experienced some different cultures so he can at least take that from his career. Weston started his career at Arsenal and made his debut on the 30th November 1999 in a League Cup game against Middlesbrough after coming on as a substitute. Later in the season he would go on to make his only top flight appearance as he started the final game against Newcastle United on the 14th May 2000.

In total he played three times for Arsenal before joining Cardiff in November 2000 for £300,000. He made his debut in a 3-2 win over Lincoln City and would go on to play another 31 times as the club gained promotion to Division Two after finishing 2nd. In the following season Weston was a more important member of the team and showed his quality in the 43 games he played, unfortunately the club missed out on back to back promotions after being beaten in the playoffs by Stoke City. The 2002-03 season was successful for the player and the club as they managed to gain promotion after beating QPR 1-0 in the playoff final. During the season Weston also scored his first professional goal after scoring in a 4-0 win over Tranmere Rovers on the 26th October.

Despite adapting well to the First Division, Weston struggled with injuries and would only play 24 times after suffering a knee injury and then damaging cartilage in his other knee in March 2004. In the following campaign he returned to his consistent self but again his season was ended by injury. At the end of the season he accepted a substantial reduction in his wages and was placed on the transfer list by new manager Dave Jones but still managed to play 30 times during the 2005-06 season. However, he was left out of the club’s pre-season tour and was released.

Weston then joined Norwegian side Viking but his only match for the club lasted 12 minutes as he dislocated his shoulder. Four days later the manager was sacked and the incoming manager could not speak English so Weston returned to the UK. In February 2007 Weston signed for Port Vale. He would go onto play 15 games for the club before being released. On the 16th July 2007 Weston signed for Walsall and went on to play 50 games for the club during the 2007-08 season earning himself a new deal. He would continue to be a consistent player but at the end of the 2009-10 manager Chris Hutchings decided not to give him a contract and after 111 games he joined Dundee.

He spent two seasons at the Scottish side and in both seasons they finished 2nd in Division One but at the end of his contract he decided to join Icelandic side KR Reykjavik. Due to financial problems he left the club after just 16 appearances and made the move to Malaysia to sign for Sabah FA. He only played six times and joined AFC Wimbledon on the 7th August 2013. Once again he did not get much game time and after a loan spell at Sutton United he was not offered a new contract.

The final word can go to Richard Money. “Rhys has become an important member of the team. His performances have become more and more consistent as the season has progressed and we hope that he will continue to be an important player for Walsall.”

9th May – Adam Proudlock

Not many players can say they have been in teams that have won the playoffs in the Championship, League One, League Two and also the Conference North.

Adam Proudlock is 33 today and has continually been part of successful squads which is why it is so frustrating that he has never been able to stay at a top team for long and has now drifted into non league football. Proudlock joined first club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1998 and at the beginning of the 2000-01 season he had a taste of first team football on loan at Scottish club Clyde, where he scored a hatrick on his professional debut against Falkirk.

After he was recalled by Wolves they handed him a new contract and became a regular in the side. He scored 11 goals before the end of the season and was the club’s top scorer. However, he started the next season on the bench after manager Dave Jones decided to bring in more strikers. In October 2001 he scored yet another hatrick, this time against Bradford City and Jones praised the player saying. “He has kept his head because things had not been easy for him in front of goal, but he has got his rewards.” Unfortunately these were his only goals of the season after he suffered a knee injury.

After loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Tranmere Rovers, Proudlock then joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan and impressed for them scoring twice in five games. He was once again recalled by Wolves and spent the rest of the season coming on as a substitute for them and helped them win the Championship (known as Division One then) playoffs.

In September 2003 he joined Sheffield Wednesday permanently after scoring 17 times in 84 appearances for Wolves. He scored nine times for the club during the 2003-04 season and started the next year very impressively by scoring six times in 14 games however a broken leg in November 2004 put an end to his season, but these goals helped the club secure a place in the League One playoffs which they went on to win. He barely played again for Wednesday and joined Ipswich Town initially on loan for three months before signing for them permanently.

After only playing a total of nine games for Ipswich he joined Stockport County and scored six times in his first season. His second was more successful as he helped them reach and win the League Two playoffs with seven league goals. However, a week later his contract was not renewed by the club.

Proudlock then joined Darlington for a short spell but was quickly shipped out on loan to Grimsby Town. His best moment for the club came when he scored a hatrick against local rivals Lincoln City in a 5-1 win in March 2009. He finished the season as top scorer and was vital in helping the club avoid relegation from the Football League.

The next season he and the club could not repeat the trick as they were relegated so Proudlock left the club and joined AFC Telford who in his first season he helped to win the Conference North Playoffs, however an injury ruled him out for the majority of the 2011-2012 season.

Since he has played for Chester, Market Drayton, Newport Town and Whitehawk. The final word can go to his manager at Sheffield Wednesday Paul Sturrock who summed up his career perfectly. “Either he is very good or very bad – there seems to be no middle road with him. It’s something he has to get out of his system because there is a footballer in that laddie.”

3rd May – Steve McClaren

Not many England managers have took on jobs abroad but this particular one has had a lot of success and is now in with a good chance of gaining promotion to the Premier League.

Steve McClaren is 53 today and is currently in charge of Derby County where he has led them to a third place finish and will compete in the playoffs for a place in the top flight. It has been a long journey since the last time he managed in the Premier League which has seen him be the national team manager, manage in Holland and Germany and then have a spell at local rivals Nottingham Forest.

He spent most of his playing career in the lower leagues playing for Hull City, Derby County, Lincoln City, Bristol City and Oxford United until an injury in 1992 forced him to retire. He became a coach at Oxford until 1995 when he joined Jim Smith at Derby to help them gain promotion in their first season and helped them consolidate their position. He was gaining a very good reputation and in 1999 he moved to Manchester United and in his first half a season he helped the club win the treble. The success continued as every year he spent at the club they won the league title but at the end of the 2000-01 season he was actively looking for a managerial position and he had three clubs chasing him. Ultimately he decided to join Middlesbrough.

Every season there was slight improvement and in 2004 he led the team to victory in the League Cup final against Bolton Wanderers, meaning he was the first Middlesbrough manager to win a major honour and take them into Europe. Middlesbrough’s games in Europe against Steaua Bucharest and FC Basel will live long in the memory as the club recovered from positions that never seemed possible and meant they got to the final of the UEFA Cup. Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson said of his manager: “What he has achieved in his time here is highly impressive, and yet I don’t feel he has had anything like the praise his achievements deserve.”

However he was being recognised by some and on the 4th May 2006 McClaren became England manager. Taking over from Sven Goran Eriksson who said: “I have worked closely with Steve ever since I came to England and know how good of a coach he is. He is well liked and well respected by all the players and staff.” Unfortunately he only lasted 18 games and failed to qualify for Euro 2008 but he did win nine of his games in charge.

In June 2008 he returned to football and took over Dutch club FC Twente. In his first season at the club they finished in second place and many predicted they would struggle the next season after losing key players but this did not happen as they were crowned champions in 2010 for the first time in their history. Twente won 16 of their 17 home matches and had to withstand some serious pressure from Ajax who won their last 14 games which shows how impressive McClaren had to be.

Even after this achievement he decided to move on and join German side Wolfsburg. However he did not do as well as he hoped and was only in charge for 24 games and was sacked in February 2011. McClaren then decided to return to England but success did not return as he only won three games out of 13 with Nottingham Forest and resigned.

He then returned to Twente but once again he could not rediscover the golden touch and after a disappointing 6th place finish and tough time in the next season he resigned from his post. After a brief spell as coach at QPR he joined Derby County and in his 37 games in charge so far he was won 22 games and it is hard to argue against them winning the playoffs and he will be quietly confident that he will be a Premier League manager once again next season.

The final word can go to Jim Smith who made him his assistant at Derby. “He’s a very talented coach and very good at man management. He’s up there with the best in coaching terms.”