Rob Purdie

Football player infobox
playername = Rob Purdie
fullname = Robert James Purdie
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|9|28
cityofbirth = Leicester
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=8
currentclub = Darlington
nickname = Purds
clubnumber = 11
position = Attacking Midfielder
years = 2001–2002
2002–2007
2007–
clubs = Leicester City
Hereford United
Darlington
caps(goals) = 000 0(0)
184 (21)
049 0(2)
nationalyears = 2004
nationalteam = England C
nationalcaps(goals) = 002 0(0)
pcupdate = 22:04, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Robert James 'Rob' Purdie (born 28 September, 1982 in Leicester) is an English footballer who currently plays for Darlington.

Purdie is a versatile player who plays primarily as an attacking midfielder, but he can also play in central midfield, in the 'hole' or as a striker. He has also been known to play in defence on several occasions when the need arose.

He began his career at Leicester City where he played for the U19 and reserve teams, but not for the first team. In his final season he played several matches for Hereford United's reserves before signing for them in July 2002. In his first season at Hereford most of his appearances were as a substitute, but as the season progressed he started matches more regularly. He started the 2003–04. playing alongside Steve Guinan up front, a partnership that saw the team top the Conference in the first part of the season. He moved back into midfield for the latter part of that season, finishing with 9 goals from 41 appearances. Unfortunately the team failed to progress in the play-offs despite finishing the season with 91 points and equalling the record for goals scored in a season.

The 2004–05 was less successful as he was in and out of the side due to injuries, and Hereford again missed out in the play-offs. The 2005–06 saw Purdie make more appearances than any other Hereford player, he missed only one match due to injury. His season finished with an eventful play-off final in his home city of Leicester. While Halifax were taking the lead he was off the field receiving treatment, after he got knocked in the face. This broke his front teeth, and the bleeding from this caused him to change his shirt 3 times during the match. In the second half he had a decent shout for a penalty which was not given, when he went down in the penalty area. Not that it mattered, as Hereford went on to win the match.

He signed a new contract in June 2006 and was made club captain after the departure of Tony James. His first season in the Football League saw him appear in 44 out of 46 league matches with a further 7 appearances in cup competitions, thus making more first team appearances than any other player. He scored 9 goals in all competitions, 8 of which were from the penalty spot, which made him the second highest goalscorer for Hereford. Midway through the season he was moved from a midfield role into the left-back position, underlining his versatility. At the end of the season he was voted the Supporters Player of the Year, and also picked up the award for Away Player of the Year.

In June 2007 Purdie turned down a new contract at Hereford to sign a two year deal with fellow League Two side Darlington. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/darlington/6236790.stm Quakers bring in Bulls midfielder] ] At the time of his departure, he was the longest serving player at the club, and his 223 first team appearances rank him 33rd on the all-time list of appearances for Hereford United.

Honours

As a player

Hereford United
*Conference Play-Off Final winner: 2005–06

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=32478|name=Rob Purdie