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Justin Whittle
English footballer

Justin Whittle

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
English footballer
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Derby
Age
53 years
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Justin Whittle (born 18 March 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1994 until 2011.
As a player he notably captained Humberside clubs Hull City and Grimsby Town. He also appeared for Celtic where he started his career in 1994 before moving on to Stoke City. Following his departure from Grimsby in 2008 he moved into the Non-League game playing for Harrogate Town and North Ferriby United before retiring in 2011, where he briefly managed the club in a caretaker role whilst previously serving as assistant manager.

Playing career

Stoke City

Whittle was born in Derby and began his career in the Army and was deployed to Germany where he served with the British Army of the Rhine. Whilst in Germany he played football in an army tournament and was spotted by scouts from Celtic and he joined them along with Gary Holt. After a season at Celtic both joined Lou Macari at Stoke City and Whittle made his professional debut away at Southend United in the 1995–96 season. He played in both of the club's play-off matches against Leicester City at the end of the season as Stoke lost 1–0. He made 40 appearances in 1996–97 as Stoke finished in a mid-table position of 12th. In 1997–98 Stoke suffered relegation to the Second Division, however Whittle did manage to win the player of the year award despite playing in just 20 league matches. Under Brian Little in 1998–99 he played in 15 matches scoring his only goal for Stoke against Reading on 3 October 1998. After falling out with manager Little, Whittle was sold to Hull City in November 1998.

Hull City

Justin spent six seasons at Hull City and was a firm fans' favourite there. He was recruited by Warren Joyce in 1998 while City were battling relegation from the Football League and became an integral part of the "Great Escape" team. He left after captaining the promotion-winning 2003–04 side - he was offered a new contract at Hull, but with no guarantee of first-team football he chose to accept an offer from Grimsby Town instead. Due to his cult status at Hull, his departure led to widespread criticism of manager Peter Taylor from the fans. Taylor however delivered a second promotion the following season, but many fans still wished that Whittle had still been there to be a part of this success.

Grimsby Town

Whittle joined Grimsby in time for the start of the 2004–05 season after it became apparent that first team opportunities would be limited at Hull due to an influx of new players and that he would lose the captaincy as a result. After an average first season with Grimsby, Whittle went from strength to strength, and provided a commanding force at the back for his club. His efforts in the 2005–06 season saw the club make an appearance at the Millennium Stadium in the play-offs, and go on an impressive run in the Carling Cup where the club defeated Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur before making an exit at the hands of Newcastle United. After playing in the heart of defence with many different players at the club it was surprisingly his partnership with Nick Fenton in the 2006–07 season that caught the eyes of the club's supporters.

Despite the club struggling in the league, Whittle was voted "Player of The Season" for his efforts and earned himself a 1-year contract extension. It was apparent from the start of the following season that Whittle was to play a smaller or less important role in the club's affairs. The number 6 shirt he had held since he arrived was stripped of him and he was listed as number 15 in the squad. Fitness and injury worries plagued Whittle and when fit, he was often named as a substitute playing second fiddle to the likes of Nick Fenton, Ryan Bennett and Rob Atkinson. As well as this Whittle was not used in the club's Wembley appearance in the Football League Trophy final in March. In April 2008 it was decided by the club that they would not offer Justin Whittle an extension to his contract and he left on good terms in May after playing some of his best football with the Mariners.

Harrogate Town

In the summer of 2008 Whittle signed for Conference North side Harrogate Town. Whittle went on to play in 23 games for Town before being released in March 2009.

North Ferriby United

Whittle signed for North Ferriby United in March 2009, slotting straight into his usual central defensive position. After two years with the Northern Premier League side Whittle retired from playing in football in 2011.

Managerial & coaching career

Following his retirement Whittle became assistant manager at former club North Ferriby United in August 2011. Following the resignation of John Anderson on 11 September, Whittle took caretaker control of the first team alongside club captain Paul Foot. Whittle left the club in October following the appointment of manager Billy Heath and assistant Bobby Carroll.

Personal life

Whittle is a former member of the Royal Army Pay Corps in the British Army where he served before embarking in his football career. Since retiring from football, Whittle has continued to reside in Kingston upon Hull and often writes columns for local newspapers analysing his former club Hull City.

Career statistics

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOther[A]Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City1995–96First Division80000020100
1996–97First Division370102000400
1997–98First Division200104000250
1998–99Second Division141001000151
Total791207020901
Hull City1998–99Third Division241200000261
1999–2000Third Division380404020480
2000–01Third Division380002020420
2001–02Third Division360201021411
2002–03Third Division391101000411
2003–04Third Division180101010210
Total193210090712193
Grimsby Town2004–05League Two401102000431
2005–06League Two320003040390
2006–07League Two371201010411
2007–08League Two181101030231
Total13135070801513
Career total40361702301714607
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

Honours

Stoke City
  • Stoke City player of the year: 1998
Hull City
  • Football League Third Division runner-up: 2003–04
Grimsby Town
  • Football League Two play-off runner up: 2005–06
  • Football League Trophy runner up: 2007–08
  • Player of the Year: 2007

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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