Scott Mulholland

Scott Mulholland (Born September 7, 1986) is an Englishman who was a professional football player for the Queens Park Rangers in 2005.

Early years

Mulholland joined Woolwich Youth FC of the Bexley league at the age of eight, at the time managed by his father.Fact|date=July 2008 A year later, at age nine, Scott Mullholland was accepted into the youth ranks of the West London football club Queens Park Rangers, turning down a chance to play with Ajax.Fact|date=July 2008 Mulholland continued at Woolwich Youth as a centre forward, scoring 211 goals in 5 years.Fact|date=July 2008 During this period Scott also represented Bexley BoroughFact|date=July 2008 and Kent county football sides. [ [http://qprreport.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html NEWS ON FORMER R's - PART #11] , QPR Report (unofficial website)]

Career

Although through his youth career, where Scott was recognised for his talents in front of goal, at Queens Park Rangers he was made to adapt to a midfield role. This positional change was predominantly due to his height and stature of which his coaches felt didn't suit the role of centre forward. Standing at 5'6 and weighing around 140lbs, Scott took to his new position with ease and was rewarded with a place in the Queens Park Rangers reserve team at the age of sixteen. At reserve team level, Scott established himself as a hardworking, tenacious midfielder in the mould of Dutch international Edgar Davids and amongst the Queens Park Rangers backroom staff there was much hope for the youngster.At the age of seventeen, after encouraging performances in the reserves he was called up to represent Scotland at under 18 level.Fact|date=July 2008 Scotland had been made aware that despite being born in England he was eligible for a Scottish call-up and approached him to play. However in a dramatic twist of fate he was injured in a reserve fixture prior to the international and ultimately his opportunity was lost. In hindsight, this would turn out to be the start of a series of injuries that would cost his career dear.

First Team

In 2004, at the age of eighteen, Scott was invited by manager Ian Holloway to train with the Queens Park Rangers first team. After training with the team for several months and playing understudy to Canadian international midfielder Marc Bircham he was loaned out in February 2005 to Hastings United of the Isthmian League [cite news | url = http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2005/2/16/105344.html | title = Hillians give leaders a real battle | work = The Argus | date = February 16, 2005 ] in a three month deal. However after only two games, the three month loan deal turned out to be only two weeks after he was re-called back to Queens Park Rangers in the wake of an injury crisis at Loftus road. On the 19th April, 2005 he made his first appearance in the blue and white hoops of Queens Park Rangers when he came off the bench to replace Marc Bircham with 69 minutes of the game played.cite news
url = http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2005/4/20/436032.html | title = Akinbiyi is a godsend | work = Lancashire Evening Telegraph | date = April 20, 2005] . Queens Park Rangers were at the time losing 1-0 away to Burnley Football Club at Turf Moor in a Coca-Cola Championship fixture and it was Mulholland who came close to equalising with a header but for the heroics of goalkeeper Brian Jensen who pulled of a magnificent save to deny the midfielder a debut goal. Ade Akinbiyi would later score his second goal of the game to give Burnley Football Club a 2-0 victory. Mulholland would realise after the game that he had in fact broke his toe when he had successfully tackled the Nigeria international forward Ade Akinbiyi, who is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, which would rule him out for the rest of the season.

Mulholland left QPR in the summer of 2005. [cite web | url = http://www.qprnet.com/history/where_00s.shtml | title = Where R They Now | work = QPR ]

References