Carlton Fairweather
Encyclopedia
Carlton U. Fairweather, born 22 September 1961 in Camberwell
) is a retired English
footballer
.
with Dulwich Hamlet
, Bromley
and Tooting & Mitcham United
where his performances attracted the attentions of Wimbledon
.
He signed for the Dons in 1984 and made his debut on New Years Day 1985 against Oldham Athletic. Early in his career at the club he had loan spells at Porin Pallotoverit and Koparit
in Finland
before establishing himself as a regular in the Wimbledon side. He went on to make 138 league appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals as they established themselves as a First Division club and being founders members of the new FA Premier League
in 1992. His best season was the 1986-87 campaign
, where he played 23 times in the league and scored eight goals in their first campaign as a First Division club, finishing an impressive sixth and actually leading the table in early September. The highlight of Wimbledon's remarkable success story came at the end of the 1987-88
when they reached the FA Cup final and achieved a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool
. However, Fairweather was not in the squad for that game, despite having appeared 21 times in the league and scored four goals to help achieve a seventh place finish. By the end of his time at Wimbledon, he had become the club's "forgotten man", failing to make a single league appearance in his final season and played just 11 times collectively in the two seasons before that.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=39839
He signed for Carlisle United
in 1993 after falling out of favour at Wimbledon. He left Carlisle after only 12 league appearances (1 goal) to transfer to Golden F.C.. He moved to American soccer in 1996 with New York Fever, before going on to represent Greek Americans Soccer Club and Connecticut Wolves
.
and has coached as part of the US Olympic Development Programme. He has also played for the "masters" team representing AFC Wimbledon
.
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
) is a retired English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
.
Playing career
Fairweather began his career in Non-League footballNon-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
with Dulwich Hamlet
Dulwich Hamlet F.C.
Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is an English football club who play at Champion Hill stadium in Dulwich, in the London Borough of Southwark. Formed in 1893, they joined the Isthmian League a few years later, winning it a total of 4 times, between 1920 and 1949, and wear a famous pink and blue...
, Bromley
Bromley F.C.
Bromley Football Club are an English football club based in Bromley, in Greater London, England. They currently play in the Conference South, and play their home matches at Hayes Lane.-Early years:...
and Tooting & Mitcham United
Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.
Tooting & Mitcham United Football Club are a semi-professional association football club representing the south-west London areas of Tooting and Mitcham, within the London Borough of Merton. The club's stadium, Imperial Fields is located in Morden. The club are nicknamed The Terrors or...
where his performances attracted the attentions of Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
.
He signed for the Dons in 1984 and made his debut on New Years Day 1985 against Oldham Athletic. Early in his career at the club he had loan spells at Porin Pallotoverit and Koparit
Koparit
Koparit was a football club from Kuopio, Finland. It was founded in 1931 and disbanded in 1990. The club played a total of 21 seasons in the Finnish premier division Mestaruussarja between 1938 and 1987, reaching the runners-up position twice, in the 1978 and 1981 seasons...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
before establishing himself as a regular in the Wimbledon side. He went on to make 138 league appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals as they established themselves as a First Division club and being founders members of the new FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
in 1992. His best season was the 1986-87 campaign
1986-87 in English football
The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...
, where he played 23 times in the league and scored eight goals in their first campaign as a First Division club, finishing an impressive sixth and actually leading the table in early September. The highlight of Wimbledon's remarkable success story came at the end of the 1987-88
1987-88 in English football
The 1987–88 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season....
when they reached the FA Cup final and achieved a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. However, Fairweather was not in the squad for that game, despite having appeared 21 times in the league and scored four goals to help achieve a seventh place finish. By the end of his time at Wimbledon, he had become the club's "forgotten man", failing to make a single league appearance in his final season and played just 11 times collectively in the two seasons before that.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=39839
He signed for Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
in 1993 after falling out of favour at Wimbledon. He left Carlisle after only 12 league appearances (1 goal) to transfer to Golden F.C.. He moved to American soccer in 1996 with New York Fever, before going on to represent Greek Americans Soccer Club and Connecticut Wolves
Connecticut Wolves
The Connecticut Wolves were a soccer club that competed in the United Soccer Leagues from 1993 to 2002. Based in New Britain, Connecticut, and playing in Veteran's Stadium, the club started in the D-3 Pro League before moving to the A-League in 1997.-History:...
.
Subsequent career
After retirement Fairweather took up a position as a community coach with Sunderland A.F.C.Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
and has coached as part of the US Olympic Development Programme. He has also played for the "masters" team representing AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....
.