Carl Emil Hutchings (born 24 September 1974) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

. He is best remembered for his five years in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, for whom he made over 200 appearances. He also played league football for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. Hutchings was described as an "intelligent footballer", who performed "with infectious exuberance".

Career

Brentford

Hutchings began his youth career at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, before signing schoolboy forms with

in 1989. He began an apprenticeship in 1991 and signed a professional contract at the end of the 1992–93 season. He instantly became a regular pick under new manager David Webb and after weathering some early criticism, he went on to become a valuable

for the team, filling in over the course of five seasons at full back,

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and in

central midfield A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Hutchings was a part of the team that reached the 1995 Second Division play-off semi-finals, but his 1995–96 season was hampered by torn ankle ligaments, suffered in a behind-closed-doors match in August 1995. After making 29 appearances, he was offered a new contract at the end of the season, but rejected it in favour of a month-to-month deal. Despite being a regular pick early in the 1996–97 season, Hutchings trained with

in September 1996, before agreeing a new two-year contract one month later. Hutchings was part of the team which reached the 1997 Second Division play-off Final and was "the star man" in the disappointing 1–0 defeat. Playing in a poor team, Hutchings had the best season of his career in 1997–98, making 49 appearances and scoring five goals to be voted the club's Supporters' Player of the Year, but the campaign ended with relegation to the Third Division. Out of contract and refusing to discuss an extension, Hutchings departed Brentford in July 1998 and finished his career at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

with 198 appearances and seven goals.

Bristol City

On 6 July 1998, Hutchings transferred to First Division club

for a £135,000 fee. He failed to fully establish himself in the team and by the beginning of the 2000–01 season, he was out of favour with manager Danny Wilson. Hutchings departed Ashton Gate in December 2000, having made 52 appearances and scored five goals during two-and-a-half seasons with the Robins.

Return to Brentford (loan)

On 11 February 2000, Hutchings returned to Brentford on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

until the end of the 1999–00 season. He made 8 appearances during his spell, but was not offered a contract at the end of the season. Across his two spells with Brentford, Hutchings made 204 appearances and scored seven goals.

Exeter City (loan)

On 1 December 2000, Hutchings joined Third Division club

on loan, but lasted just 10 days at

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Municipalities * St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England * St James Park, g ...

, making three appearances. One month earlier, he had turned down a permanent move to the club.

Southend United

Hutchings reunited with his former Brentford manager David Webb at Southend United on 29 December 2000 and signed a contract until the end of the 2000–01 season. Despite featuring as a regular, he departed

Roots Hall A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

in February 2002, having made 50 appearances and scored five goals.

Leyton Orient

On 12 February 2002, Hutchings joined Third Division club

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

on a free transfer. One week later, had a "nightmare" debut at

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., w ...

, when he "fatally sold his

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

short with a

backpass In association football, the back-pass rule prohibits the goalkeeper from handling the ball in most cases when it is passed to them by a team-mate. It is described in Law 12, Section 2 of the Laws of the Game. Award Goalkeepers are normally all ...

", which allowed

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

's Alex Mathie to score what proved to be an 84th-minute winner. Hutchings remained with Orient until April 2003, when he was released early from his contract. He made 40 appearances and scored two goals for the club.

Farnborough Town

Hutchings joined

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

club

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

on 30 July 2003. He made 22 appearances for the club, the last of which coming in a 2–1 defeat to Exeter City on 3 January 2004.

Personal life

Since retiring from football at the age of 29, Hutchings has become a successful

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

trader,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and motivational speaker. He started a property company whilst still a professional footballer, with Bristol City. Hutchings is also involved in sports management.

Honours

* Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 1997–98

Career statistics

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchings, Carl 1974 births Living people English footballers Chelsea F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Hammersmith National League (English football) players Men's association football utility players Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football central defenders Men's association football midfielders