Mark Ward (footballer, born 1962)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark William Ward | ||
| Date of birth | 10 October 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1980–1981 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
| 1981–1983 | Northwich Victoria | ||
| 1983–1985 | Oldham Athletic | 84 | (12) |
| 1985–1990 | West Ham United | 165 | (12) |
| 1990–1991 | Manchester City | 55 | (14) |
| 1991–1994 | Everton | 83 | (6) |
| 1994–1996 | Birmingham City | 63 | (7) |
| 1996 | Huddersfield Town | 8 | (0) |
| 1996 | Ayr United | 1 | (0) |
| 1997 | Wigan Athletic | 5 | (0) |
| 1997 | Dundee | 1 | (0) |
| 1998 | Valur | 5 | (0) |
| – | Altrincham | ||
| 1999 | Leigh RMI | ||
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Mark William Ward (born 10 October 1962) is a former footballer from Liverpool. He started his career as a youth player with Everton and then spent two seasons playing for Oldham Athletic.
In 1985 he signed for West Ham United and was ever-present on the right wing in his first season, as they finished third in Division 1. However, in subsequent seasons, star strikers Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee left and West Ham were relegated at the end of 1988–89.
In December 1989 Ward signed for newly promoted Manchester City, who had just appointed Howard Kendall as manager after falling into the relegation zone. Ian Bishop and Trevor Morley signed for West Ham in exchange. Bizarrely, Ward's first six games for City included four against Millwall. City beat them in the league on 30 December 1989 but drew twice with them in the FA Cup before losing the second replay on 15 January 1990. City rose to finish 14th, with Ward scoring his first three goals for City in consecutive games in April.
Playing mainly on the left wing, Ward only missed two games in 1990–91, scoring 13 league and cup goals as City finished fifth. He scored both goals when City beat Sheffield United in the league on 19 January 1991, and then repeated the feat three days later to knock Sheffield United out of the Full Members Cup.
In the summer of 1991 he signed for Everton, rejoining Kendall who had moved in November 1990. Ward stayed for three seasons before moving down the divisions to play for Birmingham City (where he was a player-coach),[1] Huddersfield Town, Ayr United, Wigan Athletic, Dundee, Valur, Altrincham, and Leigh RMI.[2]
Imprisonment
After the end of his football career he became involved in the supply of cocaine in Liverpool. He was arrested after 4.0 kg (8.8 lb) of cocaine were found during a raid at a house in Prescot, Merseyside, in May 2005. In October 2005 he was jailed for eight years.[3] He was released from Kirkham Prison in May 2009 having served four years, in Kirkham and in Walton Prison.[4]
References
- ↑ Tassell, Nige (24 April 2015). "They think it's all over: ex-footballers on life after the final whistle". theguardian.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ↑ "RMI swoop for ex-Premier star". Lancashire Telegraph. 6 October 1999. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Footballer jailed on drug charge". BBC News. 4 October 2005. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ Harris, Nick (19 May 2009). "Mark Ward: 'I just don't understand why today's players go near drugs'". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
External links
- Statistics at soccerbase.com
- Interview after imprisonment
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