On this day in 1996, Michael Bridges made his debut in a scoreless draw versus Port Vale at Roker Park. He was given champagne as a reward for being named Man of the Match, but was still too young to drink it. The striker had a lengthy career of twenty years, although it was marred by injury.
In the 1996/97 season, the forward emerged as one of the Premier League’s hottest young prospects. His first goal apparently came against Southend, although no one saw it (not even the Southend defenders apparently) in heavy fog at Roots Hall.
However, he would be kept out of the side by Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips which meant Bridges was mostly limited to substitute appearances. Understandable, as Phillips would of course go on to be Sunderland's record post-war goalscorer. 62 of Bridges' 98 league appearances were made off the bench. But he was always popular among fans - if it wasn't for injuries, he seemed destined to be an England international.
Following a rumoured contract dispute, Leeds United swooped for the man nicknamed 'Stick-man' in a surprising £5 million move which made him Sunderland's then record sale. He was electric at Elland Road, scoring a hat trick in his second game. He helped United finish 3rd in the Premier League and qualify for Europe.
However, it all started to go downhill from there. Bridges was injured in a Champions League match with Besiktas and only played ten matches over the next four years in a Leeds shirt. The devastating injury harshly took away the best years of Michael's career.
In the last six months of his Leeds career, he was loaned to the Mags but he only played six times and failed to score. He was released by Leeds in 2004.
He re-joined the lads on loan from Bolton, but looked a shadow of his former self. Injuries had clearly taken its toll on the forward’s body and there was little left of his once-electric pace, although he famously scored a late winner against Stoke City.
Later in his career, he moved to Australia to play for Sydney FC before Newcastle Jets. Michael Bridges was a huge “what if” player who had seen his career hampered by recurring injury troubles.
