Michael Proctor
Encyclopedia
Michael Anthony Proctor (born 3 October 1980) is a former English
footballer. He was born in Sunderland
, England
.
against Everton
in the League Cup
on 11 November 1998, which finished as a 1–1 draw. He was loaned to Danish
side Hvidovre
in 2000 to recuperate from a cruciate ligament injury. He joined Halifax Town
on loan in March 2001, making his debut against Cheltenham Town
, in which he scored in a 4–2 win. He finished this loan spell with four goals in 12 appearances. He played at York City
on loan during the 2001–02
season, making his debut in a 1–0 defeat against Rushden & Diamonds
. He finished this spell with 49 appearances and 14 goals, making him York's top scorer for the season. He joined Bradford City
on loan in August 2002. He scored the winning goal on his debut as Bradford defeated Ipswich Town
2–1, and became a favourite among fans, players, and the board. He scored a total of four goals in 12 games during his two-month spell, including a late equaliser as nine-man City drew 2–2 with Burnley
, but he returned to Sunderland when manager Howard Wilkinson
blocked another month's extension to the loan.
He scored the winner for Sunderland in their 2–1 win over Liverpool
on 15 December 2002. One unfortunate claim to fame occurred whilst playing for Sunderland in 2003, in a 3–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic
, where Proctor scored twice at the wrong end, with Stephen Wright scoring the other, also an own goal, and all three within just eight minutes.
in a swap deal for Darren Byfield
. He joined Swindon Town
on a month's loan loan deal in February 2005. Rotherham could not afford to extend his loan at the club and he returned to Rotherham in March. He later moved to Hartlepool United
on a free transfer in July 2005. He was best remembered by Hartlepool fans for scoring twice in a 3–1 over local rivals Darlington
in a Coca-Cola Cup
tie early in his Pools' career. He played just 32 games in two seasons for Hartlepool, scoring ten goals, before he was one of ten players released by Danny Wilson.
club Wrexham on a month's loan in March 2007. This loan was extended until the end of the 2006–07
season in April. During this spell he scored two vital goals for Wrexham in their eventually successful survival bid. These were the winning goal in the 1–0 victory at local rivals Shrewsbury Town
and the third goal in the Welsh club's 3–1 victory over Boston United
which preserved the club's Football League
status. He was released by Hartlepool in May 2007 and expressed an interest in joining Wrexham permanently. This move was confirmed in May 2007. He was transfer listed by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference
, despite finishing the season as the club's top scorer with 12 goals.
In the summer of 2009 after talks with manager Dean Saunders, Michael left the club by mutual consent. Rumours of a move back to his native North East with Gateshead came to nothing, and its thought that he is now looking at a career away from the Professional game.
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. He was born in Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, England
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...
.
Sunderland
Proctor made his debut for SunderlandSunderland 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...
against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
on 11 November 1998, which finished as a 1–1 draw. He was loaned to Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
side Hvidovre
Hvidovre IF
Hvidovre IF is a Danish football club, founded on 15 October 1925 in Hvidovre.- Current squad :As of 2011-03-21...
in 2000 to recuperate from a cruciate ligament injury. He joined Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
on loan in March 2001, making his debut against Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
, in which he scored in a 4–2 win. He finished this loan spell with four goals in 12 appearances. He played at York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
on loan during the 2001–02
2001-02 in English football
The 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
season, making his debut in a 1–0 defeat against Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds F.C.
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, the club played in the Conference National following a short spell in the Football League at the start of...
. He finished this spell with 49 appearances and 14 goals, making him York's top scorer for the season. He joined Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
on loan in August 2002. He scored the winning goal on his debut as Bradford defeated 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....
2–1, and became a favourite among fans, players, and the board. He scored a total of four goals in 12 games during his two-month spell, including a late equaliser as nine-man City drew 2–2 with Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, but he returned to Sunderland when manager Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
blocked another month's extension to the loan.
He scored the winner for Sunderland in their 2–1 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...
on 15 December 2002. One unfortunate claim to fame occurred whilst playing for Sunderland in 2003, in a 3–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
, where Proctor scored twice at the wrong end, with Stephen Wright scoring the other, also an own goal, and all three within just eight minutes.
Rotherham United and Hartlepool United
Proctor left Sunderland in February 2004, joining Rotherham UnitedRotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
in a swap deal for Darren Byfield
Darren Byfield
Darren Asherton Byfield is an English-born professional footballer of Jamaican descent who played for Walsall. His predominant position is as a forward.-Career:...
. He joined Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
on a month's loan loan deal in February 2005. Rotherham could not afford to extend his loan at the club and he returned to Rotherham in March. He later moved to Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
on a free transfer in July 2005. He was best remembered by Hartlepool fans for scoring twice in a 3–1 over local rivals Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
in a Coca-Cola Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
tie early in his Pools' career. He played just 32 games in two seasons for Hartlepool, scoring ten goals, before he was one of ten players released by Danny Wilson.
Wrexham
Proctor joined League TwoFootball League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Wrexham on a month's loan in March 2007. This loan was extended until the end of the 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
season in April. During this spell he scored two vital goals for Wrexham in their eventually successful survival bid. These were the winning goal in the 1–0 victory at local rivals Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
and the third goal in the Welsh club's 3–1 victory over Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
which preserved the club's Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
status. He was released by Hartlepool in May 2007 and expressed an interest in joining Wrexham permanently. This move was confirmed in May 2007. He was transfer listed by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
, despite finishing the season as the club's top scorer with 12 goals.
In the summer of 2009 after talks with manager Dean Saunders, Michael left the club by mutual consent. Rumours of a move back to his native North East with Gateshead came to nothing, and its thought that he is now looking at a career away from the Professional game.