Paul Huntington
Personal information
Full name	Paul David Huntington
Date of birth	September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17) (age 22)
Place of birth	Carlisle, England
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Leeds United
Number	24
Youth career
2004–2006	Newcastle United
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006–2007 2007– 2009	Newcastle United Leeds United → Stockport County (loan)	011 00(1) 021 00(2) 009 00(0)
National team2
2004	England U18	02 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:18, 25 October 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12:57, 21 September 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Paul David Huntington (born 17 September 1987 in Carlisle, Cumbria) is an England under-18 international footballer, currently playing for Leeds United. He plays primarily in the centre half position.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Newcastle United 1.2 Leeds United 2 Career statistics 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Newcastle United

Huntington joined the Newcastle United School of Excellence on 1 July 2004 from Trinity School in Cumbria. As a schoolboy he played at Wembley Stadium and also won the England Under 18 National Cup for his school in 2004. After impressing in the youth teams he was promoted to the reserve squad in late 2004 to play tougher opposition and gain experience. He made his reserve debut for the club on 7 December in a 3–0 home win over rivals Middlesbrough and made his official England Under 18 debut against Scotland fifteen days later in a 1–0 win partnering David Wheater at centre back . He signed his first professional contract at the club in July 2005.

His first involvement in the first team at Newcastle was when he appeared on the bench for the club's Intertoto Cup games against ZTS Dubnic and Deportivo La Coruña in July 2005. In the summer of 2005 he was awarded the prestigious Jackie Milburn trophy, given each year to the rising star of north-east football. He was also named in the first team squad at Newcastle for the FA Cup third-round tie against Mansfield Town, remembered for being the game in which Alan Shearer scored his 200th goal for the club. Huntington made the substitutes bench for a UEFA Cup match against Celta Vigo

On 9 December he made his first Newcastle appearance as a late substitute against Blackburn Rovers in the unfamiliar role of right-back and duly received praise off Newcastle legend Alan Shearer on BBC programme Match Of The Day. The following match, on 14 December Huntington started his first ever game for Newcastle, again appearing at right back away at Chelsea in the Premier League and received Man Of The Match for keeping Arjen Robben quiet. Huntington marked his first ever goal for Newcastle on 14 January 2007 when he scored the first equaliser for them in Newcastle's 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.^[1]

[edit] Leeds United

On 31 August 2007 he transferred to Leeds United for an undiclosed fee.^[2]. Huntington made his home debut for the club as a substitute in the 2–0 victory on 8 September at Hartlepool United.

On 9 October 2007 Huntington opened his Leeds account by scoring against Darlington in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Second Round on his full debut to help Leeds go to the next stage.

He scored his first league goal against Luton Town on 26 January 2008. He also scored against Leyton Orient on 5 April. There were controversies surrounding whether it was he or Bradley Johnson who scored the goal, but in the end it was officially given to Huntington^[3].

Huntington established himself as Leeds' first-choice centre-back, standing in for Rui Marques on two sets of occasions: when Marques was at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, and again when he was out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. He was on good form during the run-in to the end of the 2007–08 season and manager Gary McAllister has said Huntington has a bright future ahead of him. He was handed the captain's armband during the 2008–09 pre season tour of Ireland in the game against Shelbourne. His started the season as a first choice defender along with Marques. After hernia and groin operations, Huntington returned to training for Leeds for the 2009/10 season.

Huntington made his first competitive appearance for Leeds for several months in the Carling Cup game against Darlington.

10 September 2009 Huntington joined League One rivals Stockport County on a month's loan^[4]. Huntington made his Stockport debut in the 2-2 draw against Yeovil Town, subsequently making the League 1 team of the week after a fine performance against Huddersfield.

Huntington's progress was watched by Leeds manager Simon Grayson in Stockport's game against Tranmere Rovers, Grayson was working as a pundit for Sky television. After 9 appearances for Stockport, his two month loan spell came to an end. Stockport County wanted to extend the loan for a third and final month but Huntington was told to return by Leeds United. Since returning to Leeds it was expected Huntington may go out on loan again to get a regular run of games, but the loan window shut which meant Huntington has had to settle for reserve team football at Leeds, as he is behind Patrick Kisnorbo, Richard Naylor, Lubomir Michalik, Leigh Bromby and Rui Marques in the pecking order.

[edit] Career statistics

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy		Play-Offs		UEFA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2006–07	Newcastle United	Premier League	11	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	16	1
Club Total			11	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	16	1
2007–08	Leeds United	League One	17	2	2	0	0	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	24	3
2008–09		League One	4	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
2009–10		League One	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2009-10	Stockport County	League One	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Club Total			21	2	2	0	3	0	3	1	3	0	0	0	32	3
Total			32	3	3	0	3	0	3	1	3	0	2	0	57	4

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Paul Huntington career stats at Soccerbase
• ESPN Soccernet Profile
• BBC Sport Profile

v • d • e Leeds United A.F.C. – current squad 1 Ankergren · 2 Crowe · 3 Kisnorbo · 4 Doyle · 5 Rui Marques · 6 Naylor (c) · 7 Prutton · 8 Kilkenny · 9 Beckford · 10 Becchio · 12 Higgs · 13 Grella · 14 Howson · 15 Vokes · 16 Johnson · 17 Michalík · 18 Robinson · 19 Parker · 20 Kandol · 21 Showunmi · 22 Hughes · 23 Snodgrass · 24 Huntington · 25 A. Martin · 26 Bromby · 28 Gradel · 30 Capaldi · 31 Webb · 32 White · 33 Falkingham · 34 Jones · 35 Ephraim · 36 D. Martin · Manager: Grayson