Craig Cathcart - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Craig George Cathcart is a Northern Irish

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

footballer who plays as a centre back for Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

and the Northern Ireland national team

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

. He has also captained his country's under-21 side

Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

The Northern Ireland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Northern Ireland.-Former coaches:* To 20 August 2008.-2008/09 Matches:-Current squad:Squad to play San Marino.-Other Recent Call-Ups:...

.

A product of the Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

youth academy, Cathcart spent time on loan at Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

club Royal Antwerp, and English Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

sides Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

and Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, before joining newly promoted Blackpool in 2010.

Early career

Born in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Cathcart was spotted playing football for Glengormley High School

Glengormley High School

Glengormley High School is a secondary school in the town of Glengormley in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was opened in September 1971....

at the age of 14, and, despite being coveted by clubs like Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

and Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

upon winning the Northern Ireland Youth Player of the Year award in 2003, he began training at the Manchester United School of Excellence in Belfast. He signed trainee terms at Manchester United in July 2005, and turned professional on his 17th birthday in February 2006. Cathcart became a regular in the Manchester United Under-18s team, and was a member of the Under-17s team that played at the 2007 Northern Ireland Milk Cup, scoring the first goal in a 5–0 win over Liechtenstein. During the 2006–07 season, he was made captain of the United youth team that reached the FA Youth Cup

FA Youth Cup

The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...

Final, although he missed both legs of the final, the first through selection for the first team and the second through injury.

Manchester United

On 19 March 2007, Cathcart received his first call-up to the Manchester United senior squad for the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

Sixth Round replay with Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

. After an injury to Nemanja Vidić

Nemanja Vidic

Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

, Cathcart was promoted to the first team squad as cover on 31 March 2007. He was an unused substitute in Manchester United's 7–1 win against Roma

A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

in the Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

less than two weeks later, the FA Cup

FA Cup

semi-final victory over Watford

Watford F.C.

a further four days later, and the victory over Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

on 17 April.

Speculation that this defensive injury crisis would lead to Cathcart making his senior debut ended when he suffered a season-ending knee injury during training after the match against Sheffield United. As a result, he also missed the second leg of the FA Youth Cup final; he had already missed the first leg due to his call-up to the senior squad. Despite his injury, Cathcart's performances in the club's youth teams earned him the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award for the 2006–07 season.

Loan to Antwerp

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Cathcart was sent on a half-season loan to United's Belgian

Belgium

feeder club, Royal Antwerp

Royal Antwerp F.C.

Royal Antwerp Football Club, often simply referred to as Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp.Antwerp is the oldest football club to register to the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1895 and they consequently received the matriculate number one when matriculation...

, to gain match experience. He made his debut for the Belgians on 22 September 2007, in a match against OC Charleroi

R.O.C. de Charleroi-Marchienne

Royal Olympic Club de Charleroi-Marchienne is a Belgian association football club from the city of Charleroi, Hainaut. As of 2010, they play in Belgian Third Division B.-History:...

. The next game saw Cathcart score Antwerp's only goal of the game in a 4–1 loss to Kortrijk

K.V. Kortrijk

Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They have been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 2008-09 season, and they achieved they best ranking ever during the 2009-10 season, finishing 4th after the play-offs...

. He scored again in a match against Tubize

A.F.C. Tubize

Association Football Clubs Tubize, also known as A.F.C. Tubize is a Belgian football club located in the city of Tubize. The club last promoted to the first division in 2008. The club was founded in 1989 as the result of a merger of two clubs, F.C...

, to earn a 1–1 draw, and also the Man of the Match award. He made a further nine appearances for "The Great Old", to bring his total to 13, before returning to Manchester United at the end of 2007.
Although he was not originally selected for the squad, Cathcart was briefly called up to the Manchester United first team for their tour of South Africa on 24 July 2008, and played the full 90 minutes in the team's 4–0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs on 26 July, his first appearance for the first team. He then came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Jonny Evans

Jonny Evans

Jonathan Grant "Jonny" Evans is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester United and Northern Ireland. Evans was born in Belfast and started his career at Greenisland FC, where he was spotted by Manchester United scouts. He progressed through Manchester United's football...

in a match against Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

in Nigeria the following day, before then coming on for Wes Brown

Wes Brown

Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...

at half-time in a friendly against Peterborough United

Peterborough United F.C.

Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

on 4 August.

Loans to the Championship

On 8 August 2008, in a search for first-team football, Cathcart joined Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

side Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

, on loan until the end of 2008. This was later extended to the entire 2008–09 season, as Cathcart has quickly become a regular at Home Park. He scored his first Plymouth goal in their 3–1 defeat at home to Ipswich in October 2008.

Cathcart returned to Manchester United at the end of the 2008–09 season and played in two pre-season friendlies for the reserve team before joining up with the first team for the Audi Cup

Audi Cup

The Audi Cup is a two-day pre-season football tournament that features four teams, and is staged at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, before the start of the Bundesliga season. The competition's first edition in 2009 was organised and promoted by car manufacturer Audi AG to celebrate their...

in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. After Nemanja Vidić

Nemanja Vidic

Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

suffered a calf strain in the warm-up before the semi-final against Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

, Cathcart was promoted to the starting XI. Manchester United won the match 2–1, with Cathcart giving a good performance, although he did head the ball against his own crossbar mid-way through the second half.

Cathcart scored the opening goal in a 3–1 away win over Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves and Academy

-Reserve team:Bolton Wanderers Reserves play in the Barclays Premiership Reserve League North. They also participate in the Manchester Senior Cup, although in recent years the teams entered in this competition have featured an increasing number of youth players.Bolton Wanderers Reserves play their...

in the first game of the 2009–10 Premier Reserve League

2009–10 Premier Reserve League

The 2009–10 Premier Reserve League was the eleventh season since the establishment of the Premier Reserve League...

season on 24 August 2009. The following season, Cathcart was sought after by a number of Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

sides, and Manchester United received a bid of £1.25m from a Championship side but United preferred a loan deal. Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

and Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town F.C.

Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

both showed an interest in the young defender, but he instead signed for Watford

Watford F.C.

on loan until 4 January 2010, where he joined fellow Old Trafford team-mate Tom Cleverley and Arsenal youngster Henri Lansbury on loan.

Blackpool

On 11 August 2010, Cathcart signed for Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

for an undisclosed fee, after agreeing a three-year contract, with an option for a further year. Three days later he made his debut as Blackpool marked their Premier League debut with a 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

at the DW Stadium. He scored his first goal in the Premier League at Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

on 25 January 2011 to put Blackpool ahead in the 15th minute with a powerful header, against his old club, Manchester United in a 3-2 defeat.

International career

Cathcart has been involved with the Northern Ireland national team

Northern Ireland national football team

since Under-17 level, and was part of the team that attempted to qualify

2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship elite qualification

UEFA U-17 Championship 2006 is the second round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of UEFA U-17 Championship 2006. , , and automatically qualify for this round. The winners of each group join hosts at the Final Tournament.-Group 1:...

for the 2006 European Under-17 Championship

2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship

-Group B:---------------------Semifinals:-----Third Place Playoff:-Final:-Goalscorers:-References:**-External links:*...

.

By November 2006, still just 17 years old, Cathcart had been promoted to the Northern Ireland Under-21 team

Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

, and was named in the squad for a friendly against Germany

Germany national under-21 football team

The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association , the governing body of football in Germany....

on 14 November 2006. In February 2007, Cathcart was selected in the European squad for the 2007 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup

2007 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup

The 2007 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup was the sixth UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup, an intercontinental football competition for the representative under-18 teams of Europe and Africa. The competition, being held as a two-legged tie for the first time, was played in Barcelona, Spain, on 27 February and 1 March 2007...

, a competition between two "all-star" Under-18 teams from Europe and Africa.

Since his first call-up, Cathcart has been a regular name in Northern Ireland Under-21 squads, and has so far made seven appearances for the team, the most recent being a 3–0 defeat by Germany

Germany national under-21 football team

on 5 September 2008.

Cathcart was called up to the Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

squad in May 2009, along with nine other uncapped players for the international friendly

Exhibition game

An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

against Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

on 6 June. Cathcart made his full international debut in Northern Ireland's 1–0 win against Slovenia

Slovenia national football team

The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....

in Maribor on 3 September 2010. Playing out of position at left back, due to an injury to Jonny Evans

Jonny Evans

, Cathcart put in a strong performance and set up the winning goal for Corry Evans

Corry Evans

Corry John Evans is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder or centre back for Hull City. A Northern Ireland under-21 and senior international, he came through the Manchester United youth academy, like his older brother, United team centre back Jonny Evans...

Career statistics

|-
|2007–08||Royal Antwerp (loan)||Second Division

Belgian Second Division

The Belgian Second Division is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system after the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the Belgian Football Association in 1905. Between 2008 and 2010 it was named EXQI League after a television channel owned by the league main sponsor,...

|13||2||0||0||—||—||13||2
|-

|-
|2008–09

2008–09 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

The 2008–09 football season was Plymouth Argyle Football Club's 40th season in the Football League Championship, the second division of English football, and their 104th as a professional club. It officially began on 1 July 2008, and concluded on 30 June 2009, although competitive matches are only...

||Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

(loan)||Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

|31||1||1||0||1||0||33||1
|-
|2009–10||Watford

Watford F.C.

(loan)||Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

|12||0||0||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2010–11

2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season

The 2010–11 season was Blackpool F.C.s debut season in the Premier League, after winning the 2009–10 Championship play-off Final in what was their 100th consecutive season in the Football League. It was also their 28th overall season in English football's top tier, but their first since 1971. It...

||rowspan="2"|Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

||Premier League
|30||1||0||0||0||0||30||1
|-
|2011–12

2011–12 Blackpool F.C. season

Blackpool F.C.s 2011–12 season started on 5 August 2011. It is the club's first season back in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English professional football, after being relegated from the Premier League at the conclusion of 2010–11 campaign, and their 104th overall season in...

||Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

|14||0||0||0||0||0||14||0
|-
13||2||0||0||0||0||13||2
87||2||1||0||1||0||89||2
100||4||1||0||1||0||102||4

External links

Craig Cathcart profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk
Profile at ManUtd.com
Profile at pafc.co.uk
Profile at redStat

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.