Ian Hughes (born 2 August 1974) is a Welsh former 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 ...

. He played as a defender and was a Welsh under-21 international.

Playing career

Club career

Born in Bangor, Gwynedd, Hughes began his career at Bury where he was in the youth team. He played in central defence for the club in six years between 1991 and 1997 making 202 appearances in all competitions for ''the Shakers'' and scoring two goals. In December 1997 he moved to Blackpool for a transfer fee of £200,000. He became ''the Seasiders'' club captain wearing the number 5 shirt making 191 appearances in total, scoring six goals between 1997 and 2003. In the 2000–01 season he scored in the Third Division Play-Off final at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

as ''the Seasiders'' beat

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 profession ...

to earn promotion. The following season, he helped Blackpool win the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

at the same venue, playing as a substitute in the final. After spending the 2002-03 season struggling with injuries which had seen him out of action for six months from October 2002 to April 2003, he was released at the end of the season, After a short trial, in July 2003 he moved to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

where he stayed for one season. Hughes signed for North West Counties Football League club Bacup Borough in August 2004 for whom he was club captain.

International career

Hughes played fifteen games for Wales at under-21 level.

Honours

Blackpool *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

play-off winner: 2000–01 *

winner: 2001–02

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Ian 1974 births Living people Footballers from Bangor, Gwynedd Welsh footballers Wales youth international footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Association football defenders Bury F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Bacup Borough F.C. players English Football League players Bury F.C. non-playing staff