Michael Hughes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Michael Hughes
Full name	Michael Hughes
Date of birth	August 2, 1971 (age 35)
Place of birth	Larne, Northern Ireland
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Crystal Palace
Number	17
Youth clubs
	Manchester City
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1988-1992 1992-1996 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-2003 2002 2003-	Manchester City RC Strasbourg → West Ham United (loan) → West Ham United (loan) West Ham United Wimbledon → Birmingham City (loan) Crystal Palace	024 0(1) 083 0(9) 019 0(2) 035 0(1) 038 0(3) 130 (17) 003 0(0) 126 0(5)
National team²
	Northern Ireland	071 0(5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 17, 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of April 2, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Michael Hughes (born August 2, 1971 in Larne, County Antrim) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Crystal Palace in The Championship. He wears the number 17 shirt and is a midfielder. He is also team captain.

Hughes' career began with Manchester City as a trainee. In August 1992, he moved to RC Strasbourg for a fee of £450,000. During his four years at Strasbourg, Hughes spent two successful years on loan to West Ham United.

During his time at Strasbourg, Hughes spent two successful loans at West Ham. In July 1996, Hughes made the move to West Ham permanent. In the process, he became the first player to change clubs for free on a Bosman ruling. The following season Joe Kinnear took Hughes to Wimbledon in a £1.6million deal.

Hughes became embroiled in a contract dispute between Birmingham City and Wimbledon in 2002. In March 2002, Hughes played three matches for Birmingham on loan, but was injured before the club won promotion to the Premier League and a permanent switch fell through. Wimbledon then refused to take him back. The ensuing dispute over who held his registration continued for over a year and Hughes' career had to be put on hold. In October 2003 Hughes signed for Palace (who shared Selhurst Park with Wimbledon at the time) and was compensated by Birmingham.

At Palace, he quickly became a fans' favourite, and, for the 2004-05 season, Hughes was appointed team captain.

Following relegation, he was replaced in the role by defender Fitz Hall (a decision, by the Palace management, which proved unpopular). However, after a run of good form, Hughes was re-appointed team captain, in January 2006.

Hughes has won 71 international caps with the Northern Ireland national team, scoring five times.