Russell Hoult

Russell Hoult (born 22 November 1972) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Russell Hoult

Personal information
Full name	Russell Hoult[1]
Date of birth	22 November 1972[1]
Place of birth	Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
0000–1991	Leicester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1995	Leicester City	10	(0)
1991	→ Lincoln City (loan)	2	(0)
1992	→ Blackpool (loan)	0	(0)
1992	→ Cheltenham Town (loan)	3	(0)
1993	→ Kettering Town (loan)	7	(0)
1993–1994	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	4	(0)
1994	→ Lincoln City (loan)	15	(0)
1995	→ Derby County (loan)	15	(0)
1995–2000	Derby County	108	(0)
2000	→ Portsmouth (loan)	10	(0)
2000–2001	Portsmouth	30	(0)
2001–2007	West Bromwich Albion	190	(0)
2005	→ Nottingham Forest (loan)	8	(0)
2007–2008	Stoke City	1	(0)
2008	→ Notts County (loan)	2	(0)
2008	→ Notts County (loan)	12	(0)
2008–2010	Notts County	20	(0)
2009	→ Darlington (loan)	6	(0)
2011–2012	Hereford United	2	(0)
Total		445	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He notably spent time playing in the Premier League and played for Leicester City, Derby County and West Bromwich Albion. He also played in the Football League for Lincoln City, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Notts County and Darlington.

Playing career

Hoult began his career at Leicester City, where he was usually a reserve. During his time at the club he was sent on loan to Lincoln City twice, Kettering Town, Blackpool, where he did not make a first team appearance, Cheltenham Town, when they were playing non-league football, and Bolton Wanderers.

He signed for Derby County in the summer of 1995, joining for a fee of £200,000.[2] He went on to help them win promotion to the Premiership in 1996. Hoult remained with the club until January 2000, when he was loaned to Portsmouth. This transfer was made permanent two months later and he remained with the club until the following January, when he left to join West Bromwich Albion for £450,000.[3]

Hoult played a key role in helping West Brom win promotion to the Premiership in 2001–02, keeping a club record number of clean sheets and being named in the PFA Division One team of the year.[4] On 15 September 2001 in a game against Watford he saved a last minute Marcus Gayle penalty to preserve West Brom's 2–1 lead.[5] He was a regular for Albion in the Premiership and was watched by England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson,[6] but never made it into the national squad. A highlight of Hoult's 2002–03 season was saving a Dion Dublin penalty to help his side secure a 0–0 draw away at Aston Villa.[7] Following Albion's relegation, Hoult remained a fixture in the side for the following season, as the club were promoted to the Premiership at the first attempt. In 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations. He played for the majority of the 2004–05 season, as West Bromwich Albion escaped relegation. However, after being a regular in goal for West Brom for several seasons, Hoult lost his place at the start of the 2005–06 season due to a groin injury. Second choice to Chris Kirkland, who manager Bryan Robson had signed on a 12-month loan from Liverpool, Hoult was loaned to Nottingham Forest in September 2005.[8] However, he was recalled during his second month with the club after Kirkland sustained a rib injury.[9]

Following the club's relegation and Kirkland's return to Liverpool goalkeeping duties for the 2006–07 season were shared between Hoult and Pascal Zuberbühler until reports about his personal life surfaced in national newspapers. On 31 January 2007, Hoult was transferred to Stoke City on a free transfer after being sacked by West Brom.[10] He made his Stoke City debut on 14 August 2007 in a League Cup match away at Rochdale that finished 2–2 after extra time. He was unable to prevent Rochdale from progressing 4–2 on penalties, despite saving one of the spot-kicks.[11] Hoult received a red card on his league debut for Stoke, in a match against Plymouth Argyle in December 2007.[12]

In February 2008 Hoult joined Notts County on loan until the end of the season, following an injury to regular keeper Kevin Pilkington.[13] He kept a clean sheet in the 0–0 draw away at Peterborough United in March, making the League Two Team of the Week.[14] He made 14 appearances for the club, keeping seven clean sheets and helping the club to avoid relegation.[15] He was released at the end of the 2007–08 season, following Stoke's promotion to the Premiership.[16] On 1 July 2008 Hoult returned to Notts County on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract with the club.[15] He played the first 3 games of the 2009–10 season for Notts County, before being replaced by new signing Kasper Schmeichel for the home game against Dagenham & Redbridge. On 16 September 2009, Darlington manager Colin Todd signed Hoult on loan for a month as Todd felt that permanent Quakers keeper David Knight needed a break after a tough start to the season.[17] Todd was sacked during Hoult's loan and he was recalled by Notts County at the end of his month spell. He had played five games for Darlington. On 10 May 2010 it was announced that he had been released by Notts County along with 7 other players.[18]

Coaching career

Hoult signed on as goalkeeping coach at Hereford United on Thursday 26 August.[19] In October 2010 he became assistant manager to Jamie Pitman after the sacking of Simon Davey. On 25 February 2011 he registered as a player for Hereford United in order to provide goalkeeping back up.[20] [21] In March 2012, Hoult signed for Thringstone Miners Welfare as both player/manager and club president. [22]

Personal life

Hoult, a married man, has on a number of occasions been the subject of public revelations concerning his sexual conduct. In 2000, he was fined £300 for kerb crawling.[23] He was also cleared of sending indecent letters to a 15-year-old girl after his lawyer told magistrates that they were no worse than "saucy seaside postcards".[24] In January 2007 he was suspended by West Bromwich Albion after footage of him involved in an orgy was leaked onto the Internet allegedly with him wearing a club polo shirt.[25]

Career statistics

Source:[26]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leicester City	1991–92	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	1992–93	First Division	10	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	14	0
	1993–94	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		10	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	14	0
Lincoln City (loan)	1991–92	Fourth Division	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	1993–94	First Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
Lincoln City (loan)	1994–95	Third Division	15	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	16	0
Derby County	1994–95	First Division	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	1995–96	First Division	41	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	44	0
	1996–97	Premier League	32	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	37	0
	1997–98	Premier League	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	1998–99	Premier League	23	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	26	0
	1999–2000	Premier League	10	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	13	0
	Total		123	0	7	0	8	0	0	0	138	0
Portsmouth	1999–2000	First Division	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
	2000–01	First Division	22	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	26	0
	Total		40	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	44	0
West Bromwich Albion	2000–01	First Division	13	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	15	0
	2001–02	First Division	45	0	4	0	3	0	0	0	52	0
	2002–03	Premier League	37	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	39	0
	2003–04	First Division	44	0	1	0	5	0	0	0	50	0
	2004–05	Premier League	36	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	39	0
	2005–06	Premier League	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
	2006–07	Championship	14	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	16	0
	Total		190	0	11	0	10	0	2	0	213	0
Nottingham Forest (loan)	2005–06	League One	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Stoke City	2007–08	Championship	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Notts County	2007–08	League Two	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	2008–09	League Two	16	0	3	0	1	0	1	0	21	0
	2009–10	League Two	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
	Total		34	0	4	0	2	0	1	0	41	0
Darlington (loan)	2009–10	League Two	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Hereford United	2010–11	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Career Total			435	0	22	0	29	0	6	0	492	0

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
2. Malam, Colin (8 December 2002). "Hoult's vintage ripe for England". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
3. "Albion bag their man". BBC Sport. 3 January 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
4. "Top three dominate". BBC Sport. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
5. "Watford 1-2 West Brom". BBC. 15 September 2001. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
6. Smith, Alan (9 December 2002). "Hoult remains quiet contender". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
7. "Villa rue penalty miss". BBC. 16 November 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
8. "Hoult joins Forest in loan move". BBC Sport. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
9. "Baggies recall Hoult from Forest". BBC Sport. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
10. "Stoke capture Hoult and Fortune". BBC Sport. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
11. "Rochdale 2-2 Stoke (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
12. "Plymouth 2-2 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
13. "Magpies Snap Up Goalkeeper". Notts County F.C. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
14. "Coca-Cola League Two Team Of The Week (17/03/2008)" (PDF). The Football League. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
15. "Magpies Complete Hoult Capture". Notts County F.C. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
16. "Captain Matteo released by Stoke". BBC. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
17. "New keeper signs". Darlington F.C. 16 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
18. "Notts County release eight out-of-contract players". BBC Sport. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
19. "Bulls bag goalkeeping coach". Hereford United F.C. Official Website. 26 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
20. "Hoult Registers As Reserve Goalkeeper". Hereford United F.C. Official Website. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
21. "Williams And Hoult Agree Deals". Hereford United F.C. Official Website. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
22. "Former Premiership Goalkeeper Russell Hoult". Thringstone Miners Welfare F.C. 10 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
23. "Goalkeeper arrested in kerb-crawling blitz". BBC News. 29 March 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
24. "Letters were not indecent". thisishampshire.net. 8 December 2000. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
25. "Football: Hoult suspended by Baggies". The Guardian. 26 January 2007.
26. Russell Hoult at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Russell Hoult at Soccerbase