6'0"  11st.7lb.
b. Bolton 6 November 1972
 

Debut  30 March 1996 (23y 144d) Final Game 27 August 2005 (32y 294d)
First Goal 17 September 1996 Final Goal 20 March 2004
CAREER: Eagley JS;Turton HS;Turton Jnrs;Bolton Lads Club;Manchester City Jul'89 (trainee) Jul'91[109+6-13]; Bury Mar'92 (loan)[12];Blackburn Rovers Mar'96 (£3,200,000);Sheffield United Jan’06-Jun’06 (free)[3+3].
SQUAD NUMBER  23 Mar’96 - 14 Aug’97 - 7 Aug’98 - 5 Aug’04.
 

PL/FL  229  + 16 apps  14 gls   - 44 wdn                                                      37 ns   1 og
FAC       15   +  2 apps    4 gls    -   3 wdn                                                        2 ns
FLC        10   + 4 apps     1 gl      -  1 wdn                                                        4 ns
UEFA     4 apps                1 gl
Total   258  + 22 apps   20 gls    - 48 wdn  +486m -1,372m et 120m      43 ns    1 og
Sent off  4  
 

A highly energetic midfield man whose assets were his physical presence, desire to succeed and leadership. He made a highly unusual debut being sent off within minutes but the club was never unappreciative of the influence he brought to games. A ferocious tackler, he was less comfortable with the ball and preferred the safe pass to the perceptive. Possessing abundant energy he was utilised to provide forward runs but lacked composure in critical positions. Despite having his critics it is now commonly accepted that the team was worse for his absence, although those absences were increased by his disciplinary record. A move to Sheffield United came at a time when he was struggling for fitness and after half a season he acknowledged that he was no longer able to play the game at this level. Despite owning a property empire that made him a multi-millionaire, he remained his attachment to the game by becoming manager of Leigh Genesis in March 2009, moving on to take over at Chorley in 2010. He was a huge success with the club but resigned in July 2015 after narrowly failing to take the club into the Conference.