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Michael Harold Poke (born 21 November 1985) 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 ...
who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
. He was most recently goalkeeping coach of
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
.


Football career


Southampton

Born in Staines, Surrey, Poke attended Longford Community School in Tachbrook Road,
Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party M ...
before joining
Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
as a trainee. He had a trial with Northampton Town in August 2004, playing in a scoreless reserve game against Gillingham on 17 August. He remained with Southampton, and with Antti Niemi injured, was named as a substitute for the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie against
Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...
in November 2004. He joined
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
on loan in August 2005, but failed to make his debut and suffered a fractured finger. In October 2005 he joined Northampton Town on loan, making his debut in the 5–2
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
win at home to
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
on 18 October. His loan was extended for a second month, but his only other game for the Cobblers also came in the Football League Trophy, playing in the 3–2 defeat away to
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 tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
on 23 November. On 23 November 2006, he moved on loan to
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
(under manager
Glenn Cockerill Glenn Cockerill (born 25 August 1959) is an English retired footballer who played more than 700 games in The Football League in a 22-year career. He was a skilled central midfielder renowned for his passing and shooting skills. Playing career Co ...
, a former Southampton player) until Christmas. In the summer of 2007 Poke was the only fit goalkeeper that Southampton could take on their tour of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, making his full debut for the club in the 12–0 demolition of part timers Svarstad. On 9 January 2008 Poke went on loan to Conference National side
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
, taking over as first choice from Martin Rice who had recently taken over the role himself from Simon Rayner. Poke was recalled by Southampton in February 2008 due to an ongoing injury crisis. He had played four Conference games for Torquay, against Salisbury City,
Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road which runs east–west. In ...
,
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
and Weymouth, without conceding a single goal. He made his Southampton debut on 4 March 2008 at
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...
as a half-time substitute for the injured Kelvin Davis. Poke himself was injured later that month to give Southampton three injured goalkeepers. On 22 July 2008, Poke rejoined Torquay on a season-long loan. However, he was injured early in the season, resulting in Torquay having to loan
Scott Bevan Scott Anthony Bevan (born 19 September 1979) is a former professional footballer currently employed as the under-23s goalkeeping coach at Birmingham City. Career Playing career Bevan started his football career with Southampton as an associate ...
from
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...
as cover. On 1 September 2009, Poke was again loaned out to Torquay United for a third spell at the newly promoted
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...
side. On 23 December, Poke extended his loan deal with the Gulls till the end of the season. On 15 May 2010, Poke was named in a list of 13 players to be released from Southampton before the start of the 2010–11 season.


Brighton & Hove Albion

In June 2010, Poke joined League One side
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
on a one-year contract. On 1 January 2012 it was announced that Poke would join Bristol Rovers on loan for an initial one-month period, which was then extended to the rest of the season. Poke, along with fellow goalkeeper David González, was released by Brighton at the end of April 2012 following the expiration of his contract.


Torquay United

On 27 June 2012, Poke rejoined
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
on a 2-year contract on a free transfer. Martin Ling signed the keeper on recommendation from goalkeeper coach Kenny Veysey. Ling stated "I tried to sign him last summer and it never came off because Brighton didn't want Michael to leave, but he is an ideal replacement for Bobby Olejnik and will work well in the goalkeeping unit with Kenny and Martin Rice."


Portsmouth

On 24 June 2014, Poke signed for
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
on a two-year-deal after leaving Torquay due to the latter's relegation to
Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
.


Eastleigh

After being limited to opportunities at Portsmouth, Poke joined
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
side
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
on loan until January 2016. On 8 August 2015, Poke made his Eastleigh debut in a 4–0 away victory over
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...
. However, after impressing within the first few games of his loan spell, Poke suffered a minor shoulder injury in late September, therefore causing Portsmouth to recall him. On 29 January 2016, Poke returned to Eastleigh, this time joining on a permanent deal until the end of the 2015–16 campaign. After being deployed as a back-up to
Ross Flitney Ross Daniel Flitney (born 1 June 1984) is an English footballer who plays for Eastleigh as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Hitchin, Flitney started as a youth player at Arsenal before moving to Fulham in 2003 where he was cover for senior keepers ...
, Poke finally made his Eastleigh return in a 3–0 away defeat to Lincoln City. However, after conceding eight goals in three consecutive games, Poke was once again dropped by manager
Chris Todd Christopher Richard Todd (born 22 August 1981) is a Welsh retired footballer who played as a defender and current assistant manager of Yeovil Town. Playing career Swansea City Born in Swansea, Todd began his career as a trainee with his hom ...
.


Woking

On 8 July 2016, Poke signed for
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
side
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
on a one-year deal. On 6 August 2016, he made his Woking debut in a 3–1 home defeat against Lincoln City. On 17 September 2016, Poke registered his first clean sheet for Woking in their 2–0 home victory over
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...
. On 23 May 2017, it was announced that Poke would leave Woking upon the expiry of his current deal in June 2017.


Coaching career

In June 2021, Poke was appointed first-team goalkeeping coach at his former club Portsmouth having worked with the academy since March 2020. Poke stepped down from the role in June 2022 for family and travel reasons.


Career statistics


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poke, Michael 1985 births Living people People from Staines-upon-Thames English footballers Association football goalkeepers Southampton F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Woking F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff