Hayden Mullins
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Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and current
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
. He played primarily as a
defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
, but he also played as a sweeper and at
right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. He is currently the U21 Head Coach at
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
. Mullins began his career with First Division side Crystal Palace in 1996, and signed his first professional contract with the club in 1998. He quickly established himself in the first team, and made 257 senior appearances for Palace in five seasons. In October 2003, he switched to First Division side
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, initially on a short-term loan, which quickly turned into a permanent transfer. He remained at the club for five and a half years, making 213 appearances, before joining
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
side
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
in January 2009. He made 129 appearances for Portsmouth, but the club's financial difficulties meant that he joined Championship side
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
on loan in March 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Mullins left Portsmouth, and joined
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
on a free transfer. After two years, during which he also spent time on loan at
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
, Birmingham confirmed he would be released when his contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season. Mullins made three appearances for the England under-21 squad in 1999. After retiring, he became under-23 manager of Watford in 2016, and was twice their interim manager.


Playing career


Crystal Palace

Mullins was born in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. He joined Crystal Palace as a trainee in August 1996, and made his first-team debut in July 1998, at the age of 19, in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup matches against Turkish club
Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...
. Head coach
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...
gave him his domestic debut in a 3–3 draw against
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
in August 1998, and he scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 away defeat to
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
a week later. He immediately established himself in the first team, made 45 league and cup appearances in the 1998–99 season, was named Player of The Year, and was capped for the England under-18 team. Mullins later acknowledged his debt to Venables, saying, "I learnt a lot from him. He took a lot of time with us on the training pitch. He taught us a lot about shape and formation, he's very detailed in that respect. He's very good man on man, he made me feel totally comfortable he didn't pressure me into it at all." Financial difficulties meant that Crystal Palace were unable to make new signings for the 1999–2000 season and relied on youngsters such as Mullins and Clinton Morrison and veterans such as
Andy Linighan Andrew Linighan (born 18 June 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1980 until 2000, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal and Crystal Palace. He also played in the Football League for Hartlepoo ...
as they successfully battled against relegation from the First Division. Mullins made 49 league and cup appearances in that season and a further 51 appearances in the 2000–01 season as Palace reached the
semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
of the League Cup, but narrowly escaped relegation. He was transfer listed in October 2000, due to what manager Alan Smith described as a "bad attitude", but was taken off the list and was offered and signed a new four-year contract two months later as his relationship with Smith improved. Smith said of him in January 2001, "He's a really good footballer which means I can play him in any position. I like my young players to play in different positions. This season he's played full-back, midfield and sweeper. e'vegot to work on his defending, but he's got pace, he has good vision and he wants to play football." Mullins made a total of 47 appearances in league and cup in the 2001–02 season as Palace made an ultimately unsuccessful push for the First Division play-off places. He was made captain in the 2002–03 season by manager
Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million pla ...
, who saw him as an integral part of the squad. He made 52 league and cup appearances as Palace advanced to the quarter-final of the League Cup, as well as recording a memorable 2–0 win over
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
fourth round replay at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
. He was named Player of The Year for a second time in 2003. An offer of £600,000 from Birmingham City in January 2003 was rejected as "derisory". With one year remaining on his existing contract, Mullins turned down the offer of a new contract in May. His agent said, "It is no secret that Hayden believes he will not be able to fulfil his true potential at Palace. If the club wishes to get some financial reward for their role in his up bringing, then they need to sell him this summer." The following October, he joined
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
. Mullins made over 250 league and cup appearances for Palace, scoring 20 goals.


West Ham United

Mullins was the first signing for West Ham's newly appointed manager, Alan Pardew, and initially joined on a short-term loan to enable him to play against
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
on the same day. The deal was made permanent a day later for a fee of £600,000, rising to £800,000 should West Ham be promoted. Pardew said of him, "...I have captured a player that I feel is going to add significantly to us. ecan play in various positions and give us cover in a number of those ..I think ultimately he is a central midfield player for us and I think his energy will be important; he will have to battle in the midfield. He is someone we are going to look to when we are up against it, to win the battle and give the room to ther playersto play. He is very much a destroyer and I think we are desperate for one of those." Mullins made 34 league and cup appearances in his first season for West Ham, helping them to the First Division play-off final in May 2004, where they were beaten by a single goal to nil by Mullins' former club Crystal Palace. The following season, Mullins made 45 league and cup appearances as West Ham again reached the play-off final, this time beating Preston North End 1–0 to win promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. West Ham exceeded expectations in the 2005–06 season, finishing in a mid-table position and reaching the
FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...
, which was won by Liverpool 3–1 on penalties. Mullins, having made 42 appearances in that season, was suspended for the final along with Liverpool's Luis García, after the pair had been sent off in a league fixture a few weeks earlier and an appeal against his dismissal was rejected by
the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
. Pardew said, "I feel very aggrieved and very upset because Hayden has had a fantastic season. He has been one of our best players. He was my first signing here, I'm very proud of him, of what he has done and achieved." At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, West Ham completed the signing of
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
international Javier Mascherano who, like Mullins, was a defensive midfielder. However, after a brief period on the bench, Mullins re-established himself in the first team and scored the winning goal, in a 2–1 home win over
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
in October 2006, which put an end to the worst run of results for West Ham in 74 years. Mullins made 32 league and cup appearances in the 2006–07 season as West Ham narrowly escaped relegation. On 1 November 2008, he scored his first league goal of the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
in a 1–1 draw against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
at the
Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...
. It was his first league goal for two years. Mullins made a total of 213 appearances for West Ham United, netting seven goals.


Portsmouth

On 25 January 2009, Mullins joined
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He started the 2010 FA Cup final in an unfamiliar left-back role as Portsmouth were narrowly beaten 1–0 by Chelsea. Portsmouth were relegated at the end of the season, but Mullins stayed at the
Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...
side and took number 8 for the 2010–11 season after captain Marc Wilson was given number 6. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
on 28 September 2010. He was voted Portsmouth Player of the Season for the 2010–11 season.


Loan to Reading

On 15 March 2012, Mullins signed for
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
on loan for the 2011–12 season. He made seven appearances for Reading as they were promoted to the Premier League.


Birmingham City and loan to Notts County

On 12 July 2012, Mullins signed for
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
on a two-year contract on a free transfer. He made his debut in the League Cup first round against Barnet, and kept his place for the opening match of the 2012–13 season, a 1–1 draw at home to Charlton Athletic. He scored his first goal for Birmingham in a 2–2 draw with Nottingham Forest on 15 September. On 31 January 2014, Mullins joined
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made his debut the next day as a second-half substitute as County lost 2–0 away to Preston North End. With one match of County's season remaining, Mullins was recalled by Birmingham to cover for the injured Tom Thorpe. Playing at centre back, he made a crucial clearance in the final game, away at Bolton Wanderers, that contributed to Birmingham City retaining their Championship status via
Paul Caddis Paul McLean Caddis (born 19 April 1988) is a Scottish Football coach (association football), football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is manager of National League North side Hereford F.C., Hereford. Caddis pla ...
' stoppage-time equaliser. Birmingham confirmed he would be released when his contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season. He finished his Birmingham career having scored twice in 39 appearances in all competitions.


Notts County

On 5 June 2014, Mullins rejoined Notts County on a one-year contract.


International career

Mullins made three appearances for the England under-21 team in 1999, against
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
in March,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in April and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in June.


Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Mullins joined Reading in a role that saw him oversee the development of the club's players who were out on loan. In July 2016, he joined
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
as assistant to under-21 coach
Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian soccer coach, manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Liverpool ...
, later progressing to management of the under-23 team. In December 2019, Mullins was named as temporary manager of Watford after Quique Sánchez Flores was sacked. He managed two games as interim manager; a 2–0 away defeat by
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
and a goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace. Mullins took charge against Crystal Palace while newly appointed manager,
Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...
watched from the stands. In July 2020, he was again placed in temporary charge following the dismissal of manager Pearson. His first game in charge following Pearson's dismissal resulted in a 0–4 defeat to
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
. This result, coupled with
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
's win later the same day, dropped Watford into 18th place in the league and a relegation position. Watford were relegated to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
on the last day of the season following a 3–2 defeat by
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. On 1 September 2020 he left the club. On 3 September 2020, Mullins was announced as assistant head coach to Steve Ball at
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
. In February 2021, Ball was replaced by Wayne Brown as first team coach. After a run of poor results, Brown was in-turn replaced by Mullins on 31 March 2021. On 13 May 2021, Mullins was appointed head coach of Colchester on a permanent basis. On 19 January 2022, Mullins was sacked as head coach after a run of poor results. He coached the
Turks and Caicos Islands national football team The Turks and Caicos Islands national football team represents Turks and Caicos Islands in international football, and is controlled by the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association. History Having formed a football association in 1996 an ...
in March 2023. On 26 July 2023, Mullins was unveiled as the new U21 Head Coach at
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
. On 16 May 2024, he led Fulham U21s to the Premier League Cup, defeating Tottenham Hotspur U21s 4–0 in the final.


Career statistics


Managerial statistics


Honours


As a player

Portsmouth *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
runner-up: 2009–10


As a coach

Fulham U21 * Premier League Cup: 2023–24


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Hayden 1979 births Living people Footballers from Reading, Berkshire English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Crystal Palace F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Reading F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Black British sportsmen Reading F.C. non-playing staff Watford F.C. non-playing staff English football managers Watford F.C. managers Premier League managers Colchester United F.C. non-playing staff Colchester United F.C. managers English football coaches Footballers from Berkshire Fulham F.C. non-playing staff