Mick Cullerton
Encyclopedia
Michael Joseph Cullerton (born 25 November 1948) is a former Scottish
footballer. He is noted for his two spells with Port Vale
, as well as for being Stafford Rangers
' star forward as they were one of the elite non-league clubs in the 1970s.
.
, and won a trial at Chelsea
. However he joined Stanley Matthews
' Port Vale
in October 1965, with the promise of first team football. He made his debut on 12 January 1966, playing in a front-line of five teenagers (the others being Alex Donald
, Roddy Georgeson
, Paul Bannister
, and Paul Ogden
). By November 1966 he had become a regular in the first team and was the 1966–67 season
as the club's top scorer with 12 goals. Of an outspoken nature, he lost his first team place after vocally criticizing manager Gordon Lee
in the dressing room. He was loaned out to Chester
in March 1969, moving there for free in May of that year.
He signed with Brian Clough
's Derby County
, though never made an appearance for the club despite hitting more than eighty goals for the reserve team. He went into the non-leagues with Eastwood
and Stafford Rangers
. With Rangers he lifted the FA Trophy
in 1972, after he scored one of the goals in a 3–0 win over Barnet
at Wembley Stadium. He returned to Vale Park
for a £4,000 fee in June 1975. The money went towards a new toilet block at Marston Road
.
He marked the home debut of his second spell by scoring a hat-trick
past Hereford United
in the League Cup
. With 21 goals he became the club's top scorer of the 1975–76 season
, but severed a cartilage
in September 1976, an injury which put him out of action for five months. He was given a free transfer to Northwich Victoria
in May 1978 and later re-signed with Stafford Rangers. He again helped Rangers to FA Trophy success in 1979, when Stafford beat Kettering Town
2–0. He also helped the club to the Northern Premier League
title, the Bob Lord Trophy, and numerous lengthy FA Cup
runs.
and then Stafford Rangers
. He continues to work as a commentator
for BBC Radio Stoke
.
.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
footballer. He is noted for his two spells with Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
, as well as for being Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
' star forward as they were one of the elite non-league clubs in the 1970s.
Playing style
He was a goalscorer with excellent finishing skills, able to curve the ball past goalkeepers with ease. He was notorious for refusing to help out in defence though, and gave very little effort in training, which led to him being criticized for being 'idle'. He was also an extremely reliable penalty takerPenalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
.
Playing career
Cullerton played for Scotland under-16s, where he impressed Jock SteinJock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
, and won a trial at Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. However he joined Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
' Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
in October 1965, with the promise of first team football. He made his debut on 12 January 1966, playing in a front-line of five teenagers (the others being Alex Donald
Alex Donald
Alexander Donald is a Scottish former footballer.-Playing career:Donald had a successful trial with Port Vale over the summer of 1965, having joined in July he signed as a professional by October. He made his debut on 12 January 1966 in a 2–0 defeat at Bradford City, but was never a first team...
, Roddy Georgeson
Roddy Georgeson
Roderick Bruce Georgeson is a former Egyptian footballer, described by football historian Jeff Kent as 'flamboyant'.-Playing career:...
, Paul Bannister
Paul Bannister
Paul Francis Bannister is an English former footballer.-Playing career:Bannister graduated through the Port Vale youth side to sign as a professional in April 1965. He played the last two games of the 1964–65 season and scored the club's last goal of the season. He played the opening two games of...
, and Paul Ogden
Paul Ogden
Paul Ogden is an English football manager and former player. He was manager of Leek Town in six separate spells, spanning nearly forty years...
). By November 1966 he had become a regular in the first team and was the 1966–67 season
1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1966–67 season was Port Vale's fifty-fifth season of football in the Football League, and their second successive season in the Fourth Division. Again hopeful of escape from the basement division, Vale could only manage a mid-table finish. Player-manager Jackie Mudie resigned at the end of the...
as the club's top scorer with 12 goals. Of an outspoken nature, he lost his first team place after vocally criticizing manager Gordon Lee
Gordon Lee (footballer)
Gordon Francis Lee is a former English footballer and football manager.A right-back during his playing days, he moved from Hednesford Town to Aston Villa in 1955...
in the dressing room. He was loaned out to Chester
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...
in March 1969, moving there for free in May of that year.
He signed with Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
's Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, though never made an appearance for the club despite hitting more than eighty goals for the reserve team. He went into the non-leagues with Eastwood
Eastwood Town F.C.
Eastwood Town F.C. is a football club from Eastwood, Nottinghamshire formed in 1953, currently playing in the Conference North.-History:Although there was a football club named Eastwood Town operating in the Nottinghamshire Alliance in 1921, its was only in existence for two years. It was not until...
and Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
. With Rangers he lifted the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
in 1972, after he scored one of the goals in a 3–0 win over Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
at Wembley Stadium. He returned to Vale Park
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the home ground of Port Vale F.C., who have played at the ground since 1950....
for a £4,000 fee in June 1975. The money went towards a new toilet block at Marston Road
Marston Road (Stafford)
Marston Road is a football ground in Stafford, England. It is the home ground of Stafford Rangers F.C., a semi-professional team who play in the Conference North league.-Ground history:Stafford Rangers have played at Marston Road for over 110 years...
.
He marked the home debut of his second spell by scoring a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
past Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. With 21 goals he became the club's top scorer of the 1975–76 season
1975–76 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1975–76 season was Port Vale's sixty-fourth season of football in the Football League, and their sixth successive season in the Third Division. Manager Roy Sproson brought Mick Cullerton back to Vale Park, and Cullerton was to become the top-scorer for the season with 21 goals...
, but severed a cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
in September 1976, an injury which put him out of action for five months. He was given a free transfer to Northwich Victoria
Northwich Victoria F.C.
Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of...
in May 1978 and later re-signed with Stafford Rangers. He again helped Rangers to FA Trophy success in 1979, when Stafford beat Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...
2–0. He also helped the club to 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...
title, the Bob Lord Trophy, and numerous lengthy FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
runs.
Post retirement
After working as the commercial manager for Vale between 1982 and 1985, he took up the same post at Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
and then Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
. He continues to work as a commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
for BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke
BBC Radio Stoke is a BBC Local Radio station in England, for the area of North and Mid Staffordshire, north east Shropshire and South Cheshire. The station began broadcasting programmes on 14 March 1968 as BBC Radio Stoke-on-Trent....
.
Personal life
He has two children: Jamie, a former captain of Leek Cricket Club; and Anna, a teacherTeacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
.