Chris Sutton

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For other people named Chris Sutton, see Chris Sutton (disambiguation).
Chris Sutton
Personal information
Full name Christopher Roy Sutton
Date of birth 10 March 1973 (1973-03-10) (age 35)
Place of birth    Nottingham, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position Striker/Central defender (retired)
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1991–1994
1994–1999
1999–2000
2000–2006
2006
2006–2007		 Norwich City
Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea
Celtic
Birmingham City
Aston Villa
Total		 103 0(35)
131 0(50)
028 00(1)
130 0(63)
010 00(1)
008 00(1)
410 (151)   
National team
1992–1994
1994
1997		 England U21
England B
England		 013 00(1)
002 00(0)
001 00(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) is an English former footballer.

In his career, Sutton played for Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham and Aston Villa. Sutton scored over 150 career goals in over 400 league appearances spanning 16 years in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues. He was capped once by England.

Sutton played in either defence, midfield or attack, although usually in the latter role. A very physical player, Sutton was a fairly prolific goalscorer throughout his career and was joint top goalscorer (with Dion Dublin and Michael Owen) in the English Premiership for the 1997-98 season.

Contents

[edit] Norwich and Blackburn Rovers (1991–2000)

He started his career at Norwich City, initially as a centre-half before being converted into a striker by manager Dave Stringer. He quickly found success in his new position as Norwich spent most of the first season (1992–1993) of the new Premiership as league leaders, before eventually slipping back to third place.

He became the most expensive player in English football in July 1994, when he was transferred from Norwich City to Blackburn Rovers for £5 million.[1] In his first season at Ewood Park he developed a strong partnership (known as 'The SAS Partnership') with Alan Shearer and scored fifteen Premiership goals to secure the club's first league title since 1914.

A succession of injuries, combined with a loss of form, saw him make just thirteen Premiership appearances during 1995–96 and fail to score a goal. He regained his form over the next three seasons and even won an England cap in November 1997, although he was left out of the World Cup squad after a fall-out with national manager Glenn Hoddle. Having been relegated to the England B team Sutton refused to play, and Hoddle never called him up to the squad again.[citation needed]

Sutton was involved in further controversy in the final game of the 1996–97 season against Arsenal. Late in the game with the Gunners leading by a single goal, the ball was kicked out of play by Arsenal to allow an injured team-mate to receive treatment. From the throw in, Arsenal chose to take the ball into the corner area to run down the clock. However, Sutton chased the ball and his pressure resulted in a corner, from which Blackburn scored. As a result Arsenal missed out on a lucrative place in the Champions League to Newcastle on goal difference. Following the incident Blackburn's manager described Sutton as "a boy who is sometimes a bit dizzy ... a bit silly".[2]

Blackburn Rovers were relegated from the Premiership at the end of 1998–99, just four years after being crowned champions, and Sutton was sold to Chelsea for £10 million. His time at Stamford Bridge proved an unhappy one, as he struggled both to live up to the price tag and to adapt to Chelsea's style of play, scoring just one league goal in 28 appearances, in the 5–0 destruction of Manchester United. He failed to even make the bench for the club's FA Cup final win against Aston Villa and was sold to Scottish Premier League side Celtic for £6 million in the summer of 2000.

[edit] Celtic (2000–2006)

Sutton scored the winner on his debut against Dundee United in 2000, and in his first Old Firm match against Rangers he scored the first and last goals in a dramatic 6–2 victory for Celtic.[3]

Sutton's goals helped Celtic win three SPL titles, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups, as well as reaching a UEFA Cup final. Sutton formed a prolific partnership with Swede Henrik Larsson, one to rival his earlier one with Shearer.

Sutton also holds the record for the quickest goal ever in an Old Firm Clash, scored at Ibrox in 2002, scoring inside just 18 seconds. Sutton was voted SPFA Player of the Year for the 2003–04 season.[4]

At the end of season 2002–03, Sutton accused Dunfermline of 'lying down' to in order for Celtic to lose the title. He was charged with 'bringing the game into disrepute' and received a four-match ban.[5]

[edit] Birmingham City (2006)

He joined Birmingham City on a free transfer in January 2006 but injuries restricted him to just eleven appearances, scoring once in the derby defeat to Aston Villa in mid-April. Following Birmingham's relegation to the Championship and his high wages, he was released.

[edit] Aston Villa (2006–2007)

Sutton signed for Aston Villa on 3 October 2006 until the end of the 2006–07 season. The move saw Sutton link up with former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill. Sutton scored his first goal for the club with a winning goal against Everton on 11 November 2006.

However, in a game against Manchester United in December 2006, he suffered blurred vision, and having visited several specialists, did not recover. O'Neill is quoted as saying:

"Chris has got a genuine concern. His concern is that no-one can give him any guarantees about what might be the consequences if he got cracked on the head again. Whatever eyesight Chris has now, he would obviously want to keep, so he must bear that in mind when deciding his whole future and career."

On 5 July 2007 Sutton retired from football due to this eye injury.[1]

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
1990-91 Norwich City First Division 2 0
1991-92 21 2
1992-93 Premier League 38 8
1993-94 41 25
1994-95 Blackburn Rovers Premier League 40 15
1995-96 13 0
1996-97 25 11
1997-98 35 18
1998-99 17 3
1999-00 Chelsea Premier League 28 1
Scotland League Scottish Cup Scottish League Cup Europe Total
2000-01 Celtic Premier League 24 11
2001-02 18 4
2002-03 28 15
2003-04 25 1
2004-05 27 12
2005-06 8 3
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2005-06 Birmingham City Premier League 10 1
2006-07 Aston Villa Premier League 8 1
Total England 278 85
Scotland 130 64
Career Total 408 149

[edit] Honours

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "Eye injury forces Sutton to quit", BBC Sport, 2007-07-05. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. 
  2. ^ Soccer News, December 13, 1997
  3. ^ The Scotsman
  4. ^ 2003-2004 | Scottish Premier League | Statistics | Season Review | Season Review
  5. ^ "Sutton gets further ban", BBC Sport, 28 July 2003. Retrieved 5 July 2007.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Barry Ferguson		 Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year
2004		 Succeeded by
John Hartson
Fernando Ricksen
Preceded by
Alan Shearer		 Premier League top scorer
1997-98		 Succeeded by
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Michael Owen
Dwight Yorke
Persondata
NAME Sutton, Chris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sutton, Christopher Roy
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1973-03-10
PLACE OF BIRTH Nottingham, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH