Stephen Hughes (English footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Stephen Hughes


fullname = Stephen John Hughes
height = height|ft=6|in=0
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|09|18|df=y
cityofbirth = Wokingham
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Walsall
clubnumber = 6
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1995–2000
1999
2000–2001
2001–2003
2003–2004
2004–2008
2008–
clubs = Arsenal
→ Fulham (loan)
Everton
Watford
Charlton Athletic
Coventry City
Walsall
caps(goals) = 049 (4)
003 (0)
029 (1)
015 (0)
000 (0)
144 (8)
007 (1)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 (0)
pcupdate = 18:57, October 4, 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 18:40, August 8, 2008 (UTC)

Stephen John Hughes (born 18 September 1976 in Wokingham, England) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Walsall. He signed as a free agent following his release from Coventry City, where he rejected a new contract.

Playing career

Hughes started his career at Arsenal, where he made 79 appearances, 42 of them as substitute, between 1995 and 2000. Unable to break into the first team under Arsène Wenger, he went on loan to Fulham in 1999, where he only played four games. He returned to Arsenal but was sold to Everton for £500k on 7 March 2000.

Hughes played 33 games for Everton before being released on a free transfer on 4 July 2001. He then moved on to First Division side Watford that same month but only managed 17 games in his first season due to injury. His contract was settled early in the 2002–03 season.

He signed for Charlton Athletic in August 2003 but made no appearances that season and subsequently left on a free transfer to join Coventry City in July 2004. He went on to become the club's captain and made over 150 appearances.

Coventry offered Hughes a new contract after his previous one had expired, however they could not come to an agreement and Hughes was released. Following his release from Coventry, Hughes had trials at a number of clubs, one of which were Midlands outfit Nottingham Forest. After a successful trial at the club, manager Colin Calderwood looked into the possibility of signing the midfielder, however he failed because the players wage demands were too high.

On 2 August 2008, in an interview with a local radio station, Walsall manager Jimmy Mullen announced that Hughes had signed for the Saddlers and that he had also been made the club captain for the 2008–09 season. This announcement came shortly after a pre-season friendly with local rivals Port Vale

External links

* [http://www.ccfc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10269~5691,00.html Stephen Hughes player profile] at ccfc.co.uk
*soccerbase|3705

Persondata
NAME= Hughes, Stephen John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hughes, Stephen
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1976-09-18
PLACE OF BIRTH= Wokingham, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=