Chris Blackburn

Chris Blackburn

Blackburn pictured in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Raymond Blackburn
Date of birth	2 August 1982 (1982-08-02) (age 29)
Place of birth	Chester, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Stockport County
Number	25
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2003	Chester City	81	(6)
2003	Nevada Wonders	?	(?)
2003–2004	Northwich Victoria	28	(0)
2004–2007	Morecambe	122	(4)
2007–2008	Swindon Town	7	(0)
2008	→ Weymouth (loan)	13	(2)
2008–2010	Aldershot Town	78	(0)
2010–2011	Wrexham	43	(1)
2011–	Stockport County	11	(0)
National team‡
2006	England C	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:45, 20 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:45, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Christopher Raymond "Chris" Blackburn (born 2 August 1982) is an English footballer who plays for Stockport County as a defender.

Career

Chester City

Chris started his career at hometown club Chester City as a youth product. He started as a midfielder and signed full pro forms at the Deva Stadium in 2000. He took over as goalkeeper in a 5–2 win over Dagenham & Redbridge in 2002 after Wayne Brown was sent off. He made 87 appearances for the Cheshire side between 1999 and 2003 before leaving in the summer of 2003. He went to America where he played briefly, as a striker, for Nevada Wonders in the USL Pro Select League. On his return to England, he signed for Northwich Victoria.

Morecambe

In February 2004, he signed a short-term deal at Morecambe.^[1] Despite playing just five games towards the end of the 2003–04 season, Blackburn impressed sufficiently to be given a two-year contract.

That summer, he again played for the Wonders on loan, before an injury crisis at Christie Park saw him convert to a defender, where he regularly played at both centre half and right back. In these new positions, Blackburn formed a formidable partnership with Jim Bentley.

He was a member of the Morecambe side that lost to Hereford United in the 2006 Conference National Play-Off Semi-Final. Chris made 126 appearances for the Lancashire side including playing 46 games in the 2006–07 season where Morecambe gained promotion to the Football League via the 2007 Conference play-off Final. Blackburn played the whole of the play-off final match at the New Wembley in front of over 40,000 spectators against Exeter City as Morecambe won 2–1.

Despite being offered a new deal at Morecambe Chris chose to move south and link up with Paul Sturrock at Swindon Town.

Swindon Town

The consistent performances for Morecambe attracted the attention of other league clubs and in July 2007, Blackburn joined Swindon Town.^[2][3] He scored twice for Swindon Town on his debut against Brentford in a Football League Trophy game.

In March 2008, he was loaned to Weymouth. His 13 games for the club ended with them avoiding relegation to the Conference South. He returned to Swindon and was subsequently released at the end of the season, despite having a year left on his contract.

Aldershot Town

A couple of weeks later Chris signed a two year contract with Conference National champions, Aldershot Town,^[4] who had just been promoted to League Two. He made his debut with Aldershot Town in their first League Two match at Accrington Stanley on the opening day of the 2008–09 season.

England National Game XI

He made his debut for the England National Game XI as a substitute against Italy in November 2002. He was also part of the England National Game XI squad that won the 2005–07 European Challenge Trophy. Chris scored in the 3-1 victory over Italy in February 2006.

Wrexham

Blackburn with Wrexham.

Blackburn signed for Wrexham in June 2010 on a 2-year contract after a good spell with Aldershot. He made his debut in August 2010 in an opening day victory over Cambridge United. He would start the season in a familiar central defense position, but in a new 4-3-3 system adopted by manager Dean Saunders, Chris Blackburn was moved to a holding midfield role, where his game really improved. He quickly became a first team regular, and a fans favourite with the way he broke play and cleared up loose balls. He scored his first goal for the club against Cambridge United on 22 January 2011, heading home after the keeper had saved a shot, this goal put Wrexham 3-0 up after only twenty minutes away from home. He was a key player in Wrexham's play-off season, perhaps being the most consistent performer in the team, however the side lost 5-1 on aggregate in the end of season play-offs to eventual runners-up Luton Town.

Following a disagreement with manager Dean Saunders, Blackburn was transfer listed on August 19th, 2011. Blackburn felt that his best position was central defense, while Saunders could not guarantee him a starting role in this position. Later on in the month his contract was terminated by mutual consent.^[5]

Stockport County

On 2 September he joined Stockport County making his debut the same day in a Conference National match against Luton Town.

Honours

Club

• Football Conference
  • Play-Off Winner 2007

Personal life

He is the nephew of former Manchester City midfielder Alan Oakes and the cousin of ex-Wolves keeper Michael Oakes.

References

1. ^ "Morecambe sign Blackburn". BBC Sport. 2004-02-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/morecambe/3504361.stm. Retrieved 2004-02-19. 
2. ^ "Swindon snap up defensive duo". BBC Sport. 2007-07-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swindon_town/6291184.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-11. 
3. ^ "Blackburn Arrives". Swindon Town Official Website. http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10341~1070487,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-11. 
4. ^ "Chris Blackburn Signs". Aldershot Town Official Website. http://www.theshots.co.uk/NewsPage.ink?nid=29912. Retrieved 2008-05-15. 
5. ^ http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/wrexham-fc/2011/08/19/wrexham-star-chris-blackburn-transfer-listed-55578-29263073/

External links

• Chris Blackburn career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Blackburn, Chris
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	2 August 1982
Place of birth	Chester, England
Date of death
Place of death