Peter Joseph Cavanagh (born 14 October 1981) is an English football coach and former player who is currently first-team coach at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

.https://uk.linkedin.com/in/peter-cavanagh-93817489 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. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...

, where he was made the youngest ever captain of Accrington after joining the club in 2001. He was an

England C The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it f ...

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 Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

, England. He was part of the youth team at

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, but left for

in September 2001 after realising he did not have a future at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

. He was appointed as

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

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. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...

title in 2002–03, and

Conference National 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-profes ...

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: Entertainment Film * Robert Williams (actor, born 1894) (1894–1931), American stage and film actor * Robert B. Williams (actor) (1904–1978), American film actor * R. J. Williams (born ...

David Mannix David Christopher Mannix (born 24 September 1985) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently assistant manager and the club's academy director at Bangor City. International career Mannix was a youth England i ...

, and

Andy Mangan Andrew Francis Mangan (born 30 August 1986) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a first-team coach at Bristol Rovers. Career Blackpool Born in Liverpool, Mangan began his career with Blackpool at the age o ...

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 Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

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 an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

in June 2010.

Rochdale

On 8 June 2012, Cavangh joined

Football 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

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

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 city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

Southport

He then signed for

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 ...

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

Retirement and coaching career

Everton

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.

Plymouth Argyle

On 3 July 2023, Cavanagh joined newly promoted Championship club in the role of first-team coach.

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 Sportspeople involved in betting scandals