Mark Abraham Bright (born 6 June 1962) is an English sports correspondent and former
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 ...
.
Born to a
Gambian father and English mother, he was adopted into a foster family in
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
at an early age. He played non-league football for local side
Leek Town, before joining nearby
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 ...
side
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 ...
in 1981. He turned professional at the club the following year, though would only enjoy an extended run in the first-team during the 1983–84 season. He signed with
First Division club
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in June 1984. He failed to find success with Leicester however and was sold on to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in November 1986. He helped Palace to win promotion out of 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 ...
via the play-offs in
1989 and went on to play on the losing side of the
1990 FA Cup final
The 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match played to determine to winners of the 1989–90 FA Cup. It was contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan R ...
, before winning the
Full Members' Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. Building an effective strike partnership with
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
, he scored 114 goals in 286 league and cup games for Crystal Palace and was also named on the PFA Second Division
Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to:
*BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award
*Canadian Press Team of the Year Award
*GPA Gaelic Team of the Year
*IRB International Sevens Team of the Year
*IRB International Team of the Year
*J.League Team of the Y ...
in 1987–88 and as the club's Player of The Year in 1990.
He was sold to
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 Foo ...
rivals
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
for a fee of £1,375,000 in September 1992, where he would stay for the next five years, scoring a further 70 goals in 170 games in all competitions. He featured in the
1993 League Cup final and
1993 FA Cup final, which ended in defeat to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
both times. He lost his first-team place in the 1996–97 season and was loaned out to
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
, also spending time at Swiss club
Sion
Sion may refer to
* an alternative transliteration of Zion
People
* Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name
Pl ...
, who were unable to play him in competitive fixtures after failing to come to an agreement with Sheffield Wednesday. He eventually signed with
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
in March 1997 and helped the club to win promotion to the Premier League with victory in the
1998 First Division play-off final, before announcing his retirement the following year shortly before his 38th-birthday. After retiring as a player he worked as a pundit on various television and radio programmes. He married singer
Michelle Gayle
Michelle Patricia Gayle (born 2 February 1971) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and writer. Gayle had success as a soul and R&B singer in the 1990s, having achieved seven top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart. These include "Sweetness" ...
in 1996 and divorced in 2007; they have one son.
Early life
Bright was born in Stoke-on-Trent, to Edwin Bright, a forklift truck driver from
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, and Maureen Bright, a white English woman. His mother left home in November 1964, and his father put Bright and his brother, Phillip, up for adoption. His first foster home was with Helena Parton, where he and his brother stayed with while his sisters lived with his mother, who divorced Edwin in 1968. Parton ceased fostering the two boys in 1969 after she developed health problems and the boys went on to live with a new foster family in
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the Cheshire border. It is part of the Potteries Urban Area, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 26,276 (2019 census). ...
, Bob and Irene Davies, who were experienced foster parents. The rest of his childhood was relatively happy and stable under their care until he left home at the age of 18. As the only black children at Dove Bank Primary, the two brothers were a target for bullies and were put in the same class to help the pair feel more comfortable. A clumsy attempt to combat the racism from the headteacher in a school assembly worked and the boys began to be accepted by the other children due to their natural footballing ability. Roy Bright, frontman of rock band
Exit State
Exit State were an English rock band. Formed in 2005 by Roy Bright, they released two EPs and two studio albums.
History
Exit State were a Hard Rock band from Burnley, Preston and Rossendale, Lancashire, England. Their cited influences incl ...
, claims to be a half-brother of Mark Bright.
Football career
Port Vale
Bright spent a year as a youth-team player 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 ...
before being released at the age of 16. He then played part-time football at
Cheshire County League outfit
Leek Town and for
Sunday league side Mason's Arms, before he rejoined Port Vale as an amateur in October 1981 on the recommendation of Mason's Arms co-manager
Russell Bromage
Russell Bromage (born 9 November 1959) is an English former footballer who played as a wing-back. In a fourteen-year career in the Football League he made 400 league appearances, scoring 14 goals.
Bromage spent ten years with Port Vale from ...
. Manager
John McGrath handed him his full debut on the last day of the
1981–82 season, in a 2–0 win over
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 ...
at
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, ...
, two weeks after coming on as a
substitute in a goalless home draw with
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 ...
on 1 May 1982.
In the game against Torquay, he provided as assist for
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...
, although missed an opportunity to score himself, telling a local reporter that, "I was waiting for the ball to bounce instead of having a go straight away". He went on to sign an initial one-year part-time contract on £10-a-week, while also working as an apprentice for Staffs Hydraulics in Kidsgrove.
He played just once in the
1982–83 Fourth Division promotion campaign, scoring Vale's second goal in a 2–0 home win over
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
on 9 October.
At the end of the season he turned down an initial full-time professional contract offer as it paid less than his factory job, though he did sign a revised offer of £110-a-week with appearances and goal incentives. Bright came to prominence for the "Valiants" under the stewardship of new boss
John Rudge
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
towards the end of the
1983–84 season, scoring ten goals in 31 games, though this was not enough to save the club from relegation out of the
Third Division.
Graham Barnett advised him to reject John Rudge's offer of a two-year contract, and Bright was consequently sold to
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
for £33,333 in June 1984. This fee was later doubled due to a top-up clause.
Bright turned down a contract offer from
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
manager
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...
as he had already promised Leicester manager
Gordon Milne
Gordon Milne (born 29 March 1937) is an English former association football, football player and manager.
Personal life
Gordon Milne was born in Preston, Lancashire, England and is the son of the Scottish former Preston player Jimmy Milne (foot ...
he would sign for Leicester.
Leicester City
Bright's contract with Leicester ran for three years and earned him £300-a-week, nearly tripling his Port Vale wages, as well giving him a £10,000 signing-on bonus. The "Foxes" struggled in the lower half of the
First Division table in the
1984–85 season and Bright was limited to 18 appearances and spent most of his time on the bench as
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...
and
Alan Smith were the club's established strike partnership. Lineker finished as the First Division's top-scorer, but was sold to
Everton in summer 1985, leaving Bright with an opportunity to establish himself in the starting eleven at
Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...
. Bright opened the
1985–86 season by scoring two goals in a 3–1 home win over Everton. However, he struggled to match this performance for the rest of the campaign and lost confidence, which was worsened when a section of the Leicester crowd turned on him with racially aggravated abuse.
At a low point in his career, he was diagnosed with
depression after seeking treatment for sleeping problems. Milne was moved upstairs at Leicester at the start of the
1986–87 season to become the club's general manager and Bright was not rated by new manager
Bryan Hamilton
Bryan Hamilton (born 21 December 1946) is a Northern Irish former professional football player and manager. He gained 50 caps for Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1980, and later managed the national team for four years. He later became Techn ...
. Bright turned down the offer of a move to
Brian Horton
Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...
's
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 ...
, as he did not want to move too far north, although took Horton's advice to ask Leicester for a move as the club were not willing to let Bright reach 50 club appearances and so trigger another top-up payment to Port Vale.
Crystal Palace
Bright was signed to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
by manager
Steve Coppell for a £75,000 fee on 13 November 1986.
The initial contract was only a temporary three-month deal as there were medical concerns with his
Osteitis pubis
Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubis symphysis (also known as the pubic symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pa ...
, meaning that if he was unfit at the end of this period he would be returned to Leicester. However, he went on to sign a permanent contract after completing the trial period. Palace already had a successful strike partnership in
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
and
Andy Gray, though Coppell moved Gray into central midfield to accommodate Bright up front. The "Eagles" were pressing for promotion out of 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 ...
, but finished two points outside the play-offs in
1986–87. Bright was named on the
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
and earned the Golden Boot for the highest scorer in the division in
1987–88 with 24 goals, although the club finished one place and two points outside of the play-offs.
A third-place finish in
1988–89 secured them a place in the
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
and Bright scored in the semi-final victory over
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
, which helped Palace to reach the
play-off final; Palace then beat
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
4–3 on aggregate to win promotion to the top-flight.
Palace competed well in the First Division, except for the trip to
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 1892. ...
where they were beaten by a club-record
9–0 margin by
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 popul ...
, an experience Bright described as "numbing". He ended the
1989–90 season with 12 league goals, including a brace against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
, helping the team to finish five points above the relegation zone. The club's greatest achievement would come in the
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 ...
however, as they gained revenge on Liverpool by beating them 4–3 after extra-time in the semi-finals 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 stations ...
to secure a place in the
1990 FA Cup final
The 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match played to determine to winners of the 1989–90 FA Cup. It was contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan R ...
, with Bright scoring the first of Palace's four goals. The club's first ever FA Cup final appearance, they held Manchester United to a replay after an initial 3–3 draw 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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, but lost the replay 1–0 to a late
Lee Martin goal as
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
won his first trophy as Manchester United manager. Bright was particularly disappointed as he felt he had not performed in the original game.
One consolation for Bright was that he was named as Crystal Palace's Player of The Year for the 1989–90 season.
As Palace impressed in the First Division throughout
1990–91, Bright proved his predatory skills at the highest level with a sequence of seven top-flight goals in just ten midwinter games as the "Eagles" secured their highest ever league finish of third.
The potency of Bright and Wright's partnership was demonstrated on 25 September, when both players scored hat-tricks in an 8–0 win over
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 ...
at
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...
in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. Palace went on to win the
Full Members' Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
, beating
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
,
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 ...
,
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
,
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and then Everton in the
Wembley final, with Wright scoring a brace in extra-time.
After Wright had left the club, Bright continued his great form for Palace and hit a total of 22 goals in the
1991–92 season. However, Coppell failed to adequately replace Wright, and
Marco Gabbiadini
Marco Gabbiadini (; born 20 January 1968) is an English former footballer whose career lasted 18 years from 1985 to 2003. He played for 12 different clubs, scoring a total of 226 league goals.
Playing career York City
Gabbiadini was born on ...
was bought and sold on within the space of four months for a loss of £600,000. Bright scored on the opening day of the
1992–93 season, the start of the newly created
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 Foo ...
, before being sold on to Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday
Bright joined Sheffield Wednesday on 11 September 1992 in a cash plus player exchange deal involving fellow striker
Paul Williams that was rated at a total transfer value of £1,375,000.
The Wednesday players were experienced and at the peak of their careers; manager
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player foll ...
was eager to win trophies at
Hillsborough and felt Bright would prove a good partner to club stalwart
David Hirst, particularly with the highly talented
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He currently works as a commentator.
Nicknamed "Magic Chris", football journalist Luke Ginnell wrote that Waddle was "widely ackn ...
in midfield. After scoring six goals in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, Bright played in the
League Cup final, which ended in a 2–1 defeat to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
Wednesday also reached the
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 cont ...
of the FA Cup, where they would again face Arsenal, with Bright scoring an extra-time header against
derby rivals Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
to secure victory in the semi-finals. The final proved to be a disappointment however, as he controversially elbowed Arsenal defender
Andy Linighan
Andrew Linighan (born 18 June 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1980 until 2000, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
He also played in the Football League for Hartlepool ...
in the face, causing a broken nose. Later, with the scores level in the last minute of extra time, a heavily bandaged Linighan out-jumped Bright from a corner to score the winning goal.
After the game, Bright phoned Linighan to apologise.
Bright finished as the
club's top-scorer for three consecutive seasons, eventually became the "Owls" highest goalscorer 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 Foo ...
as of December 2019, scoring 48 goals between 1992 and 1996.
With 19 goals, he was the Premier League's seventh-highest scorer in
1993–94. He then hit 13 goals in the
1994–95 season, in Francis's last season in charge. He signed a new two-year contract in summer 1995, having rejected an approach from
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
manager
Harry Redknapp
Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...
. Wednesday then finished 15th in the league in
1995–96 under the stewardship of
David Pleat
David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English football player turned manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He had two spells as manager of Luton Town, and four as ma ...
, with Bright scoring 14 goals in all competitions despite playing a complete league game only 15 times.
Pleat paid £2.7 million for
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 ...
forward
Andy Booth in July 1996, signalling the end of Bright's time at Hillsborough.
Having been almost entirely frozen out of the first-team during the
1996–97 season, Bright was loaned to
South London derby
The South London derby is the name given to a football derby contested by any two of Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Sutton United, and AFC Wimbledon, the five professional Football Association clubs in South London, England. It is s ...
rivals
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
in the Second Division and scored on his debut for the "Lions" in a 1–1 draw at
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
.
Bright began training with Swiss club
Sion
Sion may refer to
* an alternative transliteration of Zion
People
* Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name
Pl ...
in January 1997. He left soon after due to unpaid wages and issues with his transfer fee with Sheffield Wednesday.
Despite being unwanted at Leicester, the club still demanded a transfer fee of £60,000, which Sion chairman
Christian Constantin
Christian Constantin (born 7 January 1957) is a Swiss architect. He is the owner and president of Swiss football club FC Sion. He bought the club, which had previously neared bankruptcy and was relegated from the Swiss Super League, in 2003.
Duri ...
refused to pay, which meant that Bright trained with the squad at
Stade Tourbillon but was unable to feature in any competitive games. Despite this, he enjoyed his time training under manager
Alberto Bigon
Alberto "Albertino" Bigon (born 31 October 1947) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder or forward.
Playing career
Born in Padua, Bigon started his playing career for his native city team Padova. He made ...
and alongside
Roberto Assis, the elder brother and later agent of
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...
.
Charlton Athletic
Bright eventually signed with
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
in March 1997 on a contract to run until the end of the
1996–97 season. After two substitute appearances, he scored a brace in his first start for the "Addicks", in a 2–1 win over
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
at
The Valley on 19 April. Manager
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley (born 8 November 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for West Ham United, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion and has worke ...
was keen on experienced players to bolster his young squad, therefore signed Bright to a one-year deal in the summer. He scored seven goals in the
1997–98 campaign to help Charlton to a fourth-place finish in the First Division and a place in the play-offs. Charlton overcame
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in the semi-finals and then beat
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
in the
play-off final,
which was won 7–6 on
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
after a 4–4 draw; Bright started the final, although did not take a penalty in the shoot-out as he was taken off in extra-time. He then agreed a new one-year contract, accepting a role mainly as a squad player and experienced pro for the younger players to learn from. Charlton failed to survive in the Premier League however, and Bright retired from professional football at the end of the
1998–99 season. Bright wrote in his autobiography that he earned a total of £1.2 million from his 18-year career as a professional player.
Media career
After retiring, Bright became a football correspondent on ''
The Big Breakfast
''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu.
The pro ...
'' and co-presented ''The Wright Bright Show'' with former teammate Ian Wright on
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
. He also commentates on some international matches, often alongside
Jonathan Pearce and
Steve Wilson on ''
Match of the Day
''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary L ...
''.
He has worked as a sports correspondent for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
.
In summer 2009, he joined the Crystal Palace academy set-up, along with his former teammate
. He was inducted into the City of Stoke-on-Trent Hall of Fame in 2019. He published his autobiography, ''My Story - from foster care to footballer'', in November 2019.
the following year. They divorced in 2007, although they remain as friends. Their son, Isaiah, was born in April 2000. Bright has completed six
.
in 2005 and The Rhys Daniels Trust in 2006.