Samuel Mullarkey (born 24 September 1987) 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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He now competes as a

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter in the Lightweight category. Mullarkey appeared 18 times as a professional in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Lincoln City, before then he had been snubbed a professional contract with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

having progressed through the club's youth academy. He also played for

Grantham Town Grantham Town Football Club is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium. History The club was established in 1874 as Grantham Football Club.

, Stamford and

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since t ...

Football career

Sam started off his career at

as a trainee, however was released without making a first team appearance following the club's snub in order to offer him a professional contract. Shortly after Mullarkey joined hometown side

of 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 ...

, but departed the club in 2007. His career was kick started when he joined

in 2007, following previous

manager John Wilkinson. Mullarkey netted 19 times for the Grantham in 53 appearances, however he sustained injuries in a car accident during the pre-season, delaying his debut. Mullarkey joined Lincoln City, a team he supported as a boy, towards the end of the 2007–08 season after impressing in a number of pre-season games. Mullarkey was offered a 1-year contract by

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

, becoming Jackson's 8th signing of the summer. He made his league debut coming on as substitute for

Kevin Gall Kevin Alexander Gall (born 4 February 1982) is a Welsh people, Welsh former association football, footballer. Gall, a former Wales national under-21 football team, Welsh under-21 international, started his career with Newcastle United F.C., New ...

in the home draw with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. He scored his first goal for lincoln on 27 March 2009, against Notts County. He scored just three minutes after

Delroy Facey Delroy Michael Facey (born 22 April 1980) is a British-Grenada, Grenadian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Facey played for Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town, ...

had put Notts County into the lead. The match ended in a draw. Mullarkey strangely rejected a fresh contract with The Imps, after the club had hoped to sign him up for the 2009–2010 season, and then shortly afterwards he left the club along with Adrian Patulea, who like Mullarkey had decided to leave under similar circumstances after he also rejected a fresh deal with the club. Just before the start of the new season, Mullarkey re-signed for

. Mullarkey was released by United in January 2010 due to cost-cutting measures. Despite being released months before, he once again linked up with United for the 2010/2011 season. Mullarkey joined Stamford during July 2011.

Personal life

Mullarkey now competes as a Lightweight fighter in

References

External links

Unofficial Sam Mullarkey Profile
a
The Forgotten Imp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullarkey, Sam 1987 births Living people Footballers from Lincoln, England English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Nottingham Forest F.C. players Lincoln United F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players English Football League players