IT'S GRAEME MURTY WEEK: 20th to 26th November 2011

From Wikipedia....

Graeme Stuart Murty (born 13 November 1974) is a footballer. He has made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing for York City, Reading, Charlton Athletic and Southampton. Though born in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, England, Murty qualifies for the Scotland national football team through his family, and has won four full caps.



York City
Murty joined York City's youth training scheme in 1991, following trials with Aston Villa, Leeds United and Stockport County. He turned professional in March 1993 and was placed into the first-team in his first professional season. On 20 September 1995, he played in their 3–0 victory against Manchester United in the League Cup at Old Trafford. He scored in York's surprise League Cup victory against Everton, which kept his profile up.

Reading
He joined Reading in the summer of 1998 for a fee of £700,000, but his first few seasons were hampered by injury. However, once clear of injury, he quickly became an integral part of the team, and when Phil Parkinson left the club to become manager of Colchester United, Murty was appointed club captain. On 30 April 2006, Murty scored only his second goal, from a penalty, in 280 league and cup appearances when Reading played Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2005–06 season. It ensured that Reading reached 106 points, a record for the second tier of English football. His only previous goal for Reading came against Bristol City in March 2001.
On 1 December 2006, Murty signed a two year extension to his contract with Reading, keeping him at the Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2009, which will mean that he will have completed ten years at the club. On 31 March 2008, it was announced that, despite a previous announcement to the contrary, Murty had been awarded a testimonial in recognition of his services to the club, with a proportion of the proceeds going to the Swings and Smiles charity, of which he is a patron. The testimonial match was held on 21 July 2009 at Reading's Madjeski Stadium and featured the current Reading team taking on members of the Reading Championship winning team of 2005/06.
In a vote to compile the Royals' best-ever eleven, Murty was voted the best right back with 56.4% of the vote. Murty also won the BBC South Sports Personality of the Year award, at a ceremony in Southampton on 3 December 2006 where John Madejski and Steve Coppell were also honoured.
He joined Charlton Athletic on a month's loan on 6 January 2009 to allow him to improve his match fitness. He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on 10 January. His loan at Charlton was extended for a second month on 2 February. He returned to Reading on 2 March after suffering from a calf injury.
On 15 May 2009, Murty, along with Michael Duberry, Marcus Hahnemann and Leroy Lita were told they would not be offered a new contract by Reading. In this announcement the club said, "Graeme Murty and Marcus Hahnemann were integral members of the team throughout Steve Coppell's managerial reign, and they will both forever hold a significant place in the Club's history. Graeme was a fantastic captain and the memories of him lifting the Championship trophy at the end of our promotion season will never be forgotten by any Reading fan." Murty will also be remembered for his charity work while at the club. The club said "He will be known as an ambassador with all of his charity work and work in the local community".

Southampton
On 3 July 2009, Murty joined League One Southampton on a two week trial with a view to a permanent deal. He signed a one-year contract with Southampton after impressing on 5 August and was handed the number 16 shirt. On 15 May 2010, after an injury plagued season, he was released along with 13 other players from Southampton.



Murty was born in England, however he qualifies to play for Scotland through his family. He has been capped four times by Scotland, with his first coming against Wales in 2004. He was in the Scotland team for the Kirin Cup in Japan in May 2006, and earned his second cap in their 5–1 win against Bulgaria on 11 May 2006. He won his third cap in Scotland's second (and final) game of the tournament against Japan, a 0–0 draw that secured the Kirin Cup for Scotland.
He was a surprise starter for Scotland's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match away to Georgia on 17 October 2007, which Scotland lost 2–0.
On 30 January 2008, Murty was one of nine defenders called up by new Scotland boss George Burley for his first get-together, a training camp between 3 February and 5 February 2008 at Loch Lomond

He Lives in West Berkshire "Thatcham".He was married in Hampshire in June 2005. When at Reading he co-hosted the Andrew Peach Show on BBC Radio Berkshire every Monday morning from 8am. The show was nominated for a 2009 Sony Radio Academy Award, although they did not win.
Alongside presenter James Richardson, and fellow ex-pro Leroy Rosenior, Graeme has appeared on the late night, local BBC South, BBC South West and BBC West football show, Late Kick Off, since its introduction. Broadcast since, January 2010, it is scheduled for every Monday evening from early January to the end of each football season. For 2011, alongside AFC Bournemouth's, Steve Fletcher, Graeme has co-anchored a slot, within the show, called The Knowledge.

I am delighted to tell you that Graeme has promised to register on here tomorrow..........watch this space!!!

Was very disappointed when he got injured as looked like a good player, commitment to tackle and a footballing brain. Be interested to know if he plans to go into management.

I am pleased to say Graeme registered today, user name murts. Any questions for him?

matty07uk wrote:Was very disappointed when he got injured as looked like a good player, commitment to tackle and a footballing brain. Be interested to know if he plans to go into management.

Good points Matty.

Graeme, are you completely free of injury now? Do you have any management hopes?

Hi Graeme.

Was there a lot of difference between the set-ups at Reading and Saints?

And what are you doing nowadays?

Hi Graeme, I hope you are well.

You didn't play too many games for Saints because of injury but is there any game you can say you are proudest of? Which do you feel were your best matches?

Hiya,

Can you tell us about any times you had an embarrassing moment? Some times you made a howler for sone reason?

And have there been any times when you were lucky? When you maybe committed a foul or handball but got away with it?

Are you superstitious? Are there things you do before a game for good luck?

When you had the photograph taken at the top of this page, did you realise the photographer was installing large red pointy ears?

Realistically, and honestly, do you think Saints will go up this season??

I see you live in Thatcham.......is the Crickets pub still there? I used to DJ there back nearly 20 years ago when I lived in Reading. I think the names of the people running the Crickets were Roger and Lynn.