About Michael Hughes (footballer)
Michael Eamon Hughes (born 2 August 1971) is a Northern Irish football manager and former footballer who is a majority shareholder and co-owner of NIFL Premiership side Carrick Rangers. As a player, he was an attacking midfielder who notably played top flight football for Manchester City, West Ham United, Wimbledon and Crystal Palace, including numerous seasons in the Premier League. He also played in Ligue 1 for Strasbourg and in the Football League for Birmingham City and Coventry City, having initially began his career in Northern Ireland with Carrick Rangers. He finished his career with non-league side St Neots Town. He was capped 71 times by Northern Ireland, scoring five times. Since retirement, Hughes has returned to Carrick Rangers as first team manager, he has also worked as the clubs chief executive and currently co-owns the club. It was during the first of these two loan spells that Hughes would have a say in the outcome of the 1994–95 FA Premier League season. However Hughes put West Ham United ahead in the first half and despite a second half equaliser from Brian McClair, West Ham United held out to hand the title to Blackburn Rovers. In the process, he became the first British player to change clubs for free on a Bosman ruling.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.