Mark William Peters (born 4 October 1983) is an English retired

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He began his career as a youth at

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 ...

, before transferring to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, where he made appearances in 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 ...

. Following his departure in 2004, Peters embarked on a nomadic career in

non-League football 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 de ...

. He was capped by

England C The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it fe ...

at international level in 2006.

Playing career

Southampton

Peters began his career with

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 ...

club

at the age of 11 and signed his first professional contract in October 2000. He scored 32 goals for the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

during the 2000–01 season. Despite earning comparisons to

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...

, Peters never made an appearance for the first team and a broken ankle suffered in 2001 hindered his progress. Peters departed the club in February 2002.

Brentford

Peters joined

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 ...

promotion challengers

in February 2002 and signed a -year contract. He was not picked for the first team under

Steve Coppell Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and rep ...

during the 2001–02 season and instead played for the reserves. Peters made his professional debut when he came on as a substitute for

Mark McCammon Mark Jason McCammon (born 7 August 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in England, he represented the Barbados national national team at international level. After starting his career with Cambridge United ...

after 77 minutes of a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

on 19 October 2022. He christened his maiden start for the club with his first goal, in a 2–1

West London derby The West London derby is the name given to a association football, football List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom, derby played between any two of Brentford F.C., Brentford, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Queens Park Rang ...

defeat versus

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

on 19 April 2003. Peters finished the 2002–03 season having made 12 appearances and scored one goal. Peters had a transfer request granted in October 2003, after expressing frustration at his lack of first team opportunities and the non-materialisation of a

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 ...

move to

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

club

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 ...

one month earlier. After the sacking of

Wally Downes Walter John Downes (born 9 June 1961) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently manager of AFC Wimbledon. As a footballer, Downes played the majority of his career for Wimbled ...

and the arrival of new manager

Martin Allen Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and So ...

, Peters was released in March 2004. He made only 12 first team appearances during the 2003–04 season, though he was the top scorer for the reserve team. During his two years with the Bees, Peters made 24 appearances and scored one goal.

Non-League football

Peters transferred to Conference club

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

in March 2004. He made just three appearances for the club. Peters began the 2004–05 season with hometown

Combined Counties League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

Premier Division club

Frimley Green Frimley Green is a large village and ward of in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. It is south of the town of Frimley. Lakeside Country Club was the national venue for the BDO int ...

, for whom he scored six goals in seven games before, following a trial with

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, he joined

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

on 8 November 2004. After making just one appearance, Peters returned to Frimley Green in mid-November 2004 and made seven appearances, scoring eight goals, before finishing the 2004–05 season with Carshalton Athletic, for whom he made 10 appearances and scored one goal. Peters joined Conference South club

Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Winklebury Sports Complex. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'Never a step backward' ...

, on non-contract terms, in July 2005. A falling out with manager

Ernie Howe Ernie Howe is an English football manager and former player who is currently no longer managing a team after he mutually parted company with Sutton United on 30 March 2008, having failed to pull them out of the Conference South relegation zone. ...

saw Peters leave the club in November 2005, after making 14 appearances and scoring 8 goals. Following four appearances and one goal while with Conference South club

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

on a trial basis, Peters joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division club

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

, for whom he made six appearances for the club without scoring, before departing on 2 February 2006. Peters finished the 2005–06 season with Frimley Green, for whom he scored 14 goals in 12 appearances. Peters re-signed for Basingstoke Town in July 2006. He made eight appearances and scored two goals, before joining

Wessex League The Wessex Football League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system. The par ...

Premier Division club

Gosport Borough Gosport Borough Football Club is a professional football club based in Gosport, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Charter Standard Community Club. They are currently members of the an ...

on a dual-registration on 11 October 2006. Peters scored four goals in his four appearances for the club. Peters played the first half of the 2007–08 season with Walton & Hersham, scoring five goals in 11 appearances, before playing the second half of the season for Frimley Green. In his fourth spell with the club, Peters remained until the end of the 2008–09 season, by which time he scored 23 goals in 45 appearances. Peters played the 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and 2011–12 seasons for Combined Counties League Premier Division club

Badshot Lea Badshot Lea is a small village in Surrey, England, and close to Aldershot. Badshot Lea has access in either direction to the A31 and A331 and is connected to railway stations in the nearby towns with regular bus services. The village is part o ...

and scored 24 goals in 74 appearances.

International career

Peters' form for Basingstoke Town won him a call up to the

team in a friendly versus Conference club

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

on 5 September 2006. Peters began the match as a substitute and came on for

Yemi Odubade Yemi Odubade (born 4 July 1984) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Southern League Premier Division club Gosport Borough. Odubade began his football career in England, playing in the Sussex County League for Eastbourne To ...

after 65 minutes of the 1–0 defeat.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Mark 1983 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Brentford F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Farnborough F.C. players Frimley Green F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Carshalton Athletic F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Gosport Borough F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players Badshot Lea F.C. players England men's semi-pro international footballers Isthmian League players Sportspeople from Frimley Footballers from Surrey