Emmanuel Ugochukwu Ezenwa "Manny" Panther (born 11 May 1984) is a Scottish 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 le ...
who played as a
midfielder
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 ...
. He played for
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
,
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
,
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town.
The cl ...
,
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
,
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...
,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
and
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
.
Club career
St Johnstone
Born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Panther started his career at
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
(SPL) side
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
after joining their youth system at the age of 14, having spent a year with Rangers youth.
During the
2001–02 season he suffered a long, career-threatening knee injury that limited him to only five
first team
First team may refer to:
Sports
* First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club
* The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball
* First Team All-A ...
appearances. He signed a new one-year deal with St Johnstone in 2002.
He was released the following season.
Partick Thistle
He then joined SPL side
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
in June 2003,
and signed a new contract in May 2004 that would last until January 2005,
eventually leaving the club in the summer of that year. He was sent out 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 ...
to
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
of the
Scottish Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...
in February 2005.
During his spell at Brechin he scored once against Arbroath.
York City
He signed for
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
team
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 ...
in August 2005 after a trial.
He signed a new contract with York at the end of the
2005–06 season, telling the club website "I struggled a bit with injury last season, but feel very fit and I'm ready for the season to begin".
He was made the captain of York for the
2006–07 season and scored his first goal for the club on 18 November 2006
against
Weymouth.
![Em panther](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Em_panther.jpg)
Panther said he was enjoying "a new lease of life" after being asked to play in a more advanced role for York, saying "I'm playing in a slightly different position to what I've been used to," he explained. "The manager has put me in a more attacking position and in a way it's given me a new lease of life."
After the end of the season, he said he wanted to sign a new deal with York before leaving for his summer break.
Panther was offered a new contract by York at the end of the season on 16 May 2007.
Rumours were circulating linking him to a move to newly promoted
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
outfit
Gretna but he rejected this speculation, saying: I have not heard anything about that."
He signed a new one-year contract with York on 16 June.
He turned down a new contract in January 2008 and was released by the club after the
2007–08 season.
Exeter City
He signed for
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 ...
on a three-year contract in May, following the club's promotion back to
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 ...
.
After being an unused
substitutes for the first two games of the season,
he made his debut after coming off the bench in 75th minute of a 1–0 defeat to
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
.
He returned to the
Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
by joining
Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town.
The cl ...
on a month's loan in September to gain more first team experience.
He was sent off in his debut against
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 groun ...
a day after joining, which ended as a 2–1 victory.
His final appearance for Rushden, a 3–1 defeat to
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
, also saw Panther dismissed, meaning he ended the loan spell with three appearances.
After returning to Exeter he came on as a substitute and scored the equaliser against
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
in the 85th minute with a curling shot from outside the penalty area, securing a 1–1 draw.
Towards the start of Exeter's
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
campaign he handed in a transfer request that
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
Paul Tisdale
Paul Robert Tisdale (born 14 January 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Stevenage.
As a player, Tisdale represented Southampton, Bristol City, FinnPa, Panionios and Yeov ...
accepted.
Panther joined
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
team
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
on a season-long loan for the
2009–10 season on 17 August 2009.
On his return to Exeter, the club announced that he would be released when his contract expired on 30 June 2010.
Aldershot Town
Panther signed a one-year contract with
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...
on 8 July.
He made his debut for Aldershot on 7 August in a League Two fixture at
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...
.
Conference Premier side
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...
made an offer for him in December.
He signed for Conference Premier side
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
on loan until January 2012 on 11 November 2011.
The loan ended prematurely after he was sent off in a 3–1 victory at home to
Lincoln City on New Year's Day 2012,
finishing his period at Grimsby with 12 appearances.
Panther was released from his Aldershot contract by mutual consent on 29 March 2012.
Kidderminster Harriers
He signed with Conference Premier side
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
on 31 August 2012.
Having made two appearances his contract was mutually terminated on 6 December 2012 before retiring from football to concentrate on a business venture.
International career
Panther represented Scotland at under-15 level in 1999 in a tournament in France, playing in games against France, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Later in the year he was part of the squad that played England in the 1999
Victory Shield
The Victory Shield is an annual football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Victory Shield had traditionally been competed for by the four Home Nations, but the Football A ...
.
In March 2000 he was in the squad to play Northern Ireland.
Panther linked up with the
under-19 squad in August 2002.
Personal life
He is the son of Nigerian
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
Cyril Panther.
In 2014, he appeared on channel
E4 show ''Party House''.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panther, Manny
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Glasgow
Scottish footballers
Scotland youth international footballers
Association football midfielders
St Johnstone F.C. players
Partick Thistle F.C. players
Brechin City F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Exeter City F.C. players
Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players
Morecambe F.C. players
Aldershot Town F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players
Scottish Premier League players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Black British sportsmen
British sportspeople of Nigerian descent
Scottish people of Nigerian descent