Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (born 16 March 1979) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
football coach and former player.
A left-sided
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 ...
and also a
winger, he was known for his goal-scoring ability. He started his career at
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 ...
in 1998, but instead made his name at
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
following his transfer to
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
in 2000. He made 140 appearances in four years, scoring 36 goals in all competitions, and lifting 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 ...
in
2001. He spent the 2004–05 season with
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 ...
, before signing with
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
in 2005. He spent two years at Bradford, making 95 a total of appearances. He signed with
Carlisle United in 2007, and went on to pick up a Football League Trophy runners-up medal with the club in
2010. After four years with Carlisle, he joined
Darlington in 2011, breaking his run of ten consecutive seasons in the third tier of English football. With Darlington he lifted the
FA Trophy in
2011, before his contract was terminated in January 2012. He was re-signed to Darlington on a non-contract basis until the club folded in the summer of 2012. He went on to coach at
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 ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
.
Career
Derby County
Born in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, Bridge-Wilkinson was a product of the
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 ...
youth academy and made his debut for Derby in a 2–1 victory against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
on 7 November 1998.
This
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 ...
clash would be his only appearance for the club. He joined
Carlisle United of the
Third Division, where he played seven games in a six-week loan spell at the end of the
1998–99 season.
He returned to Derby and was released by the club at the end of the
following season, after which he was given a trial at
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
.
Port Vale
Bridge-Wilkinson joined Port Vale on a free transfer following his trial and made his debut in a 4–1 defeat at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
on 12 August 2000. The following week he scored twice in his first Vale start when they defeated
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
3–0. He scored fourteen goals in 52 games throughout
his first season at Vale, which included one in the final of 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 ...
final – which
Vale won 2–1 over
Brentford. He also scored the winner in the
Potteries derby
In English football, the Potteries derby is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Stoke-on-Trent – Port Vale and Stoke City, first contested in 1882. Port Vale play at Vale Park whilse Stoke play at the bet365 Stadium, the ...
in the Northern Section semi-finals with a 105th minute golden-goal penalty.
He spent much of the
next season out with a hamstring injury, and did not feature between August and late-January. His return to the side coincided with Vale's climb up the table, and he consequently signed a new two-year contract with the club. Recovering from a knee injury, his nine goals in
2002–03 were enough to make him the club's top-scorer, as the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
club posted a mid-table finish. He struck seven times in 37 games during the
2003–04 campaign, as the club finished outside of the play-offs on goal difference. At the end of the season manager
Martin Foyle
Martin John Foyle (born 2 May 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club St Mirren. In his 20-year playing career he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took ...
offered him a new contract at reduced pay due to the club's dire financial situation, an offer which Bridge-Wilkinson rejected in order to sign for
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 ...
rivals
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 ...
on a two-year contract in June 2004.
Stockport County
Bridge-Wilkinson made just 22 starts with Stockport, and in February 2005 joined
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
, also of League One, on a month's loan deal to cover for injuries. The loan soon become a permanent transfer.
Bradford City
Bridge-Wilkinson made his City debut on 25 February 2005 in a 1–1 draw with
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
and after four games he signed a two-year deal on transfer deadline day to stay at
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...
permanently.
He celebrated his new contract with his first Bradford goal in a 1–1 draw with
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
later the same day.
He scored another two goals in a 4–1 victory over Brentford, finishing the season with three goals from his 12 games.
At the start of the
following season he missed more than two months after sustaining a knee injury in training. He finished the season with six goals in forty games. On 16 September 2006, he scored against his former club Port Vale, but it was just one of four goals for Bridge-Wilkinson
that season, as Bradford were relegated into
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 ...
. He was one of many players released by Bradford in May 2007.
Carlisle United
In June 2007, Bridge-Wilkinson rejoined
Carlisle United.
He played 52 games in
his first full season at the club, including both legs of the League One play-off semi-final 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 ...
. He scored Carlisle's second at
Elland Road to give his side a 2–1 first leg victory. However, in the second leg he could not help his side avoid a 2–0 defeat.
A regular in
2008–09, he picked up a toe injury in January, which ended his contribution to the campaign. The problem was a floating bone in his big toe. He made 26 appearances in
2009–10, as Carlisle posted a mid-table finish. He also made an appearance at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
in 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 ...
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, which ended in a 4–1 defeat to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
.
Darlington
Searching for first team football, in October 2010 he joined
Conference National outfit
Darlington on loan for one month. After the midfielder impressed manager
Mark Cooper, this one month then got extended until January.
On 18 January 2011, he signed for
Darlington on a permanent basis after he was released from
Carlisle United two days earlier. He scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 6–1 victory against
Eastbourne Borough on 12 February. All Bridge-Wilkinson's goals, which included two penalties, came in the first half and within the space of 14 minutes. At the end of the campaign he picked up the second significant honour of his career, as Darlington lifted the
2011 FA Trophy with a 1–0 victory over
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. Darlington suffered financial difficulties during Bridge-Wilkinson's time at the club and his contract was terminated on 16 January 2012, along with the rest of the playing squad and caretaker manager
Craig Liddle
Craig George Liddle (born 21 October 1971 in Chester-le-Street, County Durham) is an English former professional footballer, who played in central defence. During his playing career, made more than 300 appearances in the Football League, play ...
; he stated that "to say I feel sick is an understatement". However a surprise decision meant that the club would continue to complete their remaining fixtures, and Bridge-Wilkinson returned to Darlington on a non-contract basis. Darlington were relegated at the end of the
2011–12 season, having been deducted ten points for entering
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
and as the club reformed to
Darlington 1883
Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth tier of English football.
The club was founded in 1 ...
in the
Northern Football League, Bridge-Wilkinson left the club and had a trial at
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 ...
outfit
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 his ...
.
Style of play
Bridge-Wilkinson was a good technical
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 ...
who had an eye for goal. He had good composure, movement and possession skills.
Coaching career
Bridge-Wilkinson spent three years as a coach at the
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
at
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 ...
, before he was appointed under-14 coach at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
's
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
in 2015. He was promoted to under-16 coach in July 2018 and then to under-18 coach in May 2020.
Career statistics
Honours
Port Vale
*
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 ...
:
2001
Carlisle United
*
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 ...
runner-up:
2010
Darlington
*
FA Trophy:
2011
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge-Wilkinson, Marc
1979 births
Living people
Footballers from Coventry
English footballers
Association football midfielders
Derby County F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Stockport County F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Darlington F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Association football coaches
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff
Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff