Mark Atkins (soccer player)

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Mark Atkins
Personnel
Surname Mark Nigel Atkins
birthday August 14, 1968
place of birth Doncaster ,  England
position Midfield (central), defense (right)
Juniors
Years station
1983-1986 Scunthorpe United
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1986-1988 Scunthorpe United 50 0(2)
1988-1995 Blackburn Rovers 257 (35)
1995-1999 Wolverhampton Wanderers 126 0(8)
1999 York city 10 0(2)
1999-2001 Doncaster Rovers 45 0(4)
2001 →  Hull City  (loan) 8 0(0)
2001-2003 Shrewsbury Town 72 0(3)
2003-2004 Harrogate Town 46 0(4)
2005-2007 Stalybridge Celtic
Stations as a trainer
Years station
2000 Doncaster Rovers (interim)
2003 Shrewsbury Town (interim)
2008-2014 Matlock Town
1 Only league games are given.

Mark Nigel Atkins (born August 14, 1968 in Doncaster ) is a retired English football player . As a strong midfielder who was initially and later occasionally used as a right full -back, he won the English championship with the Blackburn Rovers in 1995 . In retrospect, his position in the public perception was often underestimated and David Batty was linked to his position in the championship eleven, who was injured for a long time at this point. Immediately after the great success Atkins continued his career at smaller clubs, then switched to coaching and was employed in this role from November 2008 to October 2014 at the lower class Matlock Town .

Professional career

Scunthorpe United (1986–1988)

Atkins first came into contact with organized soccer at Hatfield High School in his native Doncaster . From September 1983 he was officially part of the youth work of Scunthorpe United and from July 1986 in the squad of the professional team, which was then active in the fourth-highest English division. Even before his formal leap into adulthood, he had made his debut in the first team at the age of only 16 and had played a total of 66 championship and cup games for the club before his 20th birthday. As a talented right full-back , he got on many a sticky note from a higher-class club and in June 1988 he moved to the Blackburn Rovers for a transfer fee of 45,000 pounds in the second division.

Blackburn Rovers (1988-1995)

Blackburn's then coach Don Mackay found in Atkins the desired replacement for Chris Price, who had migrated to Aston Villa, and in no less than 57 competitive games in the 1988/89 season up to the play-off final defeat by Crystal Palace (3-1, 0-3 ) he was immediately a regular on the right side of defense. In the following year he only missed five games in the service of the "Rovers" before he had to fight for the first time in the 1990/91 season with sporting setbacks. The club unexpectedly found themselves in the relegation battle and Atkins' performances also lacked the previous consistency. Shortly after the beginning of the 1991/92 season, Tony Parkes took over the coaching post for a month and under his reign Atkins moved to central defensive midfield. When Kenny Dalglish finally succeeded Mackay in October 1991, Atkins kept that position. The requirement profile for him was primarily to fill holes in front of the defensive row in the back third of the field, but also to exploit his goal danger in offensive approaches. Despite his not excessive technical skills, he was in this role an important factor in the ultimately successful promotion battle and especially in the 1992 playoff final against Leicester City , he received positive reviews.

As the Blackburn Rovers began to establish themselves in the newly created Premier League and made a number of high-profile signings, Atkins was relegated to a substitute player more often, but in the 1994/95 season - after winning the runner-up - he was a national player due to a long-term injury David Batty back in the starting eleven. With 34 league appearances and six goals, he made a significant contribution to winning the Premier League title and shortly before the end of the season after Batty returned without complaint, he returned to the role of substitute. After four league games as "Joker" at the beginning of the 1995/96 season, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a million pounds and thus back to the second division.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (1995-1999)

The debut season with the "Wolves" was changeable for Atkins. Used in midfield as well as in internal and external defense, his status in the team was unclear for a long time. After a 3-0 loss to Grimsby Town , coach Mark McGhee initially sorted him out, but then let him appear again in five of the last eight championship games. In a five-man defense row, Atkins first took on the role of the cleaner in the 1996/97 season . When coach McGhee returned to a back four in January 1997, Atkins initially lost his position in defense, only to return a short time later in various functions - mostly back in the central defensive midfield before the defense.

At the beginning of the following season 1997/98 he represented Keith Curle as team captain during his injury break of eight games and athletically he switched from his initial position in midfield to the (for him unfamiliar) central defense, then to the outside lane and twice in the same way unaccustomed left-back role before McGhee put him back in central midfield. In his last year in Wolverhampton Atkins first played in the reserve team and further trouble threatened when he allegedly tore his cruciate ligament in a game there. Earlier than feared, he returned as a right-back against Portsmouth FC in October 1997 and from December 1997 he replaced Kevin Muscat , who then moved to the left a short time later. Atkins showed his reliability again in 13 consecutive league games, but was not equipped with a new contract after the end of the contract period in the summer of 1999.

Career finale (1999–2003)

When looking for a follow-up job, Walsall FC and Sheffield United were initially in discussion before Atkins moved to York City , newly relegated to the fourth division . There he came on the basis of a short-term contract in front of the defense chain in twelve league and cup games and in November 1999 the club released him again. Just a week later, he returned to his hometown Doncaster, where he would henceforth lace up the boots for the Rovers playing in the Football Conference . There he completed a total of 45 league games until shortly before the end of the 2000/01 season and looked after the club as an interim coach for a month towards the end of the 1999/2000 season. He returned to the professional football world in late March 2001 when the Doncaster Rovers loaned him to the fourth division club Hull City . In Brian Little's team , who fought for promotion to the third division, Atkins was at the side of Gary Brabin in the midfield control center and when the longed-for promotion failed to materialize, the "Tigers" let the experienced loaner go again.

In July 2001, Kevin Ratcliffe hired him as coach of the fourth division club Shrewsbury Town to give his young team experience and stability. Although Atkins was now obviously in the fall of his career, he was permanently present with the "Shrews" and even scored two goals against Halifax Town in December 2001 . Also in his second year he was a key player, temporarily helping out in central defense and moving into the fourth main round of the FA Cup with the club . Only a serious knee injury in the second half of the season caused a decisive setback and in his absence the team only won two of the last 23 competitive games. At the end of his contract, which expired in the summer of 2003, he took over as head coach for a short time after Ratcliffe's resignation.

Last stations as an active footballer were from July 2003 Harrogate Town and between July 2005 and May 2007 Stalybridge Celtic ; at the latter club he was entrusted with coaching duties. Atkins took his first full-time head coach in November 2008 at Matlock Town in the Northern Premier League . Atkins led the club to victory in the Derbyshire Senior Cup in 2010 and resigned from his coaching post in October 2014 after a poor start to the 2014-15 season.

Title / Awards

literature

  • Mike Jackman: Blackburn Rovers - The Complete Record . Breedon Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-85983-709-2 , pp. 152-153 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-09-180854-9 , pp. 16 .
  2. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 978-1-85291-571-1 , pp. 17 .
  3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 978-1-85291-581-0 , pp. 18 .
  4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85291-588-9 , pp. 19 .
  5. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 978-1-85291-607-7 , pp. 19 .
  6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2000-2001 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2000, ISBN 978-1-85291-626-8 , pp. 20 .
  7. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2001-2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-946531-34-9 , pp. 18 .
  8. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85291-648-0 , pp. 25 .
  9. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-85291-651-0 , pp. 29 f .
  10. ↑ peakfm.co.uk: Mark Atkins leaves Matlock following defeat (Oct 6, 2014) , accessed April 19, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Atkins, Mark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Atkins, Mark Nigel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Doncaster , England