Paul Murray
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-08-31) 31 August 1976 (age 47)
Place of birth Carlisle, Cumbria, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Oldham Athletic (academy manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Carlisle United 41 (1)
1996 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 1 (0)
1996–2001 Queens Park Rangers 139 (7)
2001 Southampton 1 (0)
2001–2004 Oldham Athletic 95 (15)
2004–2006 Beira-Mar 17 (2)
2006–2007 Carlisle United 14 (1)
2007–2008 Gretna 32 (1)
2008–2010 Shrewsbury Town 59 (2)
2010–2013 Hartlepool United 98 (2)
2013 Oldham Athletic 0 (0)
Total 497 (31)
International career
1997 England U21 4 (0)
1998 England B 1 (0)
Managerial career
2014 Hartlepool United
2019 Carlisle United (joint caretaker)
2023 Oldham Athletic (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Murray (born 31 August 1976) is an English football coach and former professional player. He is currently academy manager and the academy manager of Oldham Athletic.

Playing career

Murray was born on 31 August 1976, in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. He started his career at Carlisle United and made his Football League debut for them on 27 December 1993, coming on as a substitute against Darlington.[1] In May 1996 he joined Queens Park Rangers on loan, making his debut at Nottingham Forest. After the Hoops' relegation that season, he joined the team permanently for a transfer fee of £300,000. Whilst at QPR he was called up four times for the England U21 squad, and in February 1998 he made his solitary appearance for England B as a substitute against Chile. He enjoyed a successful time at Loftus Road, playing 140 league games before he joined Premiership club Southampton in July 2001, though he played only one game for the south coast side.[2]

In December 2001 Murray joined Oldham Athletic, where he spent three and a half years, before he joined Portuguese club Beira-Mar. He re-joined Carlisle United in the close-season of 2006 after their promotion to League One, and scored against Doncaster Rovers in the opening game of the 2006–07 season. This was the first match for new manager Neil McDonald. He was released by the club in May 2007.[3]

Murray joined newly promoted Scottish Premier League outfit Gretna in June 2007 on a one-year contract.

With his contract expired at Gretna, Murray turned down a number of clubs to move south of the border and join League Two side Shrewsbury Town in May 2008, alongside former teammate Stephen Hindmarch.[4] After two years at the club he was released on 14 May 2010.[5]

He joined Hartlepool United on trial in the summer of 2010[6] and signed a short-term deal with the club in August 2010.[7] Murray extended his contract with Hartlepool and won their player of the year trophy in the 2011–12 season.[8] Murray was released by Hartlepool midway through the 2012–13 season,[9] and re-signed by Oldham Athletic on a contract until the end of the season, returning to the club after almost nine years.[10]

Management career

Murray completed his coaching badges alongside former Manchester United and England defender Phil Neville.

After a successful spell as a coach at Oldham Athletic, Murray joined League Two club Hartlepool United as manager on 23 October 2014, with Willie Donachie assisting him.[11] Murray was sacked by Hartlepool following defeat by non-League club Blyth Spartans just six weeks after taking the reins at the League Two club.[12]

In the summer of 2015, Murray was appointed as a coach at Barrow, but departed the club on 4 September, after seven games of the season.[13]

Murray joined Fleetwood Town as the head coach of their development squad in November 2016. On 13 June 2018, Murray left Fleetwood Town to become first-team coach at Carlisle United.[14][15]

In June 2023, Murray returned to Oldham Athletic as academy manager.[16] On 12 October 2023, he was appointed caretaker manager for upcoming FA Cup qualifying match against Altrincham, following the departure of previous interim manager Steve Thompson.[17]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 31 December 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Hartlepool United England 23 October 2014 6 December 2014 7 1 1 5 8 13 −5 014.29 [18]
Carlisle United (joint caretaker) England 4 January 2019 16 January 2019 2 1 0 1 3 5 −2 050.00 [19]
Oldham Athletic (caretaker) England 14 October 2023 14 October 2023 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00 [20]
Total 10 3 1 6 12 18 −6 030.00 —

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1994–95
  2. ^ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 555. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  3. ^ "McDonald lets four players leave". BBC Sport. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  4. ^ "Shrews sign Murray and Hindmarch". BBC Sport. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  5. ^ "Shrewsbury Town release captain and four others". BBC Sport. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Hartlepool Hand Trial To Midfielder Paul Murray". Vital Hartlepool. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Paul Murray Completes Hartlepool Move". Vital Hartlepool. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Hartlepool United's Paul Murray is supporters' Player of the Year". Hartlepool Mail. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Paul Murray: Hartlepool United part company with midfielder". BBC Sport. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Oldham Athletic sign Paul Murray for remainder of season". BBC Sport. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Paul Murray: Hartlepool United appoint ex-player as manager". BBC Sport. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Paul Murray: Hartlepool sack manager after FA Cup defeat". BBC Sport. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Barrow AFC coach Murray leaves Holker Street". North West Evening Mail. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  14. ^ Swarbrick, Rosie (13 June 2018). "Fleetwood Town confirm coach exit". Blackpool Gazette. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Home is where the heart is for new first team coach". Carlisle United F.C. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Murray Appointed Academy Manager". oldhamathletic.co.uk. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Steve Thompson & Neil Redfearn". oldhamathletic.co.uk. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Paul Murray". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  19. ^ "2018–19 Carlisle United Fixtures & Results". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  20. ^ "FA Cup live blog: Altrincham v Latics". Oldham Times. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Paul Murray". inthemadcrowd.co.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

External links

Hartlepool United F.C. Player of the Year
Managerial positions
Categories