Mark Birch (footballer)
March Birch (born 5 January 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Carlisle United.[2][4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Birch[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 January 1977[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England[2] | ||
| Playing position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Stoke City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1998 | Stoke City | 0 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | → Leek Town (loan) | ||
| 1998–2000 | Northwich Victoria | 73 | (1) |
| 2000–2003 | Carlisle United | 112 | (1) |
| 2003–2008 | Gretna | 85 | (11) |
| 2007 | → Southport (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2007 | → Northwich Victoria (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Newcastle Blue Star (loan) | ||
| 2008 | Northwich Victoria | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 299 | (14) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2016 | Penrith[3] | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Career
Birch was born in Stoke-on-Trent and began his career with Stoke City.[2] He failed to break into the first team at Stoke and joined Football Conference side Northwich Victoria in 1998 where he spent two seasons.[2] He joined Third Division side Carlisle United in June 2000 for a fee of £10,000. Birch played 129 times for Carlisle scoring once in a 1–0 win against Macclesfield Town in March 2003.[5] He left Carlisle in August 2003 to join ambitious Scottish Third Division side Gretna. At Gretna he helped them win promotion to the Scottish First Division and reach the 2006 Scottish Cup Final where they lost on penalties to Heart of Midlothian.[6] He returned to England in 2007 playing for Southport and a return to Northwich Victoria.
Coaching career
Birch was appointed Professional Development Phase coach at Carlisle United in June 2019.[7]
Career statistics
Source:[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 1995–96 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northwich Victoria | 1999–2000 | Football Conference | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Carlisle United | 2000–01 | Third Division | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Third Division | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Third Division | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Third Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 112 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 129 | 1 | ||
| Gretna | 2003–04 | Scottish Third Division | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| 2004–05 | Scottish Third Division | 30 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 8 | |
| 2005–06 | Scottish Second Division | 27 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2006–07 | Scottish First Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 85 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 104 | 12 | ||
| Southport (loan) | 2006–07 | Football Conference | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Northwich Victoria (loan) | 2007–08 | Football Conference | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Northwich Victoria | 2008–09 | Football Conference | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 263 | 13 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 300 | 14 | ||
References
- "Mark Birch". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
- Mark Birch at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- "Birch steps down as Penrith boss". nonleaguedaily.com.
- Mark Birch at Soccerbase
- "Carlisle 1–0 Macclesfield". BBC. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- "Hearts 1-1 Gretna (4-2 on pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- "INTERVIEW: I do feel ready for the step up". Carlisle United. Retrieved 10 June 2020.