Michael Coghlan

Sunderland-born Coghlan began his football career with Darlington. As a 16-year-old, he was playing for their reserve team, and was included in the travelling squad, though not among the matchday 16, for Darlington's League Cup visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2003. A week later, he was an unused substitute for the Third Division match at home to Southend United, and on 11 October, as a member of "one of the youngest and smallest squads in the Third Division" – Coghlan himself had been dubbed "pint-sized" – he made his debut in the Football League. He entered the match as a second-half substitute with his team already two goals down at home to Bristol Rovers; it finished as a 4–0 defeat. In the Football League Trophy, against a Hull City side with eleven changes from their previous league match, Coghlan's "low, fierce shot" was blocked, rebounding to Mark Sheeran who scored to reduce Hull's lead to 2–1, but Darlington were eliminated. He played twice more in the league in December, before joining Northern Premier League club Harrogate Town on loan in March 2004. The manager thought he "maybe struggled with the pace of the game" in his first appearance, in a defeat at Alfreton Town, and he was back with Darlington a few days later. He played regularly for the reserves in 2004–05 – according to his 2004 profile on the club's website, he had "shown he is a good passer of the ball with plenty to offer in midfield" – but in November was one of seven players with…