Michael Pook
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michael David Pook[1] | ||
Date of birth | 22 October 1985 | ||
Place of birth | Swindon, England | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Cirencester Town | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2003–2009 | Swindon Town | 109 | (3) |
2009–2011 | Cheltenham Town | 64 | (6) |
2011 | Brackley Town | ||
2011–2012 | Maidenhead United | 6 | (0) |
2012 | Forest Green Rovers | 7 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Maidenhead United | 37 | (1) |
2013–2014 | Oxford City | 29 | (0) |
2014 | Hungerford Town | 4 | (0) |
2014–2017 | Chippenham Town | 95 | (2) |
2017 | North Leigh | 1 | (0) |
2017– | Cirencester Town | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:58, 9 September 2017 (UTC) |
Michael David Pook (born 22 October 1985) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays for
Playing career
Swindon Town
Born in
He made his league debut in December 2004, again as a substitute, this time at Bournemouth – but was not used again until April – in the meantime, he was an integral part of the youth team that won the Youth Alliance South West Conference title. Without having started a match in the first team, manager Andy King offered him a professional contract, and he finally made his first start on 23 April – with the Town out of the promotion race, King began to experiment with youth players, and Pook was the first to benefit when he started the match against Tranmere, and went on to appear in the next two . During this period, he also helped the youths to an Alliance Cup victory – and though first team duties meant that he was only a substitute in the final at Burnley, he came on to play the majority of the second half plus extra time.
By the time the squad reported for pre-season training, Pook had signed his one-year deal, and with a small squad, manager Andy King declared that he wouldn't be scared to utilise any of the youngsters that were making up the first team squad. Pook started the season in an unusual role on the left side of midfield at Barnsley, but slotted back into the centre for the next match, where he remained until mid-November – the only player ever-present to this point of the season. During this period, King regularly praised Pook on his progress, and he bagged his first senior goal for the club, scoring with a shot from the edge of the area in a League Cup defeat against Wycombe at the County Ground.
Unfortunately, Pook soon made headlines for the wrong reasons – after missing his first game, sitting out the 1–1 draw at Port Vale on the bench, early the next morning he was arrested for drink driving after being stopped by a police patrol. Eventually banned from driving for nineteen months and fined £300, Pook was also dropped from the first team the following week, with new manager Iffy Onuora stating that he didn't feel it was right to play him, with everything going on behind the scenes. Pook returned to action in December, helping the Town to a 1–0 victory over Rotherham in a vital bottom-of-the-table clash.
After signings of
Pook marked his 50th senior appearance for the club with a goal in Swindon's 3–0 home victory against
Cheltenham Town
In the summer of 2009, Pook signed for League Two club Cheltenham Town and was given the no. 7 shirt.
Though not known for his goalscoring and with only five league goals in his career up to that point, Pook scored his first hat-trick in a remarkable 6–5 win over Burton Albion on 13 March 2010. All his goals were scored from outside the penalty area with his right foot (one free-kick, one deflected shot and one volleyed winner), and all three goals were, remarkably, in the last ten minutes of the match. Cheltenham had found themselves 5–3 down with only three minutes of normal time remaining, but Pook's second and third – either side of an effort from Justin Richards – clinched an amazing victory.[3]
On 9 May 2011 Pook was made available for a free transfer by manager Mark Yates[4] and on 24 August 2011 he was released by the club.[5]
Pook then joined
Brackley Town
In November 2011, Pook signed for Southern Premier Division side Brackley Town.[7]
Maidenhead United
In December 2011, Pook signed for
Forest Green Rovers
Just a few months after Pook finished training for fitness with Forest Green he signed for the
Maidenhead United second spell
In July 2012, it was announced that after leaving Forest Green that Pook had signed on for a second spell with Maidenhead United.[11] He left the club in October 2013.[12]
Oxford City
Just a few days after leaving Maidenhead, he signed for Oxford City in October 2013.[13]
Hungerford Town
It was announced on 31 May 2014 that Pook had joined Hungerford Town. He departed after making only one start for the club.
Chippenham Town
Michael Pook signed for Chippenham Town on 12 September 2014.[14] He made his first appearance for the club during the 0-1 FA Cup first round qualifying victory at Sholing.
References
- ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
- ^ "Michael Pook Profile | Aylesbury United FC".
- ^ "Burton Albion 5 – 6 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town | News | Latest News | Latest News | Retained List Revealed". ctfc.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012.
- ^ "Midfielder Michael Pook released by Cheltenham Town". BBC. 24 August 2011.
- ^ "Bangura set to rock at Brighton". forestgreenroversfc.com. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Brackley add Pook to squad". Pitchero Non League. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Pook still a Maidenhead United FC player". Maidenhead Advertiser. 19 January 2012.
- ^ "Forest Green Rovers add Michael Pook and Tommy Wright". BBC Sport. 27 January 2012.
- ^ "Forest Green 1–2 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 28 January 2012.
- ^ "Drax delighted to capture Pook". Non League Daily. 11 July 2012.
- ^ "Pook released by Maidenhead". Non League Daily. 16 October 2013.
- ^ "Pook snapped up by City". Non League Daily. 24 October 2013.
- ^ "Bluebirds pick up Pook". 12 September 2014.
External links
- Michael Pook at Soccerbase