Chris Carruthers

Northampton Town

Carruthers played for Raunds Tigers before joining Harborough Town aged 13. He soon joined Northampton Town in their youth system after a two-week trial. He was named in the first-team squad for the 2000–01 season, when Northampton were in the Second Division following their promotion. He made his debut at the age of 17 as a half-time substitute in a 2–0 home defeat to Port Vale on 26 April 2001 and his first start came in a 3–0 home defeat to Walsall on 5 May, finishing the season with three appearances. He signed his first professional contract with the club on 9 April 2002. He scored his first goal for the club with a "spectacular" long-range volley on 84 minutes in a 4–1 win against Wycombe Wanderers. This season, 2001–02, Carruthers was able to make more of an impact, playing in 14 matches and scoring 1 goal. He received the first yellow card of his career in a 2–2 away draw with Cambridge United in the FA Cup second round on 7 December. During 2002–03, he cemented his place in the first team, playing 38 matches. He played for Northampton in a 3–0 home defeat to Premier League team Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round on 25 January 2004, in which he conceded a penalty kick after two minutes and then was stretchered off in the second half with a neck injury. He signed a new contract with Northampton in February, which would expire in June 2006. He finished 2003–04 with 31 appearances. However, in 2004–05, Carruthers fell out of favour at…

Carruthers represented the England national under-20 team over a period of two years, first being called into the squad for a match against Switzerland in November 2002. Carruthers made his debut in this match, starting in a 2–0 defeat at home on 12 December. He played at the 2003 Toulon Tournament, marking Cristiano Ronaldo when the team played Portugal, with Carruthers saying in retrospect "I did okay against him though." He started in all four of England's match in the tournament, which they were knocked out of following a 1–0 defeat to Japan. He was named in the squad for a friendly against the Czech Republic on 9 October 2003 and entered the match as a half-time substitute before being forced to leave after around 60 minutes due to an injury. He was selected in the squad for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and played in two of England's three matches at the tournament. He earned 11 caps for the team from 2002 to 2003.

Carruthers was left footed and versatile, being able to play as a left-back, left wing-back and left midfielder. He also played in a more attacking role as a left winger. However, he stated his strongest position was at left-back. He predominantly played as a left-back for Northampton and Bristol Rovers, but on his arrival at York he was converted to playing in left midfield.

Christopher Paul Carruthers was born on 19 August 1983 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, and attended Raunds Manor School from 1994 to 1999. He has been the owner of Carruthers Property Services since April 2010 and a director of Players Taxback since September 2012. He has worked in various roles for Travis Perkins since October 2013.