Mark Whitlock (born 14 March 1961) is an English retired footballer. Primarily a centre back, Whitlock played initially for Hampshire-based club Southampton, before moving to local rivals Bournemouth in 1986, Reading in 1988, and Aldershot in 1990.

Mark Whitlock
Personal information
Full name Mark Whitlock[1]
Date of birth (1961-03-14) 14 March 1961 (age 63)[1]
Place of birth Portsmouth, England[1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2][3]
Position(s) Centre back[1]
Youth career
Sarisbury Sparks
1975–1979 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1986 Southampton 61 (1)
1982Grimsby Town (loan) 8 (0)
1983Aldershot (loan) 14 (0)
1986–1988 Bournemouth 99 (1)
1988–1990 Reading 27 (0)
1990–1992 Aldershot 39 (2)
1992–19?? Aerostructures S & S
Total 248 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

edit

Whitlock was born in Portsmouth and was educated at Bridgemary School. He played youth football with Sarisbury Sparks.[4] He began his career as a youth player with Southampton,[5] starting as an associate schoolboy in October 1975 before becoming an apprentice in August 1977 and signing professional terms in March 1979,[4] having already played regularly in the reserve-team since December 1977.[6]

He made his league debut for the club in September 1981,[7] playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the First Division,[8] and scored his first goal in March 1982 against Stoke City.[9] After spending spells on loan at Grimsby Town and Aldershot in the 1982–83 season,[10] he became a semi-regular starting player in the 1983–84 season, and made a total of 61 appearances in all competitions before leaving the club in July 1986.[7] Described as a "quiet, effective central defender",[4] he initially vied with Ken Armstong to be centre-back, before the emergence of Mark Wright and the signing of Kevin Bond in September 1984 led to him being deployed in various midfield roles.[11]

Along with Saints' teammate David Puckett, Whitlock was transferred to local side Bournemouth in July 1986 as part of a deal which saw Northern Irish striker Colin Clarke moving to The Dell. He helped Bournemouth win their first Third Division championship in his first season with the club.[5] Whitlock remained with Bournemouth for the following season, when the team finished 17th in the Second Division, but left less than halfway through the 1988–89 campaign to move back down a division with Reading.[7] The defender stayed with Reading until the end of the 1989–90 season,[7] at which point he moved to Fourth Division side Aldershot until the club was dissolved in 1992.[5]

Later career

edit

On retiring from League football, Whitlock found employment as a security guard, and turned out occasionally for the Aerostructures works team at Hamble.[4]

Honours

edit

Bournemouth

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Mark Whitlock". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 500. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  3. ^ Dunk, Peter (20 August 1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. Queen Anne Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-3561435-4-5.
  4. ^ a b c d Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  5. ^ a b c Perrett, Neil (23 December 2011). "Cherries: Title-winners team-mates again after random supermarket meeting". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  6. ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. pp. 454–459.
  7. ^ a b c d "Mark Whitlock". 11v11.com. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 01 September 1981". 11v11.com. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Southampton v Stoke City, 27 March 1982". 11v11.com. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Mark Whitlock". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  11. ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 191, 193, 195. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
edit
  • Mark Whitlock at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database