Paul Huntington
Encyclopedia
Paul Huntington is an English
professional footballer. He plays primarily in the centre half
position and currently plays for Yeovil Town
.
Academy on 1 July 2004 from Trinity School in Carlisle. As a schoolboy he played at Wembley Stadium
and also won the England Under 18
National Cup for his school in 2004. After impressing in the youth teams he was promoted to the reserve squad in late 2004 to play tougher opposition and gain experience. He made his reserve debut for the club on 7 December in a 3–0 home win over rivals Middlesbrough
and made his official England Under 18 debut against Scotland fifteen days later in a 1–0 win partnering David Wheater
at centre back and got his 2nd cap on 10 June 2005 v Norway at Vale Park in a 0-0 draw. He signed his first professional contract at the club in July 2005.
His first involvement in the first team at Newcastle was when he appeared on the bench for the club's Intertoto Cup
games against ZTS Dubnic
and Deportivo La Coruña in July 2005. In the summer of 2005 he was awarded the prestigious Jackie Milburn
trophy, given each year to the rising star of north-east
football. He was also named in the first team squad at Newcastle for the FA Cup
third-round tie against Mansfield Town
, remembered for being the game in which Alan Shearer
scored his 200th goal for the club. Huntington made the substitutes bench for a UEFA Cup match against Celta Vigo
On 9 December he made his first Newcastle appearance as a late substitute against Blackburn Rovers
in the unfamiliar role of right-back and duly received praise from Newcastle legend Alan Shearer
on BBC programme Match Of The Day. The following match, on 14 December Huntington started his first ever game for Newcastle, again appearing at right back away at Chelsea in the Premier League and received Man Of The Match for keeping the likes of Arjen Robben
and Didier Drogba
at bay. He marked his first ever goal for Newcastle on 14 January 2007 when he scored the first equaliser for them in Newcastle's 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur
at White Hart Lane.
He also played in a Uefa Cup semi-final against AZ Alkmaar losing on away goals over the two legs.He went on to make 16 appearances for the first team whilst making the bench for most of the 2006/07 season.
for an undiclosed fee. The move was seen as a coup by Leeds as Huntington had played in the Premier League. He made his home debut for the club as a substitute in the 2–0 victory on 8 September at home to Hartlepool United
.
On 9 October 2007 Huntington opened his Leeds account by scoring against Darlington
in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Second Round on his full debut to help Leeds go to the next stage. He scored his first league goal against Luton Town
on 26 January 2008. He also scored against Leyton Orient
on 5 April. There were controversies surrounding whether it was he or Bradley Johnson
who scored the goal, but in the end it was officially given to Huntington.
Huntington established himself as Leeds' first-choice centre-back. He was on good form during the run-in to the end of the 2007–08 season and manager Gary McAllister
said Huntington has a bright future ahead of him. He played at Wembley May 25, 2008 in the League One Play Off Final v Doncaster,losing 1–0 but playing well.He was handed the captain's armband during the 2008–09 pre season tour of Ireland in the game against Shelbourne
. He started the season as a first choice centre back,although he was then ruled out for most of the season with hernia and groin operations and during this time Gary McAllister
was sacked and replaced by Simon Grayson
.
Huntington returned to training for Leeds for the 2009/10 season. Huntington made his first competitive appearance for Leeds for several months in the Carling Cup game against Darlington winning 1–0 but did not feature for Simon Grayson after this game.
10 September 2009 Huntington joined League One rivals Stockport County
on a month's loan.Huntington made his Stockport debut in the 2–2 draw against Yeovil Town, and then subsequently made the League 1 team of the week after a fine performance against Huddersfield.After 9 appearances for Stockport, his two month loan spell came to an end. Stockport County wanted to extend the loan for a third and final month but Huntington was told to return by Leeds United.
On transfer deadline day February 1, 2010 Leeds United agreed to Huntingtons' request that his contract be paid up after lack of opportunities under Simon Grayson. This allowed him to seek another club to maximise his appearances this season and get in the shop window of other clubs for the summer when he was out of contract.
on a short term contract until the end of the season.
Huntington won the npower League One 'Player of the Month' for January, beating off competition from Brighton's Elliott Bennett, Craig Dawson from Rochdale and Bournemouth's Liam Feeney to win the coveted award which was presented to him by Glovers boss Terry Skiverton. During the month he scored three times against Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons and Brentford as well as being part of a defence that kept five successive clean sheets.
Huntington came second in two end of season awards for Yeovil Town, claiming 2nd place in the Green and Whites and Away Travel Club Player of the year. Yeovil finished 14th in the 2010/2011 season with 59 points and 13 clean sheets.
On Tuesday 13th September 2011 Huntington was named man of the match in a 1-0 home win against Wycombe Wanderers.
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...
professional footballer. He plays primarily in the centre half
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
position and currently plays for Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
.
Newcastle United
He joined Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
Academy on 1 July 2004 from Trinity School in Carlisle. As a schoolboy he played at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
and also won the England Under 18
England national under-18 football team
-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Slovakia.-Recent call-ups:The following players have also been called up to the England under-18 squad and remain eligible.-References:...
National Cup for his school in 2004. After impressing in the youth teams he was promoted to the reserve squad in late 2004 to play tougher opposition and gain experience. He made his reserve debut for the club on 7 December in a 3–0 home win over rivals 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...
and made his official England Under 18 debut against Scotland fifteen days later in a 1–0 win partnering David Wheater
David Wheater
David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
at centre back and got his 2nd cap on 10 June 2005 v Norway at Vale Park in a 0-0 draw. He signed his first professional contract at the club in July 2005.
His first involvement in the first team at Newcastle was when he appeared on the bench for the club's Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
games against ZTS Dubnic
FK ZTS Dubnica
MFK Dubnica is a Slovak football club, playing in the city of Dubnica nad Váhom.- History :MFK Dubnica was founded in 1926 and spent much of its early years playing in the regional Czechoslovakian leagues until 1977 where they were finally promoted to the national first division and finished a...
and Deportivo La Coruña in July 2005. In the summer of 2005 he was awarded the prestigious Jackie Milburn
Jackie Milburn
John Edward Thompson 'Jackie' Milburn, , also known to fans as Wor Jackie and 'the first World Wor' in reference to his global fame, was a football player for Newcastle United and England...
trophy, given each year to the rising star of north-east
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
football. He was also named in the first team squad at Newcastle 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...
third-round tie against Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
, remembered for being the game in which Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
scored his 200th goal for the club. Huntington made the substitutes bench for a UEFA Cup match against Celta Vigo
On 9 December he made his first Newcastle appearance as a late substitute against Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
in the unfamiliar role of right-back and duly received praise from Newcastle legend Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
on BBC programme Match Of The Day. The following match, on 14 December Huntington started his first ever game for Newcastle, again appearing at right back away at Chelsea in the Premier League and received Man Of The Match for keeping the likes of Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben is a Dutch footballer who plays for the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards as a winger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills...
and Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
at bay. He marked his first ever goal for Newcastle on 14 January 2007 when he scored the first equaliser for them in Newcastle's 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
at White Hart Lane.
He also played in a Uefa Cup semi-final against AZ Alkmaar losing on away goals over the two legs.He went on to make 16 appearances for the first team whilst making the bench for most of the 2006/07 season.
Leeds United
On 31 August 2007 he transferred to Leeds UnitedLeeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
for an undiclosed fee. The move was seen as a coup by Leeds as Huntington had played in the Premier League. He made his home debut for the club as a substitute in the 2–0 victory on 8 September at home 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 9 October 2007 Huntington opened his Leeds account by scoring against 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 the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Second Round on his full debut to help Leeds go to the next stage. He scored his first league goal against Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
on 26 January 2008. He also scored against Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
on 5 April. There were controversies surrounding whether it was he or Bradley Johnson
Bradley Johnson
Bradley Paul Johnson is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Norwich City. His primary position is a central midfielder, but he can also play as a left winger and as a left back.-Club career:...
who scored the goal, but in the end it was officially given to Huntington.
Huntington established himself as Leeds' first-choice centre-back. He was on good form during the run-in to the end of the 2007–08 season and manager Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
said Huntington has a bright future ahead of him. He played at Wembley May 25, 2008 in the League One Play Off Final v Doncaster,losing 1–0 but playing well.He was handed the captain's armband during the 2008–09 pre season tour of Ireland in the game against Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
. He started the season as a first choice centre back,although he was then ruled out for most of the season with hernia and groin operations and during this time Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
was sacked and replaced by Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....
.
Huntington returned to training for Leeds for the 2009/10 season. Huntington made his first competitive appearance for Leeds for several months in the Carling Cup game against Darlington winning 1–0 but did not feature for Simon Grayson after this game.
10 September 2009 Huntington joined League One rivals Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
on a month's loan.Huntington made his Stockport debut in the 2–2 draw against Yeovil Town, and then subsequently made the League 1 team of the week after a fine performance against Huddersfield.After 9 appearances for Stockport, his two month loan spell came to an end. Stockport County wanted to extend the loan for a third and final month but Huntington was told to return by Leeds United.
On transfer deadline day February 1, 2010 Leeds United agreed to Huntingtons' request that his contract be paid up after lack of opportunities under Simon Grayson. This allowed him to seek another club to maximise his appearances this season and get in the shop window of other clubs for the summer when he was out of contract.
Stockport County
After leaving Leeds, he signed for Stockport CountyStockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
on a short term contract until the end of the season.
Yeovil Town
On Friday 16 July 2010 Huntington signed for Yeovil Town on a two year contract. He scored the 3rd goal in a 3–1 win over Tranmere Rovers on 11 September and made League One Team Of The Week. He also made League One Team Of The Week on 9 October after a 1–0 win at Rochdale. He has captained the side many times this season. On Monday 3 January 2011 Huntington scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against MK Dons at home, also receiving man of the match. He also followed this up by scoring again in the following match on 8 January v Brentford in a 2-0 win,again getting man of the match and in League One Team Of The Week.He helped them to five consecutive clean sheets from Colchester United 11 December to January 23 where they conceded their first goal for nearly 500 minutes against Rochdale in a 1-0 defeat.Huntington scored his 4th goal of the season with a header against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Tuesday 25 January in a 2-2 draw.Huntington won the npower League One 'Player of the Month' for January, beating off competition from Brighton's Elliott Bennett, Craig Dawson from Rochdale and Bournemouth's Liam Feeney to win the coveted award which was presented to him by Glovers boss Terry Skiverton. During the month he scored three times against Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons and Brentford as well as being part of a defence that kept five successive clean sheets.
Huntington came second in two end of season awards for Yeovil Town, claiming 2nd place in the Green and Whites and Away Travel Club Player of the year. Yeovil finished 14th in the 2010/2011 season with 59 points and 13 clean sheets.
On Tuesday 13th September 2011 Huntington was named man of the match in a 1-0 home win against Wycombe Wanderers.
Career statistics
| Season | Club | Division | League English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing... |
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... |
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... |
Football League Trophy Football League Trophy The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top... |
Play-Offs Football League Play-Offs The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is... |
UEFA Cup UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League... |
Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... |
> 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 ! 16 !! 1 |
||||
| Leeds United Leeds United A.F.C. Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system... |
League One Football League One Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system.... | 17 |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 ! 24 !! 3 |
||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 ! 7 !! 0 |
||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 ! 1 !! 0 |
||||||
| Stockport County Stockport County F.C. Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport... > 26 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 ! 26 !! 0 |
|||||
| Yeovil Town Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset.* Yeovil Town L.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil Town F.C..... | 40 |
4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 ! 43 !! 4 |
|||||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 116 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 133 | >|} | ||