Mark Pembridge

Pembridge began his career at Luton Town in the First Division. He joined as a trainee in 1989.

Having established as a left-midfielder, 21-year old Pembridge was signed for second-tier Derby County by manager Arthur Cox in the summer of 1992 for a fee of £1.25 million.[2] He racked up 140 appearances and netted 37 goals over his time with Derby[2] and played at Wembley twice – once in a 3–1 defeat to Cremonese in 1993[3] and then in a 2–1 defeat to Leicester City in the 1994 Football League First Division play-off final. Pembridge left to move up a division to Premier League Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £900,000 in the summer of 1995.

Pembridge played for Wednesday in the Premier League until 1998, when he left for Portuguese side Benfica on a free transfer after Wednesday finished 16th in the season.

He struggled to settle in Portugal and returned to England after one season, signing a contract with top-flight side Everton for £800,000. Pembridge had a good first two seasons at Everton, with his tenacious approach and thrusting runs from deep establishing the Welshman as an integral part of Everton's squad, thus securing him an excellent rapport with the Goodison Park faithful. However, testing times were around the corner for Pembridge, with a persistent calf injury meaning he only played 13 games in the 2001–02 season. The injury still bothered him during the 2002–03 season, but Pembridge still played a part in a dramatic season, which ended with Everton failing to qualify for a UEFA Cup place.

Pembridge looked set to stay at Everton for the 2003–04 campaign, but on the transfer deadline day in August 2003, he was signed by Fulham for £750,000 after four years at Everton. He had an injury-free first season at Fulham, during which he scored his first goal for the club against rivals Chelsea,[4] and this was followed by a successful second season in which he played 37 games overall, scoring once in the League Cup against Birmingham.[5] Pembridge missed most of Fulham's 2005–06 season through injury, and only played 5 games. Manager Chris Coleman deemed him surplus to requirements, and he did not play a single game during the 2006–07 season. He was released by new manager Lawrie Sanchez at the end of the season. After this, Pembridge announced he was retiring. Reflecting on his retirement, Pembridge quoted:

Ultimately it wasn't too difficult. I tried exceptionally hard to get back to playing but there comes a time when you just need to stop. You know your own body and despite people saying that I could have carried on, I knew within myself it was time.[6]