Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English 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 ...

who played as a striker. Initially playing at non-league level for Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough, he went on to play in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

for both

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

whilst also earning 11 caps for

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

. His career abruptly came to and end in 2009 whilst with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

following a spinal injury.

Career

Early career

Born in

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

, Christie first played football as a youth in the

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

area, and started his career at Northborough, moving onto

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

clubs Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough. Whilst playing in non-League football he was also a supermarket shelf stacker.Malcolm Christie starts new career as car salesman
Sunday Sun, 26 February 2012.

Derby County

Christie's big break came in October 1998 when he was purchased by

manager Jim Smith. His first start for the club came on 15 January 2000, and marked the occasion with two goals in a 4–1 win against

. On 5 May 2001, he scored the winning goal at Old Trafford as Derby beat Manchester United 1–0 to secure survival for the club. He spent one more season with Derby after they were relegated from the FA Premier League.

Middlesbrough

signed Christie and

Chris Riggott Christopher Mark Riggott (born 1 September 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began his career at Derby County, before moving to Middlesbrough, with whom he won the League Cup in 2004. He also had s ...

for a combined £3 million (possibly rising to £5m) in February 2003. Christie was part of Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup-winning team. Despite being injured for the final, he appeared in the earlier rounds and scored the winner against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. His chances were limited at his new club due to several long-term injuries. In 2006, although unable to play due to injury, Christie was invited back to Nuneaton Borough as guest of honour for their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round tie against Middlesbrough. Nuneaton went on to shock their visitors by producing a 1–1 draw, and earning a replay at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

. On 25 November 2006, after returning from his injuries, manager

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

gave Christie a start against Aston Villa at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. Christie scored on his return in the 43rd minute in a match which finished 1–1. He was released by Middlesbrough when his contract expired in June 2007. He started a trial period with

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on 11 September 2007. However, he was not offered a contract at the end of his two-month trial. In January,

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

offered to sign him, but he rejected the move.

Leeds United

In January 2008, he began a trial with

, but picked up an injury which scuppered any deal. In September, he began using the training facilities at Leeds United in a bid to gain full fitness with the blessing of Leeds' manager

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...

; although, at the time, the offer was considered to be a courtesy, and not intended to be a trial On 13 October 2008, however, he was cleared to play in a reserves fixture for Leeds against Scunthorpe United. On 10 November 2008, McAllister began to open up contract talks with Christie after regaining his fitness. He made his Leeds debut on 17 November 2008 against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in the first round of the FA Cup. Christie scored his first goal for Leeds on 28 December, in the 3–1 victory away from home, against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

Personal life

Christie suffered a spinal injury in training and, following medical advice, retired from professional football on 29 January 2009. Following his retirement, Christie took up a new career working as a salesman for Jaguar.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Malcolm 1979 births Living people People from Stamford, Lincolnshire Footballers from Lincolnshire English footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football forwards Deeping Rangers F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players