Mark Anthony Farrington (born 15 June 1965) 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 ...

who played as a striker.

Career

Farrington began his career as a youth player with Everton, for whom he played in the 1983

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

final. He failed to secure a professional contract with the Toffees and was released several weeks after the final and instead joined the side that defeated Everton in the final,

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, after impressing manager Ken Brown. He made his debut for Norwich at the end of the 1983–84 season in a match against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

in May 1984 and made a further 17 appearances in all competitions with the club. After struggling to establish himself in the first-team, he spent time on loan at

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in 1985 before completing a permanent transfer to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in July 1985. He made his debut for Cardiff on the opening day of the 1985–86 season, scoring once during a 4–1 victory over

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 17 August 1985. However, the side struggled in

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

and Farrington scored just two more league goals during the season, in victories over Lincoln City and Chesterfield, before his contract was terminated by manager

Alan Durban William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager ...

after a breach of club discipline. He instead moved abroad, playing in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium before returning to England with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. He played out his career in non-league before retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrington, Mark 1965 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Everton F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Willem II Tilburg players KRC Genk players Fortuna Sittard players Hertha BSC players Feyenoord players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Belgian Pro League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Germany English expatriate sportspeople in Germany English Football League players