For the former Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, see Michael Franklin "Mike" Branch

Mike Branch (Louisiana politician)

Michael Franklin Branch, known as Mike Branch , served from 1996 to 2000 as the Louisiana State Senator from District 13 Michael Franklin Branch, known as Mike Branch (born 1968), served from 1996 to 2000 as the Louisiana State Senator from District 13 Michael Franklin Branch, known as Mike Branch...

.

Paul Michael Branch (born 18 October 1978) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer. His position is striker and his most recent clubs have been Halifax Town

Halifax Town A.F.C.

Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...

 and Burscough

Burscough F.C.

Burscough F.C. is an English football club based in Burscough, Lancashire. The club are members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and groundshare with Skelmersdale United...

Playing career

Born in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Branch started his career with the Everton academy, before making his senior debut on 22 February 1996 as a substitute at Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

. He featured regularly in the first team during the 1996–97 season

1996-97 in English football

The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...

, scoring his only goals for the club.

He was unable to live up to early promise and was loaned to Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, where he reunited with his former Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 manager Joe Royle

Joe Royle

Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...

. He made his Manchester City debut on 31 October 1998 in a 2–1 win against Colchester United

Colchester United F.C.

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

. He started a further three games, but returned to Everton having failed to score a single goal.

After failing to break back into contention at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

, he was loaned to First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 in late 1999. He scored four times during his loan spell here, and the deal was made permanent for £500,000. He played regularly over the remainder of the 1999–2000

1999-2000 in English football

-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...

 season and the following campaign, but added just six further goals. During the 1999/2000 season Branch scored a controversial goal during Wolves home fixture with Nottingham Forest, after he picked up what he thought was a loose ball played by the Forest keeper Dave Beasant

Dave Beasant

David John "Dave" Beasant, is a retired English football goalkeeper who began his career in the late 1970s. A well-travelled player, Beasant's former clubs include Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Wigan...

 who intended to put the ball out of play so Lee Naylor could receive treatment, in which he scored. But Beasant and other Forest players confronted him for what he had done and fellow players and officials had to split apart the two parties. He was then forced to be substituted shortly after for his own safety.

Following the arrival of Dave Jones as Wolves manager, Branch fell out of favour and had loan spells while transfer-listed with Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 and then Hull City

Hull City A.F.C.

Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

 over the next two years. He finally left Molineux

Molineux stadium

Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...

 to join Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 in July 2003 after not being offered a new contract.

His stay with Bradford City lasted just a solitary season before he joined newly-promoted Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

. He endured a turbulent spell with the League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 club, where he was taken off the transfer list in July 2006 after appearing to patch up his differences with manager Mark Wright. After failing to regain his place in the team, he left the club in October 2006.

In 2010, Branch is set to start playing for Burscough F.C. in the Northern Premier League

Northern Premier League

The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

 

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