Mark Hudson (footballer, born 1982)

Mark Hudson

Hudson playing for Cardiff City in 2014.
Personal information
Full name	Mark Alexander Hudson
Date of birth	30 March 1982
Place of birth	Guildford, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Huddersfield Town
Number	5
Youth career
0000–2000	Fulham
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2000–2004	Fulham	0	(0)
2003	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	15	(0)
2004	→ Crystal Palace (loan)	14	(0)
2004–2008	Crystal Palace	106	(7)
2008–2009	Charlton Athletic	43	(3)
2009–2014	Cardiff City	144	(11)
2014–	Huddersfield Town	79	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:56, 1 May 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Mark Alexander Hudson (born 30 March 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Huddersfield Town, where he is also the captain.

Career

Fulham

As a child, Hudson played for Farncombe boys football club. He began his professional career with Fulham but never managed to establish himself in the first team. Prior to joining Oldham Athletic, Hudson was linked with Grimsby Town on loan following the trial, however, the move never happened.^[1] Following his debut against Chesterfield in the League Cup, Hudson signed a one-year deal with the club.^[2]

He spent two months on loan at Oldham Athletic while Iain Dowie was manager there.^[3] As a result of having his first team opportunities, Hudson loan spell with Oldham Athletic would be extended for another month twice.^[4][5] After Dowie moved to Crystal Palace, Hudson moved back to Fulham where he began to get small amounts of first team football. In total he made three appearances for Fulham, all in the League Cup.

Crystal Palace

In the 2003–04 season he went on a three-month-long loan to Crystal Palace^[6] This would be extended to two months.^[7] Reunited with Dowie, Hudson would help the club to secure a play-off victory and promotion to the Premiership at the Millennium Stadium, before being signed by Dowie for the start of the 2004–05 season.^[8] Despite scoring on his full home debut, Hudson never managed to establish himself in the first team in his first two seasons, with Dowie preferring Fitz Hall and Gonzalo Sorondo, followed by a partnership of Hall and Darren Ward.

Dowie left in the summer of 2006, and was replaced by Peter Taylor. Under Taylor, Hudson became a first team regular, making 42 appearances in 2006–07, largely alongside Leon Cort. In 2007–08, under Neil Warnock, he played largely alongside José Fonte, and missed only one game all season. He was also appointed captain mid-way through that season as the Eagles made the play-offs.

Charlton Athletic

At the end of the season he was out of contract, and chose to move on a free transfer to local rival and fellow Championship side Charlton Athletic, signing a three-year contract.^[9] Hudson's experience as captain at Palace earned him the same role at his new club, and he went on to make 45 appearances in all competitions for the club as they suffered relegation to League One, finishing bottom of the division.

Cardiff City

Hudson playing for Cardiff City in 2012

In July 2009, Hudson signed for Championship side Cardiff City for a fee of £1.075m with an extra £250,000 possible if the Bluebirds reach the Premier League.^[10][11] An on-going contract dispute with midfielder Joe Ledley led manager Dave Jones to hand the captaincy to Hudson at the start of the season, Cardiff becoming the third successive club at which Hudson had been appointed captain.^[12] Hudson scored an own goal in a 1–1 draw against his former club Crystal Palace on 17 October 2009 before scoring his first goal for the club three weeks later during a 3–2 defeat to Swansea City. He made his two-hundredth league appearance on Boxing Day against Plymouth Argyle and added his second goal of the season on 9 January 2010 against Blackpool. However, his season was dealt a blow when he was ruled out for up to two months after being forced to undergo surgery on a split ankle tendon at the end of January.^[13] However, he did return in time for the play-offs where Cardiff lost 3–2 to Blackpool in the final.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Hudson lost his captaincy to Craig Bellamy,^[14] but retained his place in the team. On 19 March, Hudson suffered a knee injury in a 3–3 draw with Millwall, and three days later it was confirmed Hudson would be out for up to six weeks.^[15] Despite reports claiming Hudson would be out for the season, he returned in Cardiff's 1–0 victory over Preston North End on 25 April.^[16] He missed on the following game against Middlesbrough which Cardiff lost 3–0, but was chosen to start in the final game of the season against Burnley – he was taken off with another injury after 30 minutes.^[17] Again reports of Hudson's season being in doubt were proven wrong as he was cleared for the first leg of Cardiff's second consecutive play-off participation.^[18] Cardiff drew the first match against Reading 0–0 at the Madjeski Stadium, went down to a 3–0 defeat in the return leg, ending their season.

Under new manager Malky Mackay, Hudson regained the captaincy for the 2011–12 season and led the team to a shock 1–0 win over West Ham United on the opening. His first goal of the season came in the Severnside derby on 14 August 2011 against Bristol City.^[19] Hudson made his 250th league appearance on 27 August against Portsmouth. His second goal of the season came in a 2–1 win at Reading on 19 November. A small hamstring injury meant he missed two games including a 2–0 win over Premier League Blackburn, but he returned on 4 December coming on for Anthony Gerrard against Birmingham City. His 100th appearance for Cardiff came on 2 January 2012 against Reading, whilst also making his three-hundredth club appearance. On 13 January 2012, Hudson signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him in the Welsh capital until 2014.^[20] His third league goal came against Portsmouth on 21 January 2012. He suffered an ankle injury in January 2012, but made it back in time to captain the side in its first ever League Cup final against Liverpool, in which the Bluebirds were beaten 3–2 on penalties following a performance lauded by many as City held their own against an established Premier League club. He scored his fourth of the season against Birmingham City, then a month later he scored his fifth from 68 yards out against Derby County, a goal which was later voted the club's goal of the season.^[21]

Hudson got the Football League's first goal of the 2012–13 season, scoring a late winner against Huddersfield Town on 17 August. His second goal came as the winner in a 2–1 win over Birmingham City, which meant that Cardiff made a historic fifth successive home win and went top of the table. Hudson then scored his tenth goal in a Cardiff shirt on 10 November against Hull City, followed by a fourth a month later against Blackburn Rovers. Hudson made his three-hundredth career league start at Blackpool in a 2–1 victory on 19 January. He later had to undergo ankle surgery in March and was ruled out for the rest of the season.^[22] Hudson lifted the Championship trophy following the 1–1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers at Cardiff City Stadium in May.

During the summer, Hudson extended his deal by a further year until the summer of 2015.^[23]

Huddersfield Town

As the August 2014 transfer window shut, Hudson moved from Cardiff to fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal.^[24] He made his début in the 2–1 defeat by Middlesbrough on 13 September 2014. On 16 October 2014, he took over from Lee Peltier as the captain of the Terriers. He scored his first goal for the Terriers in their 3–2 defeat to Derby County on 4 November 2014. His first home goal for the Terriers also came against Derby on 18 April 2015, in a thrilling 4–4 draw.

Career statistics

As of 2 May 2015.

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Fulham	2000–01[25]	First Division	0	0	0	0	2	0	–	–	2	0
	2001–02[26]	FA Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	0	0
	2002–03[27]	FA Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	–	–	1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	3	0	–	–	3	0
Oldham Athletic (loan)	2003–04[28]	Second Division	11	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	12	0
	2003–04[28]	Second Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		15	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	16	0
Crystal Palace (loan)	2003–04[28]	First Division	14	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	14	0
Crystal Palace	2004–05[29]	Premier League	7	1	0	0	2	0	–	–	9	1
	2005–06[30]	Championship	15	0	3	0	4	0	–	–	22	0
	2006–07[31]	Championship	39	4	2	0	1	0	–	–	42	4
	2007–08[32]	Championship	45	2	1	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	49	2
	Total		120	7	6	0	8	0	2	0	136	7
Charlton Athletic	2008–09[33]	Championship	43	3	2	0	0	0	–	–	45	3
	Total		43	3	2	0	0	0	–	–	45	3
Cardiff City	2009–10[34]	Championship	27	2	2	0	1	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	33	2
	2010–11[35]	Championship	40	0	2	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	45	0
	2011–12[36]	Championship	39	5	0	0	3	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	44	5
	2012–13[37]	Championship	33	4	0	0	0	0	–	–	33	4
	2013–14[38]	Premier League	2	0	2	0	2	0	–	–	6	0
	2014–15[39]	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	3	0
	Total		144	11	6	0	7	0	7	0	164	11
Huddersfield Town	2014–15[40]	Championship	36	1	1	0	0	0	–	–	37	1
	Total		41	2	1	0	0	0	–	–	42	2
Career Total			363	23	15	0	18	0	10	0	406	23

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Football League play-offs

Honours

Clubs

Crystal Palace

• First Division play-off winners: 1

2003–04

Cardiff City

• Championship Winners: 1

2012–13

• Championship play-off runners-up: 1

2009–10

• League Cup runners-up: 1

2011–12

Individual

• Cardiff City Player of the Year (1): 2013
• 2012 Cardiff City goal of the season vs. Derby County (17 April 2012)

References

1. "Hudson on loan". Fulham Official Website. 18 December 2001. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
2. "Hudson's new deal". Fulham Official Website. 6 June 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
3. "Hudson loaned to Latics". Fulham Official Website. 25 August 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
4. "Hudson loan extended". Fulham Official Website. 22 September 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
5. "Hudson on loan". Fulham Official Website. 28 November 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
6. "Hudson joins Palace". Fulham Official Website. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
7. "Hudson's Loan". Fulham Official Website. 14 February 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
8. "Hudson seals Palace switch". BBC Sport. 11 July 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2004.
9. "Hudson leaves Palace for Charlton". BBC Sport. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
10. "Bluebirds swoop for skipper". Charltonathletic.co.uk. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
11. "Triple boost for Cardiff City". Western Mail. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
12. "Mark Hudson handed Cardiff City captaincy". South Wales Echo. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
13. "Huds out for 10–12 weeks". Cardiff City F.C. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
14. "Craig Bellamy to lead Cardiff City on debut". BBC Sport. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
15. "Mark Hudson injury blow for Cardiff City". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 22 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
16. "Preston 0 – 1 Cardiff". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 25 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
17. "Burnley 1 – 1 Cardiff". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 7 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
18. "Mark Hudson clear for Cardiff City play-off at Reading". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 9 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
19. "Cardiff City 3–1 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
20. Steve Tucker (13 January 2012). "Cardiff City captain Mark Hudson signs new two-year contract". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
21. "Peter Whittingham named Cardiff City Player of the Year". South Wales Echo. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
22. "Cardiff captain Mark Hudson undergoes ankle surgery". BBC Sport. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
23. "Mark Hudson: Cardiff City captain signs 2015 contract extension". BBC Sport. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
24. "Mark Hudson Joins Huddersfield Town". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
25. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2000–01". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
26. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2001–02". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
27. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2002–03". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
28. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2003–04". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
29. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2004–05". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
30. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2005–06". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
31. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2006–07". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
32. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2007–08". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
33. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2008–09". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
34. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2009–10". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
35. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2010–11". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
36. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2011–12". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
37. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2012–13". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
38. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2013–14". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
39. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2014–15". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
40. "Matches played by Mark Hudson in 2014–15". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 March 2014.

External links

• Mark Hudson career statistics at Soccerbase