Justin Whittle

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Justin Whittle
Personal information
Full name Justin Philip Whittle [1]
Date of birth (1971-03-18) 18 March 1971 (age 52) [2]
Place of birth Derby, England [2]
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1994 Celtic 0 (0)
1994–1998 Stoke City 79 (1)
1998–2004 Hull City 193 (3)
2004–2008 Grimsby Town 131 (3)
2008–2009 Harrogate Town 23 (1)
2009–2011 North Ferriby United 47 (2)
Total473(10)
Managerial career
2011 North Ferriby United (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Justin Philip Whittle (born 18 March 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1994 until 2011. [2]

Contents

As a player, he notably captained Humber derby 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. [2] 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. [2] He made 40 appearances in 1996–97 as Stoke finished in a mid-table position of 12th. [2] 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. [2] 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. [2]

Hull City

Justin spent six seasons at Hull City and was a firm fans' favourite there. [3] 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 League 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. [4]

Harrogate Town

In the summer of 2008 Whittle signed for Conference North side Harrogate Town. [5] 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. [6]

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 where he often writes columns for local newspapers analysing his former club Hull City.

Career statistics

Source: [7]

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOther [A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City 1995–96 First Division 80000020100
1996–97 First Division370102000400
1997–98 First Division200104000250
1998–99 Second Division 141001000151
Total791207020901
Hull City 1998–99 Third Division 241200000261
1999–2000 Third Division380404020480
2000–01 Third Division380002020420
2001–02 Third Division360201021411
2002–03 Third Division391101000411
2003–04 Third Division180101010210
Total193210090712193
Grimsby Town 2004–05 League Two 401102000431
2005–06 League Two320003040390
2006–07 League Two371201010411
2007–08 League 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
Hull City
Grimsby Town

Related Research Articles

Aidan John Davison is a football coach and former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach of National League side Wrexham.

John McDermott is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is assistant manager at National League North side Buxton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Ferriby United A.F.C.</span> Association football club in England

North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridlington Town A.F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Bridlington Town Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were founded in 1918 and currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Bloomer</span> English footballer (born 1978)

Matthew Brian Bloomer is an English football coach and former professional footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Bolder</span> English footballer

Adam Peter Bolder is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for North Ferriby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Windass</span> English footballer

Dean Windass is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played spells at Bradford City and contributed to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Peat</span> English former professional footballer who plays for Bridlington Town

Nathan Neil Martin Peat is an English former professional footballer. He played for Hull City, Cambridge United, Lincoln City, York City, Harrogate Town, Gainsborough Trinity, North Ferriby United and Scarborough Athletic. He is currently manager of Brigg Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bore</span> English footballer

Peter Charles Bore is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender, winger and striker.

Nathan George Jarman is an English professional footballer who is the player/manager of Barton Town.

Paul Harsley is an English former footballer and football coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciarán Toner</span> Northern Irish professional footballer

Ciarán Toner is a Northern Irish football coach and former professional footballer.

Graham Hockless is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder from 2001 to 2013.

Gary Bradshaw is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Christopher James Bolder is an English former professional footballer and the manager of Northern Counties East League side North Ferriby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Oxley</span> English association football player

Mark Thomas Oxley is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League Two club Harrogate Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Naylor</span> English footballer

Tom Naylor is an English professional footballer who plays as either a defensive midfielder or a centre-back for National League club Chesterfield.

The 2016–17 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, was the second season under the new title of National League, thirteenth season consisting of three divisions and the thirty-eighth season overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Fallowfield</span> English footballer (born 1996)

Ryan Jack Glenn Fallowfield is an English professional footballer who plays as a right back for National League club York City. Fallowfield started his career at Hull City, though did not make a senior appearance, and has also played for North Ferriby United.

The 2022–23 season is the 145th season in the existence of Grimsby Town Football Club and the first season back in League Two since the 2020–21 season following promotion in the previous season. In addition to the league, they will also compete in the 2022–23 FA Cup, the 2022–23 EFL Cup and the 2022–23 EFL Trophy.

References

  1. "Justin Whittle". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN   1-874287-39-2.
  3. The Top 100 Tigers | Hull City | News | News | News Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Mariners release defender Whittle". BBC News. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  5. "Whittle Signs Up!". Harrogate Town OWS. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  6. "Billy Heath appointed as new Manager". 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  7. Justin Whittle at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)