Marc Pugh
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| Marc Pugh | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marc Anthony Pugh | |
| Date of birth | April 2, 1987 | |
| Place of birth | Bacup, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Shrewsbury Town | |
| Number | 7 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 2003-2006 | Burnley | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007- |
→ Kidderminster (loan) Bury Shrewsbury Town Total |
7 (1) 41 (4) 37 (4) 85 (9) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Marc Anthony Pugh (born April 2, 1987 in Bacup, England) is a professional English footballer, currently playing for Shrewsbury Town in the English League Two. He plays mainly as an attacking midfielder but can play as a striker and on the wing. He has represented England in the North-West of England team and attended the All Saints High School in Rossendale.
Playing career
Youth
His footballing career began at the Football League Championship side Burnley F.C where at a young age, he started as a Centre of Excellence player, and gradually worked his way up through the ranks to become a footballing apprentice. As a first year apprentice he played for the youth and reserve teams alongside taking a 'Modern Apprenticeship In Sporting Excellence' at college. This was spread out over three years and by the second year the club would either take them on as 3rd year apprentices or release them. Due to Marc's great goalscoring record (which led him to be named on the first-team bench) they decided to keep him on for a third year. As a 3rd year apprentice he scored 15 goals for the club's reserve and youth team. This led to him to be sent out on loan to Kidderminster Harriers, a Nationwide Conference team, for real footballing experience. Whilst at the Harriers, he scored one goal and made 10 appearances. Also, during a match he displayed a smart piece of skill which involved flicking the ball over an opponents head with his heel, then crossing the ball in for a teammate to score. The move was featured on Soccer AM's showboating section as showboat of the week. Also, during a reserve match, Marc had to play in goal after reserve keeper Mark Crossley was sent off. The Harriers eventually went on to lose the game 7-1.
During the course of the season, Marc learned that he would not get a professional contract at Burnley, and would be released at the end of the season. This was partly because both Chris McCann and Kyle Lafferty had both already received first team contracts and they were only 2nd year apprentices.
Professional career
Bury
Having just been released from Burnley, Marc started looking for a new club, and was eventually offered a place at League Two side Bury FC. At the time of Marc's arrival at Bury, the threat of relegation loomed over the club. On top of this, the club had lost several good players to Preston (including David Nugent and Simon Whaley). As a result, Bury's season had slumped and they were entangled in a relegation battle. Pugh ended up playing six games in the 05/06 season for the club (including 3 as a sub) and scored his first goal in the 1-1 draw against Lincoln City. As a result of his good performances (and helped by the fact that Bury had survived relegation), Bury manager Chris Casper offered him a one year deal at Gigg Lane; his first professional contract. Pugh was very much a first team player in the 2006-07 season, playing particularly well in the first half of the season and was offered an extended contract by Chris Casper incidentally this extension was turned down by Marc as he "wanted to keep his options open". He was offered contracts throughout the season but still took none of them, Casper blamed his agent for this.
Shrewsbury Town
With many clubs chasing his services, Pugh eventually signed for Shrewsbury Town on 29 May 2007. It was also revealed that Shrewsbury manager Gary Peters had already tried to sign Pugh earlier in the season as part of a swap deal when striker Glynn Hurst moved to Bury.Marcs first season was of relitive good form, where he would more often get the better of oppisition players, His form seemed to Improve when Paul Simpson came in, and Pughy bagged a further 3 goals to his name, in his new "second striker position.
Wales
The Welsh Football Association are looking into Marc Pugh's eligibility as they believe he may have a Welsh family background.