Peter Joseph Cavanagh (born 14 October 1981) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player. Before joining Fleetwood in 2010 he played for

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

, where he was made the youngest ever captain of Accrington after joining the club in 2001. He was an England C international in the 2003–04 season. His Accrington career ended in 2009 after he received a ban from the FA for betting against his own team.

Playing career

Accrington Stanley

Cavanagh was born in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. He was part of the youth team at

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 ...

, but left for

in September 2001 after realising he did not have a future 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 appointed as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

soon after joining in 2001, and scored 22 goals in 226 league games in an eight-year career. He skippered the club to the Northern Premier League Cup and

Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy The Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the ...

in 2002, the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

title in 2002–03, and

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

title in 2005–06.

Ban from football

In July 2009, Accrington players Jay Harris,

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

, David Mannix, and Andy Mangan received 5–12-month bans for betting against their own club. Cavanagh's case was held at a later date. On 7 April 2009 Cavanagh was charged by the FA for breaching betting rules, being alleged to have placed a £5 bet on Accrington losing to Bury in the last match of the 2008–09 season. Bury won the match 2–0. On 10 August 2009, he was fined £3,500 and suspended from competitive football for eight months.

Return to football with Fleetwood Town

Following the end of his ban, Cavanagh signed with

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

in June 2010.

Rochdale

On 8 June 2012, Cavangh joined

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

side

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

on a free transfer, linking up with former manager John Coleman.

Altrincham

After his release from Rochdale, Peter joined

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Southport

He then signed for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

in May 2015 as a player coach alongside manager Paul Carden.

Coaching career

Shortly after joining Southport, Cavanagh took up a full-time post as a foundation coach at Everton, retiring from playing to focus on this stage of his career. On 3 July 2023, Cavanagh joined newly promoted Championship club

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in the role of first-team coach to

Steven Schumacher Steven Thomas Schumacher (born 30 April 1984) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is currently head coach of club Bolton Wanderers. He graduated from the youth sides at Everton, and during his playing caree ...

. Cavanagh followed Schumacher to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in December 2023. He left Stoke in September 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanagh, Peter 1981 births Living people Footballers from Bootle Men's association football fullbacks English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers Liverpool F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Everton F.C. non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Sportspeople involved in betting scandals 21st-century English sportsmen