 Hutchison in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Donald Hutchison[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-05-09)9 May 1971 (age 54)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Gateshead,[1] England | ||
| Position | Midfielder[1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1990 | Hartlepool United | 13 | (2) |
| 1991–1994 | Liverpool | 45 | (7) |
| 1990–1991 | →Hartlepool United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 1994–1996 | West Ham United | 35 | (11) |
| 1996–1998 | Sheffield United | 78 | (5) |
| 1998–2000 | Everton | 75 | (10) |
| 2000–2001 | Sunderland | 40 | (8) |
| 2001–2005 | West Ham United | 63 | (5) |
| 2005 | Millwall | 11 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | →Coventry City (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | Coventry City | 32 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Luton Town | 21 | (1) |
| Total | 430 | (55) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994 | Scotland B | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2003 | Scotland | 26 | (6) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Donald Hutchison (born 9 May 1971) is a Scottish former professionalfootballer. Hutchison is a football television pundit and commentator forESPN FC.
As a player, Hutchison was amidfielder, who played in thePremier League forLiverpool,West Ham United,Everton, andSunderland. He also played in theFootball League forHartlepool United,Sheffield United,Millwall,Coventry City, andLuton Town. Born in England, Hutchison earned 26caps for theScotland national team and scored six international goals.
Hutchison was born inGateshead. He started his career in the 1989–90 season atHartlepool United, under the direction ofCyril Knowles, in theFootball League Fourth Division. Hutchison's talents were quickly spotted by bigger English clubs, and he was soon transferred toLiverpool, under the direction ofKenny Dalglish, for a fee of £175,000 on 27 November 1990.[2] However, Hutchinson would remain on loan at Hartlepool for the 1990–91 season.
Hutchison joined Liverpool for the 1991–92 season, making three appearances, underGraeme Souness. Hutchison scored all seven of his club goals in the1992–93 season, where he finished as their third top scorer behindIan Rush andMark Walters. Hutchison said of his time at Anfield, "I got on well with Graeme Souness and I think he quite liked my style of play because I got stuck in."[3]
On 30 August 1994, Hutchison signed forWest Ham United, underHarry Redknapp, for a fee of £1.5 million.[4] Hutchison scored on his debut for West Ham a day later in a 3–1 home defeat toNewcastle United.[5] Notably, he had a poor disciplinary record at West Ham. In thirty-nine games in his first spell with the club, Hutchison received elevenbookings and was sent off once, on 5 November 1994, in a home game againstLeicester City.[6] He was allowed to leave the club in January 1996.
Hutchison next moved toSheffield United in theFootball League First Division, where he flourished under the management ofHoward Kendall. Hutchison enjoyed good form there, and when Kendall left to manageEverton, he made Hutchison one of his signings.
Hutchison is one of asmall group of players that has played for both rivals,Liverpool andEverton, after joining the latter in March 1998.[7] Kendall spoke highly of Hutchison after his performance in a 1–0 win against a Blackburn side chasing European qualification on 14 March 1998, praising the range and vision of his passing in the face of some typically robust challenges byTim Sherwood andBilly McKinlay. "I've given Don a role and he's got the opportunity to show people in the Premiership how good a player is," the Everton manager said. "I thought he was outstanding. Word will get round and I'm sure it will reachCraig Brown."
Hutchison found himself out of the side at the start of the 1998–99 season due to new manager Walter Smith's preference for his new signingsOlivier Dacourt andJohn Collins. However, an injury to Collins that would keep him out for 6 months saw Hutchison return to the side and help Everton avoid relegation for the second season running.
1999–2000 saw Hutchison become captain whenDave Watson was out the side, and Hutchison produced great form both in midfield and when asked to play upfront, so much so he was courted by other Premier League sides. Hutchison turned down a new deal in March 2000, stating that he wanted parity with other top earners at the club, but had only been offered an extension on his current terms. He was subsequently dropped from the squad for these comments, but injuries toKevin Campbell andFrancis Jeffers saw Hutchison return to the side as a striker for the away game at Leicester City in April, where he scored the equalising goal. Despite his history with Liverpool, Everton fans were unhappy at the apparent future sale of Hutchison, who had only one year left on his deal. Although he retained his place until the end of the season, no new contract offer was made by the club and Hutchison moved onto Sunderland in a deal worth £2.5 million.[8]
Hutchison transferred toSunderland in July 2000 after failing to agree to a new contract with Everton. His good form continued and was a key player in the Wearsiders' second consecutive seventh-placed finish, so much so that he was the subject of another big offer.
In August 2001, Hutchison re-signed forWest Ham United for £5 million for what was again a club record transfer fee.[9] However, Hutchison sustained ananterior cruciate ligament injury in February 2002.[10] When he finally regained full fitness, he found himself out of favour,[11] having missed most of the 2003–04 season through injury,[12] and was unable to force his way back into the first team in the 2004–05 season.[13]
Hutchison joinedMillwall in August 2005 after being released at the start of the2005–06 season by West Ham.[14] He spent barely three months at theNew Den, during which time he struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting XI. He left Millwall by mutual consent in November 2005, saying "I have left because of a lack of first-team football. At my age I need to be playing regularly."[15]
In January 2006, Hutchison was given a contract with Coventry City until the end of the 2006–07 season,[16] and signed a new one-year deal in June 2006.[17] ManagerMicky Adams said of him, "There's a saying that class is permanent and that applies to Don. He may not have the legs he had when he was younger but he possesses a fantastic ability to read the game."[17] He was released by Coventry at the end of the2006–07 season after an ankle injury restricted his appearances for the first team.
Hutchison signed for Luton Town on a one-year deal in July 2007.[18] After scoring once for Luton, in theFootball League Trophy againstNorthampton Town,[19] he was released at the end of the season. He refused to take his final two wage packets from cash-strapped Luton, instead offering to sponsor two youth team players from the 2008–09 season.[20]
Born and raised inGateshead in north-eastern England, Hutchison consistently stated his desire to play for Scotland, citing a strong relationship with his Scottish father (a miner for 35 years, originally fromNairn). Hutchison first representedScotland B in an international against Wales B inWrexham in 1994. However, Hutchison had a disappointing game and was substituted, prompting an international exile of five years. He later said, "That night at Wrexham was a bit of an anti-climax, but I never thought that was the end of it."
Hutchison debuted forScotland underCraig Brown, coming on as a substitute in theEuro 2000 qualifier atCeltic Park on 31 March 1999, whileHampden Park was under reconstruction. The result was a 2–1 win for theCzech Republic. In his next game he scored the only goal of the game to give Scotland a 1–0 victory againstGermany inBremen.
Hutchison scored in the Euro 2000 qualifier 2–1 win againstBosnia-Herzegovina inSarajevo, along withBilly Dodds, then scored again in the 3–0 home win againstLithuania in the same competition. He was the scorer of the only goal atWembley in the 1–0 win overEngland in the Euro 2000 play-off second leg in November 1999. Hutchison recalls: "I rememberChristian Dailly playing a good pass toNeil McCann and him delivering a great cross. I finished it off and nothing was going to stop me celebrating a goal in front of the Tartan Army at Wembley." Scotland lost the tie 2–1, their quest to reach three consecutive major tournaments unravelled by aPaul Scholes double in the first leg at Hampden.[21]
Hutchison's next international goal was inDublin in a 2–1 friendly win against theRepublic of Ireland. His last was in aWorld Cup qualifier away toSan Marino. Scotland won all six games in which Hutchison scored for them.
Hutchison said in 2003, "My father died recently and he was my biggest fan. I cried when they played the national anthem before theIceland game becauseFlower of Scotland was played at my dad's funeral. The happiest I ever saw him was when we beat England at Wembley thanks to my goal."[22] He added, "Playing for Scotland for my dad was something I really wanted to do because it made him feel proud. I will never forget his face when we played England at Wembley."[23]
Hutchison has worked as a football pundit and commentator forTalksport,TNT Sports andESPN FC.[24]
His son Max plays forFinn Harps F.C.[25]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1999 | 7 | 4 |
| 2000 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 April 1999 | Weserstadion,Bremen, Germany |  Germany | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 4 September 1999 | Olympic Stadium,Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | |
| 3 | 9 October 1999 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Lithuania | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | |
| 4 | 17 November 1999 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-off | |
| 5 | 30 May 2000 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 7 October 2000 | Stadio Olimpico,Serravalle, San Marino |  San Marino | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
