Mark Pembridge

Mark Anthony Pembridge (born 29 November 1970) is a Welsh retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a current coach at the academy for Fulham.

Mark Pembridge
Personal information
Full name Mark Pembridge
Date of birth (1970-11-29) 29 November 1970
Place of birth Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1992 Luton Town 70 (6)
1992–1995 Derby County 140 (37)
1995–1998 Sheffield Wednesday 108 (13)
1998–1999 Benfica 19 (1)
1999–2003 Everton 101 (4)
2003–2007 Fulham 54 (2)
Total 492 (63)
National team
1991–2004 Wales 54 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played 333 matches in England's top division for Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and Fulham, scoring 25 goals. He also played for Derby County, and spent the 1998–99 season at Benfica in Portugal.

Pembridge won 54 caps for Wales, and scored six goals, in a 13-year international career.

Club career

Early career

Pembridge began his career at Luton Town in the First Division. He joined as a trainee in 1989.

Derby County

Having established as a left-midfielder, 21-year old Pembridge was signed for second-tier Derby County by manager Arthur Cox in the summer of 1992 for a fee of £1.25 million.[2] He racked up 140 appearances and netted 37 goals over his time with Derby[2] and played at Wembley twice - once in a 3-1 defeat to Cremonese in 1993[3] and then in a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in the 1994 Football League First Division play-off Final. Pembridge left to move up a division to Premier League Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £900,000 in the summer of 1995.

Sheffield Wednesday

Pembridge played for Wednesday in the Premier League until 1998, when he left for Portuguese side Benfica on a free transfer after a disappointing season at Wednesday, who had finished 16th.

Everton

He struggled to settle in Portugal and returned to England after one season, signing a contract with top-flight side Everton for £800,000. Pembridge had a good first two seasons at Everton, with his tenacious approach and thrusting runs from deep establishing the Welshman as an integral part of Everton's squad, thus securing him an excellent rapport with the Goodison Park faithful. However, testing times were around the corner for Pembridge, with a persistent calf injury meaning he only played 13 games in the 2001–02 season. The injury still bothered him during the 2002–03 season, but Pembridge still played a part in a dramatic season, which ended in heartbreak as Everton failed to qualify for a UEFA Cup place.

Fulham

Pembridge looked set to stay at Everton for the 2003–04 campaign, but on the transfer deadline day in August 2003, he was signed by Fulham for £750,000 after four years at Everton. He had an injury free first season at Fulham during which he scored his first goal for the club against rivals Chelsea,[4] and this was followed by a successful second season in which he played 37 games overall, scoring once in the League Cup against Birmingham.[5] Pembridge missed most of Fulham's 2005–06 season through injury, and only played 5 games. It got worse for him when manager Chris Coleman deemed him surplus to requirements and he did not play a single game during the 2006–07 season. He was released by new manager Lawrie Sanchez at the end of the season. After this, Pembridge announced his retirement. Reflecting on his retirement, Pembridge quoted:

Ultimately it wasn't too difficult. I tried exceptionally hard to get back to playing but there comes a time when you just need to stop. You know your own body and despite people saying that I could have carried on, I knew within myself it was time.[6]

International career

Pembridge was called up to play for Wales while at Luton in 1991. He had several highlights while playing for Wales, including scoring arguably his best career goal against Ukraine in 2001 and reaching the qualifying playoffs for Euro 2004, despite narrowly losing to Russia. Pembridge quit the national team in 2004 shortly after John Toshack was named as the new Wales manager. He announced his international retirement in 2005, ending speculation that he might return to play for Wales. He played 54 times for Wales, scoring 6 goals.

Coaching career

On 4 September 2007, Fulham confirmed that Pembridge had stayed on at the club as a coach for the academy.[6] He would later become Under-15s and U16s Coordinator for the club.[7]

Career statistics

Source:[8]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1989–90Luton TownFirst Division00
1990–91181
1991–92425
1992–93Derby CountyFirst Division428
1993–944111
1994–95279
1995–96Sheffield WednesdayPremier League251
1996–97346
1997–98344
Portugal League Taça de Portugal Taça da Liga Europe Total
1998–99BenficaPortuguese Liga191
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1999-00EvertonPremier League312
2000–01200
2001–02141
2002–03210
2003–0440
2003–04FulhamPremier League121
2004–05280
2005–0650
2006–0700
Total England 39824
Portugal 191
Career total 41725

References
  1. http://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/mark-pembridge_prs3410/person.shtml
  2. "SNAPSHOT IN TIME: PEMBRIDGE IN MIDFIELD ACTION FOR DERBY". dcfc.co.uk. 14 April 2020.
  3. "Rams Celebrate Lionel Pickering". Derby County F.C. 28 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  4. "Chelsea 2–1 Fulham". BBC. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  5. "Birmingham 0–1 Fulham". BBC. 27 October 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  6. "Purely Academic". Fulham Official Website. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  7. "Mark Pembridge". Fulham Official Website. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  8. "Mark Pembridge". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
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