Malcolm Christie

Malcolm Christie

Personal information
Full name	Malcom Neil Christie[1]
Date of birth	11 April 1979
Place of birth	Stamford, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1996–1997	Deeping Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1998	Nuneaton Borough	19	(12)
1998–2003	Derby County	116	(30)
2003–2007	Middlesbrough	43	(7)
2008–2009	Leeds United	4	(1)
Total		182	(50)
National team
2001–2002	England U21	11	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Malcom Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is a retired English footballer. He previously played for Nuneaton Borough, Derby County, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, and earned 11 England under-21 caps.

Career

Born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Christie first played football as a youth in the Peterborough area, and started his career at Northborough, moving onto non-League clubs Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough. Whilst playing in non-League football he was also a supermarket shelf stacker.^[2]

Christie's big break came in October 1998 when he was purchased by Derby County manager Jim Smith. By 2000, Christie had established himself as a first team player at Derby County.

He spent one more season with Derby after they were relegated from the FA Premier League before Middlesbrough signed him and Chris Riggott on loan for a combined £3 million (possibly rising to £5m) in February 2003.^[3] His chances were limited at his new club due to several long term injuries. In 2006, although unable to play due to injury, Christie was invited back to Nuneaton Borough as guest of honour for their FA Cup third round tie against Middlesbrough. Nuneaton went on to shock their visitors by producing a 1–1 draw, and earning a replay at the Riverside Stadium.

On 25 November 2006, after returning from his injuries, manager Gareth Southgate gave Christie a start against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Christie scored on his return in the 43rd minute in a match which finished 1–1.

Middlesbrough subsequently released Christie when his contract expired in June 2007.^[4] He started a trial period with Hull City on 11 September 2007.^[5] However, he was not offered a contract at the end of his two-month trial. Also, in midseason, Malcolm rejected a contract offer from Nigel Clough, then manager of Burton Albion.

In January 2008, he began a trial with Leeds United, but picked up an injury which scuppered any deal. In September, he began using the training facilities at Leeds United in a bid to gain full fitness with the blessing of Leeds' manager Gary McAllister; although, at the time, the offer was considered to be a courtesy, and not intended to be a trial^[6] On 13 October 2008, however, he was cleared to play in a reserves fixture for Leeds against Scunthorpe United.^[7] On 10 November 2008, McAllister began to open up contract talks with Christie after regaining his fitness.^[8] He made his Leeds debut on 17 November 2008 against Northampton Town in the first round of the FA Cup.^[9] Christie scored his first goal for Leeds on 28 December, in the 3–1 victory away from home, against Stockport County.^[10]

Christie suffered a spinal injury in training and, following medical advice, retired from professional football on 29 January 2009. Following his retirement, Christie took up a new career working as a salesman for Jaguar .^[2]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 119. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
2. Malcolm Christie starts new career as car salesman, Sunday Sun, 26 February 2012. Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Boro grab Derby pair". BBC Sport. 13 February 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
4. "Boro let striker Christie leave". BBC Sport. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
5. Hull take a look at former Boro player NorthEastFootball.co.uk website.
6. HELPING MALCOLM , LeedsUnited.com
7. , leedsunited.com
8. "McAllister in talks with Christie". BBC Sport. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
9. "Christie Makes Cup Debut". LeedsUnited.com. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
10. "Stockport 1-3 Leeds". BBC. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

External links

• Malcolm Christie career statistics at Soccerbase