Michael Oliver (footballer, born 1975)

Michael Oliver (born 2 August 1975) is an English former footballer who made 276 appearances in the Football League playing as a midfielder for Stockport County, Darlington and Rochdale in the 1990s and 2000s.[2]

Michael Oliver
Personal information
Full name Michael Oliver[1]
Date of birth (1975-08-02) 2 August 1975[2]
Place of birth Middlesbrough,[2] England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
– Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 Middlesbrough 0 (0)
1994–1996 Stockport County 22 (1)
1996–2000 Darlington 151 (14)
2000–2003 Rochdale 103 (9)
2003–2004 Barrow
2004–2005 Spennymoor United
2005 Thornaby
2005 Bishop Auckland
2005–2006 Newcastle Blue Star
2006 Gateshead 8 (0)
2006–20?? Durham City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Oliver was born in Middlesbrough, and began his career in the youth system of Middlesbrough F.C. He turned professional with the club, but never represented them in league competition.[2] In 1994, he signed for Stockport County; the fee was determined by tribunal.[4] He made his Stockport debut on 28 February 1995, at the age of 19, as a substitute in a 4–0 defeat at Oxford United in the Football League Second Division, and played in 12 of the remaining 14 matches in the 1994–95 Football League season.[5][6] He was used infrequently in his second season,[5] was released at its end, and dropped down two divisions to sign for Darlington.

He settled well at Darlington, where he spent four years, and played at least 40 matches in each season in all competitions.[7] His last game for the club was in the 2000 Third Division play-off final defeat to Peterborough United.[8] When his contract expired, he left the club and signed for Rochdale.[9] He played regularly for two seasons, but his 2002–03 season was disrupted by injury and by disciplinary issues,[10][11] and he was released at its end.[12]

After leaving Rochdale, Oliver moved into non-league football with Barrow, and went on to play for clubs including Spennymoor United,[13] Thornaby, Bishop Auckland,[14] Newcastle Blue Star,[15] Gateshead,[16][17] and Durham City.[18]

References
  1. "Michael Oliver". In The Mad Crowd. John Phillips. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  2. "Michael Oliver". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. Rollin, Glenda, ed. (1997). Playfair Football Annual 1997–98. Headline. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7472-5644-1.
  4. "Football: Ins and outs in the First Division: Who went where and for how much". The Independent. London. 12 August 1994. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  5. "Michael Oliver". Go Go Go County. I. Watts. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. "First team 1994–95 – Football League: Division Two". Go Go Go County. I. Watts. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  7. "Darlington squad details". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2014. Select other seasons via dropdown menu.
  8. "Posh pull it off at Wembley". BBC Sport. 14 September 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. Baynes, Ciaran (7 July 2000). "Oliver signs for Dale". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. Ogden, Mark (15 February 2003). "A big gig for the young marble giant-killers". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  11. "Oliver Twist". Manchester Evening News. October 2002. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. "Rovers land Hodges". BBC Sport. 12 May 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  13. "Revolving door still turning at Spennymoor". nonleaguedaily.com. 14 September 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2004.
  14. "Latest moves". nonleaguedaily.com. 24 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012.
  15. "Arngrove Northern League". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. 3 December 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  16. "Boss Lee to the four in signing swoop". Gateshead F.C. 29 June 2006. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  17. "Gateshead F.C. Season 2006/07". Heedarmy Stats: Unofficial Gateshead Football Club Statistics Database. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012.
  18. "Michael Oliver leaves Gateshead". Gateshead F.C. 8 October 2006. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  • Michael Oliver at Soccerbase . The page merges details for two players of the same name: the statistics up to and including Rochdale are for this Michael Oliver, but the personal details and appearances for Clyde are not.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.