Danny Murphy (footballer born 1977)

For other persons named Danny Murphy, see Danny Murphy (disambiguation). Danny Murphy Personal information Full name Daniel Benjamin Murphy Date of birth 18 March 1977(1977-03-18) (age 31) Place of birth Chester, Cheshire, EnglandHeight 5 ft 9 in (1.77 m) Playing position MidfielderClub information Current club FulhamNumber 27 Senior clubs1 Years Club App (Gls)* 1993–1997
1997–2004
1998–1999
2004–2006
2006–2007
2007– Crewe Alexandra
Liverpool
→ Crewe Alexandra(loan)
Charlton Athletic
Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham132 (27)
170 (25)
016 0(1)
056 0(7)
022 0(2)
033 0(5) National team2
2001–2003 England U21
England005 0(0)
009 0(1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 17:41, 11 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 10, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Daniel Benjamin "Danny" Murphy (born 18 March 1977 in Chester) is an English football player. He is a midfielder currently playing for Fulham. He has twice been voted player of the month, once with Liverpool and once with Charlton.

1 Club career
2 International career
3 Personal life
4 Career statistics
5 Honours
6 Notes
7 External links

Club career

Early career

Murphy started out as a trainee at Crewe Alexandra where he was developed by Dario Gradi into a player of Premiership quality.

Liverpool

After signing for Liverpool, he did not break into the first team squad immediately and returned to Crewe for a successful period on loan. After the loan period ended, he became a first team regular at Anfield.

During Murphy's career at Liverpool, he developed an uncanny habit of scoring the deciding goal in 1-0 wins against Manchester United at Old Trafford, a feat he achieved three times in four seasons (2000-01, 2001-02 and 2003-04).

Charlton

Murphy signed for Charlton Athletic from Liverpool for £2.5m on a four-year contract in August 2004.[1] In his first season at Charlton, Murphy struggled to recapture the form that he had shown at Liverpool. However, in the first three months of the 2005-06 season he emerged as a viable option for England once more, and also won the September player of the month award, scoring several goals along the way.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 31 January 2006, Murphy was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for £2 million.[2] He appeared only fleetingly in the remaining games of the season. Murphy scored his first Tottenham goal in the 2-1 defeat of Portsmouth on October 1, 2006 after only 39 seconds.

He scored his second goal for Tottenham when Jermain Defoe was injured in a prematch warmup against Newcastle United; manager Martin Jol brought Murphy into a 4-5-1 formation. Murphy scored a scissors kick which hit Steven Taylor in the face, leaving keeper Shay Given to watch on as the ball went into the net. After several months, the FA decided to take the goal away from Murphy and put it down as an own-goal for Taylor.

Fulham

Murphy signed for Fulham for an undisclosed fee on August 31, 2007. [3] [4]

Since joining Fulham Murphy has become a regular starter and kept his place in the team throughout the season and has scored 5 goals in 33 matches. One goal, a rare header scored on 11 May 2008 for a 1-0 win away at Portsmouth ensured Fulham's Premier League survival at the expense of Birmingham and Reading; the goal coming as manager Roy Hodgson prepared to substitute Murphy.

International career

Murphy has been capped for England nine times and has scored one goal. He was set to play at the 2002 World Cup, but had to withdraw from the squad after he suffered the dreaded metatarsal injury that had also affected England team mates David Beckham and Gary Neville in the run-up to the tournament.

Personal life

Murphy is married to actress Joanna Taylor, whom he met through mutual friend Louis Emerick.[5] After two failed IVF attempts, they have one child, Mya Eve Murphy, born on August 15, 2006. Danny also has a son, Ashleigh Daniel Murphy, born on July 15, 1996. Danny is also a part of the infamous "brain trust" with good friends keith brennan, marc coleman, and fellow professional footballer matthew taylor. He has also stated that he would see jan huntelaar as a KLASS addition to the trust.