Bryan Hughes

For those of a similar name, see Brian Hughes.

Bryan Hughes

Personal information
Full name	Bryan Hughes
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Hull City
Number	–

Bryan Hughes (born 19 June 1976) is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a midfielder.

Club career

Early career

Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, Hughes initially made his name at Wrexham, guiding them to the FA Cup quarter finals in 1996–97 with the goals he scored on that cup run. It was his performances in the League Cup for Wrexham that caught the attention of Birmingham City.

Hughes scored against Colwyn Bay, Scunthorpe United, West Ham United and Birmingham before the Welsh outfit bowed out to Chesterfield. Shortly after that defeat Trevor Francis paid £800,000 to take him to St Andrews.

Birmingham

Hughes made a total of 291 appearances for the Blues, scoring 42 goals, and was an essential part of Steve Bruce's side's play-off winning season in 2002 and their first and second seasons in the Premier League, before his switch to South-East London. Whilst at Birmingham he played in the 2001 Football League Cup Final as a substitute.

Unable to sign a new deal with Birmingham, in July 2004 he moved to Charlton Athletic, signing a three year contract.

Charlton

Hughes made his debut against Bolton Wanderers as a substitute for Matt Holland who was injured in the fifth minute. He bagged a brace in a 4–1 FA Cup win over Rochdale at The Valley in January 2005 — his first strikes for the club, and was on target as the Addicks stuttered past Yeovil Town in the fourth round, but the Addicks failed to progress further and they were knocked out by Leicester City, 2–1. In all, Hughes made only 10 starts all season. He did feature in the final two matches of the campaign, however, and played his part in the dramatic showdown with Crystal Palace, opening the scoring with a shot that went in off the post, as the Eagles were relegated.

In 2005–06 he became the man who caused José Mourinho to lose his first match at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea manager. Included in the side for the third round of the Carling Cup, Hughes scored the winning penalty in a dramatic shootout to dump the holders out of the competition — though Mourinho claimed it was technically a draw after 120 minutes.

Despite a brave bundled home goal against Blackburn Rovers in November, his first team appearances came in fits and starts in the first half of the season, and it wasn't until the visit of Arsenal on Boxing Day that Hughes established himself as manager Alan Curbishley made sweeping changes. In a match against Birmingham in early January, Hughes scored against his former club with a header. He also set up Darren Bent for a second goal.

His scoring record in cup competitions continued, as he bagged the clinching third against Brentford in round five of the League Cup, and he also notched a goal in the FA Cup replay at Middlesbrough. He actually played in all but five games of the Premier League campaign, passing 50 games for the club, and was on the scoresheet five times.

On 30 December 2006, Hughes scored the last-minute winning goal against Aston Villa providing new manager Alan Pardew with his first win for the club.

Hull City

Hughes joined Championship club Hull City on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic on a three year deal on 29 June 2007, and scored on his home debut in a 1–0 friendly win over Newcastle United. He mainly played on the left wing for the majority of the season, but played in his preferred central midfield role in their successful play-off games. He scored his first league goal for the Tigers in a 5–0 win against Southampton. He did not play as often in the next season as Hull made it into the Premier League. He wasn't given a squad number at the start of the 2009-10 season.

Hughes signed for Derby County on a month long loan on 22 October 2009. Hughes made 3 appearances before returning to Hull.

External links

• Bryan Hughes at Soccerbase
• Bryan Hughes profile at hullcityafc.net