Colin Murdock

This article is about the footballer. For the voice actor, see Colin Murdock (actor).

Colin Murdock

Murdock playing for Shrewsbury Town
Personal information
Full name	Colin James Murdock
Date of birth	2 July 1975 (1975-07-02) (age 36)
Place of birth	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
1991–1994	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1997	Manchester United	0	(0)
1997–2003	Preston North End	180	(6)
2003–2005	Hibernian	37	(3)
2005	Crewe Alexandra	16	(0)
2005–2007	Rotherham United	43	(2)
2007–2008	Shrewsbury Town	29	(2)
2008–2009	Accrington Stanley	23	(1)
National team
1996–1998	Northern Ireland B	3	(0)
2000–2006	Northern Ireland	34	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Colin Murdock (born 2 July 1975 in Ballymena, County Antrim) is a Northern Irish former footballer.

He is currently a trainee solicitor at Manchester law firm George Davies LLP. He also is a member of The Football Association's Football Judicial Panel.

Club career

A former Northern Ireland international, Murdock started his career as an apprentice at Manchester United on leaving school in 1991. He featured in the youth side that were FA Youth Cup runners-up in 1993 and turned professional a year later, but never played a first team game for the club and was transferred to Preston for £165,000 in May 1997.

Murdock made more than 200 league and cup appearances while at Deepdale, collecting a Division Two title medal in 2000 and featuring in the side that reached the Division One playoff final in 2001 (losing 3–0 to Bolton Wanderers) before moving to Scottish club Hibernian in 2003. This gave him the long-awaited chance to experience top division football. During his time at Easter Road, he went from villain to hero when he scored the winning goal in a penalty shootout against Rangers in a CIS Cup semi-final.

Murdock joined Crewe in the latter part of 2004–05. He skippered the team and his form helped to steer them clear of relegation. In summer 2005, Murdock signed for Rotherham, where he captained the team and brought experience to the centre of the Rotherham defence, making 43 league appearances in two seasons, scoring twice. At the end of the 2006–07 season after a season blighted by injuries he left Rotherham. Following a brief trial period he signed a one-year contract with Shrewsbury.^[1] He made 29 league appearances and scored two goals for the Shrews, but was released by new manager Paul Simpson on 29 April 2008.^[2]

On 16 May 2008, Murdock signed a one-year deal with Accrington Stanley .^[3]

At the end of season 2008/09 Murdock retired from professional football after 17 years and 417 appearances to commence a new career as a sports lawyer.

International career

Murdock earned 34 caps for Northern Ireland. He scored one goal, a powerful header, in a 3–3 draw against Austria in 2004.

References

1. ^ "Defender Signs". shrewsburytown.co.uk. http://www.shrewsburytown.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10443~1081659,00.html. Retrieved July 31, 2007. 
2. ^ "Retain List". shrewsburytown.co.uk. http://www.shrewsburytown.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10443~1301410,00.html. Retrieved April 29, 2008. 
3. ^ "Stanley seal Murdock deal". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11750_3574484,00.html. Retrieved May 24, 2008. 

External links

• Colin Murdock career stats at Soccerbase
• Biography & Cap Details at NIFG

Persondata
Name	Murdock, Colin
Alternative names
Short description	Professional footballer
Date of birth	1975-07-02
Place of birth	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Date of death
Place of death