Walsall player 301. Graham Anthony Fenton

Graham Anthony Fenton (born 22 May 1974 in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear) is an English former professional footballer and manager of North Shields.
As a player he played as a midfielder, notably played in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City, as well as in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion, Walsall, Stoke City, Blackpool and Darlington. He also spent a year in Scotland with St. Mirren before later playing for Non-league Blyth Spartans. He was also capped once by England at under-21 level. He took over as manager of North Shields on 6 April 2012.
Fenton joined Aston Villa as a trainee in June 1990, turning professional in February 1992. He was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion in January 1994, making his league debut against Leicester City in the same month. His loan spell at Albion was very successful, producing three goals in seven games and contributing to Albion’s eventual survival in Division One, leaving many Albion fans “bitterly disappointed” when he did not sign permanently. He instead returned to Villa, making his club debut in a 0–0Premiership draw at home to Manchester City on 22 February 1994. In March 1994 he played in Villa’sLeague Cup winning side, playing all of the 3–1 victory against Manchester United at Wembley. Fenton made his only appearance for the England Under-21s on 15 November 1994 in a 1–0 win against Ireland U-21s at St James’ Park; the team included several future full internationals, including Sol Campbell and Nicky Butt.
In November 1995, having never claimed a regular place in the Villa first team, Fenton made a £1,500,000 move to reigning Premiership champions Blackburn, but with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton in rich goal scoring form his first team opportunities were limited. He scored seven times for Blackburn, including two as a late substitute against Newcastle United, the team Fenton has supported since childhood, in April 1996 which effectively ended Newcastle’s title challenge.
In August 1997 he moved to Martin O’Neill’s Leicester City for a fee of £1,100,000. He scored on his Leicester debut, having replaced Ian Marshall as a late substitute in the 2–1 win away to Liverpool, but again struggled to establish himself, making only 34 league appearances (21 as substitute) over three seasons.
He joined Walsall on loan in March 2000, scoring once against Port Vale, and had an unsuccessful trial with Barnsley in July 2000. In August 2000 he joined Stoke City on a monthly contract, scoring once against Reading, and at the end of the following month signed for St Mirren on a two-year contract.
In August 2001 Fenton joined Blackpool on a free transfer, but once more struggled to establish himself in the first team. He had a spell on loan with Darlington between September and December 2002, scoring once against Bournemouth, and was one of nine players released by Blackpool manager Steve McMahon in May 2003.
In July 2003 Fenton returned to the North East of England, joining Blyth Spartans. Blyth manager Paul Baker appointed Fenton as player-assistant manager in July 2004. Fenton took over as caretaker-manager of Blyth when Baker left that September, returning to his player-assistant manager role in October 2004 after the appointment of Harry Dunn as manager. In the 2005–06 season he was part of the Spartans’ side that gained promotion to the Conference North by winning the Northern Premier League. He was assistant manager and player at North Shields F.C. from April 2012.
Graham took over as manager of former Amateur Cup Winners North Shields in April 2012 after previous manager Anthony Woodhouse resigned. Graham took over with 4 games remaining with the club missing out on promotion from a strong position for the second consecutive season. Two years later, he led Shields to winning theNorthern League Division Two title and promotion to Division One.

Youth career
	Wallsend Boys Club
1990–1992	Aston Villa
Senior career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1995	Aston Villa	30	(3)
1994	West Bromwich Albion (loan)	7	(3)
1995–1997	Blackburn Rovers	27	(7)
1997–2000	Leicester City	34	(3)
2000	Walsall (loan)	9	(1)
2000	Stoke City	5	(1)
2000–2001	St. Mirren	26	(2)
2001–2003	Blackpool	15	(5)
2002	Darlington (loan)	6	(1)
2003–2009	Blyth Spartans	116	(9)
2009–2010	North Shields	4	(2)
Total		279	(37)
National team
1994	England U21	1	(0)
Teams managed
2012-	North Shields

Walsall player 295 David Liddle Fairhurst

David Liddle Fairhurst (20 July 1906 – 26 October 1972) was an English professional footballer, who played most of his career, as a left back, with Newcastle United, who he helped win the FA Cup in 1932. He also made one appearance for England in 1933.
Fairhurst was born in Blyth, Northumberland and started his football career at Blyth Spartans before being signed byJimmy Torrance for Walsall in June 1927. After two seasons playing for Walsall in the Third Division South he was signed by First Division Newcastle United for a fee of £1750 in March 1929.
At Newcastle, Fairhurst was a consistent performer and gave the club over a decade of stout service. He took a while to get into the first team, and although he made his debut in a 2–1 victory at Derby County on 27 April 1929 his next appearance was not until December, when he displaced Scottish international Bob Thomson. From then on, Fairhurst was the first choice left-back for several seasons.
He was an ever-present in the successful FA Cup campaign in 1932, in which Newcastle defeated Arsenal in the final in rather controversial circumstances. Arsenal took an early lead, when Joe Hulme beat Fairhurst and centred the ball to Bob John who easily beat goalkeeper Albert McInroy. Newcastle’s equaliser came after a long ball had appeared to go over the goal line, and out for a goal kick;Newcastle winger Jimmy Richardson nevertheless crossed the ball back into play and Jack Allen levelled the match for the Magpies. The referee ruled that the ball had not gone out of play, even though photographic evidence later showed that the ball had actually crossed the line, and the goal stood. Allen scored again in the second half to win the match 2–1.

The following year, Fairhurst became an international when he won his solitary England cap in the friendly against France on 6 December 1933 at White Hart Lanewhich England won 4–1, with two goals from George Camsell.
For Newcastle, Fairhurst was ever-present in 1932–33 and only missed two matches in the following season, which ended in Newcastle being relegated to Division Two. Fairhurst continued to be a first choice regular for the next few seasons, but the Second World War brought his career to an end, although he did not officially announce his retirement until May 1946.
In his Newcastle career, he made a total of 285 appearances, scoring twice. Both goals came in a 5–1 victory over Nottingham Forest on 30 November 1935.
Fairhurst spent a spell as a trainer with Birmingham City, before taking employment in the Tyneside shipyards and as a coal-miner.

Youth career
	New Delaval Villa
Senior career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
19??–1927	Blyth Spartans	?	(?)
1927–1929	Walsall	56	(0)
1929–1946	Newcastle United	266	(2)
National team
1933	England	1	(0)

Walsall player 229. Martin Brittain

Martin Brittain (born 29 December 1984) is an English footballer, who plays for Bedlington Terriers.
Born in Cramlington, Northumberland, Brittain started his career at Newcastle United as a youngster.

Brittain made his debut for Newcastle on 3 March 2004 as a substitute in a 3–1 win over Vålerenga in the UEFA Cup. He made his league debut, again as a substitute, on 1 May 2004 in a 1–0 defeat at Manchester City. His first start came on 7 January 2006 against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup, starting on the wide right of midfield in the game that Newcastle won 1–0. That game saw club striker Alan Shearer equal Jackie Milburn’s goal scoring record, with Shearer grabbing his 200th goal for Newcastle. Brittain wasn’t offered a new contract at Newcastle at the end of the 2005–06 season. He subsequently and had trials with Brighton & Hove Albion and Kilmarnock until having a successful trial with Ipswich Town. On 21 August 2006, he signed a one year deal with Ipswich and then was loaned out to Yeovil Town.
Brittain was told he is surplus to requirements at Portman Road and he was released in May 2007. He joined Carlisle United on a week-long trial in July 2007 and after this trial period, Brittain joined the Brunton Park club on a monthly contract. After his first month at Carlisle, Brittain was released from his contract, playing just twice. He trialed at Scunthorpe United and eventually signed for Walsall.
In March 2008, Brittain joined Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on a trial, scoring a penalty in a 4–3 friendly loss to Houston Dynamo. However, he failed to earn himself a contract with the club. On 5 August 2008, he signed a one-year contract with Conference National side Kidderminster.
On 26 June 2009, Brittain joined Gateshead, making his debut against Histon on 8 August. Brittain scored his first goals for the club against Crawley Town on 22 August.
Brittain was seriously injured playing for Gateshead against Hayes & Yeading United on 5 September 2009. Brittain broke both his tibia and fibula. The game was abandoned after a 40-minute delay to treat the injury as Brittain’s teammates refused to restart the game due to the shock of seeing the severity of the injury At the time of the injury, the score was 0–0 with 14 minutes left to play. The Football Conference awarded one point to each team with Gateshead’s point deducted for “failing to fulfil an engagement”. Brittain returned to action on 8 July 2010, scoring the opening goal in a 3–2 defeat against a Middlesbrough XI in a behind closed doors friendly. Brittain was released by Gateshead on 30 April 2012.
In July 2012, Brittain joined Northern League Division One side Celtic Nation, but left before making a competitive appearance. On 20 September 2012,

Brittain signed for Blyth Spartans. He made three appearances before being released on 11 October.
In November 2012, Brittain joined Bedlington Terriers on a free transfer.

Club information
Current team	Bedlington Terriers
Senior career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2006	Newcastle United	1	(0)
2006–2007	Ipswich Town	0	(0)
2006–2007	Yeovil Town (loan)	9	(0)
2007	Yeovil Town (loan)	6	(0)
2007	Carlisle United	1	(0)
2008	Walsall	1	(0)
2008–2009	Kidderminster Harriers	42	(4)
2009–2012	Gateshead	67	(14)
2012	Celtic Nation	0	(0)
2012	Blyth Spartans	0	(0)
2012–	Bedlington Terriers	?	(?)

Walsall player 116. Michael Terence O’Brien

Michael Terence O’Brien (10 August 1893 – 21 September 1940), commonly referred to as Mick O’Brien, was an Irish footballer and coach whose career took him to at least seventeen different clubs. A well built six footer, O’Brien was highly regarded as a centre-half. O’Brien was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XIand the FAI XI. In April 1927 O’Brien made his debut for the FAI XI, four days after he made his last appearance for the IFA XI. During the 1930s O’Brien managed both Queens Park Rangers and Ipswich Town.
O’Brien did not play soccer until he was 18 when his family settled in South Shields in Tyne and Wear. He then played for several clubs in the North East of England, including Blyth Spartans, before attracting the interest of Celtic. However after failing to make it into the Celtic first team he joined Brentford in December 1914. During the First World War, O’Brien served in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Flying Corps.
Between 1919 and 1933, O’Brien went onto make 370 English League appearances, scoring 19 goals, for eight different clubs. These included Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Hull City, Walsall, Norwich City and Watford. Although best known as a centre half, he was also capable of playing in the forward line and, while playing as an inside-left, he scored twice for an English League XI against a British Army XI in 1921 In 1926 he also had a brief spell playing for Brooklyn Wanderers, making 7 appearances in the American Soccer League.
During the years O’Brien played international football, there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based IFA and the Irish Free State – based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era, including O’Brien, played for both teams.
Between 1921 and 1927, while playing for Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City and Hull City, O’Brien made 10 appearances for the IFA XI. He made his international debut on 2 February 1921 at Windsor Park in a 2–0 defeat against Scotland. His team mates on the day included Bill Lacey and Louis Bookman. On 13 February 1926, on his ninth appearance, he helped the IFA XI to a 3–0 win against Wales. This was the only time O’Brien played in a winning IFA XI. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 19 April 1927 in a 2–2 draw with Wales.[4]
Between 1927 and 1932 O’Brien also made 4 appearances for the FAI XI. O’Brien was playing for four different clubs – Derby County, Walsall, Norwich City and Watford – when he won each of his four FAI caps. He made his debut for the FAI XI on 23 April 1927, four days after he made his last appearance for the IFA XI. Despite the FAI XI losing 2–1 in the friendly against Italy B at Lansdowne Road, O’Brien was noted for his performance. The game also saw him, together with, Tommy Muldoon, Harry Duggan and Joe Kendrick, become one of the first four English League based players to represent the FAI XI. He subsequently played twice for the FAI XI against Belgiumin 1929 and 1930, helping them to 4–0 and 3–1 victories respectively. He won his last cap for the FAI XI on 5 May 1932 against the Netherlands. The now veteran O’Brien put in a commanding performance as he captained a young FAI XI that included Paddy Moore, Alex Stevenson and Jimmy Kelly to a 2–0 win.
After retiring as a player O’Brien became a coach, managing Queens Park Rangers between 1933 and 1935. He led the club to fourth place in Third Division South in the 1933–34 season. However a poor season in 1934–35 led to his dismissal. After a spell as assistant manager at Brentford, O’Brien then took charge at Ipswich Town on 29 May 1936. He became the club’s first professional manager and during the subsequent 1936–37 season they made their professional debut in the Southern League and finished as champions. In later years O’Brien worked as a coach for Middlesex FA.

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The text and statistics below have been taken From the Watford Team site.

Michael Terence O’BRIEN(1931‐1933)

Centre‐half

Born Kilcock, County Dublin,

10 August 1893

Died Uxbridge, Middlesex,

29 September 1940

Representative Honours Ireland Full

Republic of IrelandFull

Watford Career Football League: 61appearances (5 goals,all of them penalties)

FA Cup:  10 appearances (1 goal,a penalty)

Début:2‐1 home win v Clapton Orient, Football League Div 3 (South), 29 Aug1931

Final game: 1‐ 0 home win v Crystal Palace, Football League Div 3 (South), 18 Feb 1933

Longest run of consecutive appearances: Football League 32; all competitions 40 Career Path South Shields; Walker Celtic (December1912);

Wallsend; Blyth Spartans(March 1913); Jarrow;Newcastle

East End; Brentford(December 1914);

Alloa (March 1919);

Brentford(May1919);

Norwich City (August 1919);

South Shields (December 1919);

Queens Park Rangers(May 1920);

Leicester City (March 1922);

Hull City(£750 June 1924);

Brooklyn Wanderers (USA)(May 1926);

Derby County(December 1926);

Walsall (June 1928);

Norwich City (May 1929);

WATFORD(June 1931);

Queens Park Rangers manager (May1933 until April1935);

Middlesex FA coach(October 1935);

Brentford assistant‐manager(November 1935);

Ipswich Town manager (May 1936 until August 1937)

Southern League & Football League Career Apps Subs  Goals League Status and Final Position 1914/15 Brentford 93

Southern League Division2–7th of 13 1919/20

Norwich City 101 Southern League Division 1–12th of 22 1919/20

South Shields 3 Football League Division 2– 9th of 22 1920/21

Queens Park Rangers36

Football League Division 3–3rd of 22 1921/22

Queens Park Rangers 30 3

Football League Division 3(South)–5th of 22 1921/22

Leicester City 6 Football League Division 2– 9th of 22 1922/23

Leicester City 24 2 Football League Division 2– 3rd of 22 1923/24

Leicester City 35 4 Football League Division 2– 12th of 22 1924/25

Hull City33 Football League Division 2– 10th of 22 1925/26

Hull City 41 Football League Division 2– 13th of 22 1926/27

Derby County 1 Football League Division 1– 12th of 22 1927/28

Derby County 2 Football League Division 1 – 4th of 22 1928/29

Walsall 34 Football League Division 3 (South) – 14th of 22 1929/30

Norwich City 32 4 Football League Division 3(South) – 8th of 22 1930/31

Norwich City 32 1 Football League Division 3 (South)– 22nd of 221931/32

WATFORD 34 2 Football League Division 3(South)– 11th of 22 1932/33

WATFORD 27 3 Football League Division 3 (South)– 11th of 22

A big centre‐half who captained his country when on Watford’s books, and a devout Roman Catholic of strong opinions who left professional football after leading Ipswich Town to the

Southern League championship in his only season with the club.

Mick O’Brien’s family moved from Ireland to the north‐east of England when he was 18,

and in the Great War he served on HMS Chester in the Battle of Jutland, as well as in the Royal Flying Corps. He led an extraordinarily full life until his early death following a

succession of personal setbacks.