Michael George Loughton (born 8 December 1942) 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 le ...

who played in The Football League as a defender.

Club career

Born in Colchester, Loughton appeared for local-Colchester based feeder clubs Eastern Gas and Colchester Casuals, before signing professional forms with hometown club Colchester United in August 1961, after being signed to Colchester United by manager

Benny Fenton Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Millwall F.C., Millwall, Charlton Athletic F.C. ...

upon leaving school in July 1958. On 7 November 1964, Loughton made his

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 ...

debut for Colchester, in a 6–3

Essex derby In English football, the Essex derby is the local derby between the two professional teams in the English county of Essex – Colchester United and Southend United. The first Essex derby match that took place was a 4–2 victory for Southend ...

loss against rivals Southend United. On 26 March 1965, Loughton scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 victory away to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. In total, Loughton scored seven goals in 133 games in all competitions for Colchester. Loughton predominantly played as a part-time professional for the club, only playing as a full-time professional a select few seasons in his ten years on the books at Layer Road. In 1968, Loughton signed for

Brentwood Town Brentwood Town Football Club is a football club based in Brentwood, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Brentwood Centre Arena. History A Brentwood Football Club was established in the 19th century, and played ...

, signing a part-time contract. Due to his father's ailing health, Loughton decided to drop into

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 ...

in order to support the family business more. Two years later, Loughton moved to Chelmsford City, after a merger between Brentwood and Chelmsford. Loughton, partnering former Brentwood teammate

Brian Snowdon Brian Victor Snowdon (listed in some sources as Brian Snowden and also as Bryan, 1 January 1935 – 14 August 2023) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Portsmouth, Millwall and Crystal Palac ...

in the centre of defence, did not experience defeat with Chelmsford until his 14th game at the time, helping the club finish fifth in the 1970–71 Southern League season, playing in 49 of Chelmsford's 53 games that season. The following season, pairing Paul Delea in Chelmsford's defence, Loughton appeared in 59 of Chelmsford's 62 games as the club won the Southern League. During the 1972–73 season, Loughton missed just three of Chelmsford's 68 games in all competitions, as the club finished fourth in the Southern League, meeting

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 third round of the FA Cup. In 1978, Loughton retired from football, finishing his Chelmsford career with 383 appearances and 29 goals in all competitions.

Managerial career

In July 1977, whilst still a player at Chelmsford, Loughton was appointed manager of the club, before leaving in May 1978. After a spell as manager for Tiptree United, Loughton returned to Chelmsford in October 1981, managing the club for just over three years in his second spell, before departing in December 1984. In total, Loughton managed 283 games for Chelmsford, winning 133, drawing 70 and losing 80, placing him in third place, behind

Harry Ferrier Henry Ferrier (20 May 1920 – 16 October 2002) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager who made over 240 appearances in the Football League for Portsmouth as a left back. He later managed Gloucester City and Chelmsford City in n ...

and Joe O'Sullivan, of managers who have managed Chelmsford for the most games. Towards the end of his managerial career, Loughton also had two spells at

Wivenhoe Town Wivenhoe Town F.C. is an English football club based in Wivenhoe, Essex. The club are currently members of the and play at Broad Lane. History The club was established as Wivenhoe Rangers by Frank Slaughter and students from Colchester Gram ...

. Following his managerial career, Loughton worked as a scout, primarily under John Still.

References

External links

Mick Loughton at Neil Brown's
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loughton, Mick English men's footballers Colchester Casuals F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Brentwood Town F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players English Football League players 1942 births Living people Men's association football defenders Chelmsford City F.C. managers Wivenhoe Town F.C. managers English football managers Association football scouts Footballers from Colchester