Players - John Welsh

John Welsh
Birthdate: 10 January 1984
Birthplace: Edge Hill, Liverpool, England
Other clubs: Hull City (2005-09), Chester City (loan 2008), Carlisle United (loan 2008), Bury (loan 2009), Tranmere Rovers (2009-12), Preston North End (2012-18), Grimsby Town (2018-19), Atherton Collieries (2019-20), Stafford Rangers (2020)
Signed from: Local
Signed for LFC: 1994
International debut: U21s - 17.02.2004
International caps: England u-21 8/1
Liverpool debut: 04.12.2002
Last appearance: 23.04.2005
Contract expiry: 01.01.2006
Win ratio: 50% W:5 D:1 L:4
League games / goals / assists: 4 / 0 / 0
Total games / goals / assists: 10 / 0 / 0

Player Profile

Welsh joined the club at only 10-years-old and went on to captain England at various levels as well as Liverpool reserves. He is a small powerhouse of a central-midfielder and strong in the tackle. Welsh may be quiet off the field, but it's a different story on the field. After only a couple of first-team appearances Welsh featured in a few cup games as well as starting two League games in the 2004/05 season. It was, however, clear that Welsh would have to leave his beloved Liverpool for regular football and he was swapped with Hull's Paul Anderson in January 2006. After making 50 appearances in the Championship in two seasons, Welsh was loaned out to Chester City, Carlisle United and Bury. Hull City released Welsh on 2 June 2009. On 13 July 2009 Welsh became one of the first signings to be made by new Tranmere Rovers manager and former Liverpool player John Barnes. Welsh survived the cull that saw the management duo of Barnes and Jason McAteer leave the club in October 2009 with their replacement being a man already employed by Rovers, physiotherapist Les Parry. Welsh played in 45 League matches plus six cup-ties in 2009/10, also winning the club's Goal of the Season award for a long-range strike against Gillingham. The captain at Prenton Park rejected a new deal at Tranmere and joined fellow League One side Preston North End in May 2012.

Welsh played in thirty-six of Preston's forty-six League One matches in 2012/.13, scoring once. In the following season he made forty-five first-team appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring twice. The midfielder also added an extra year to his Preston contract, which would now take up him up to the end of the 2014/15 season. After helping Preston to promotion via the play offs in 2014/15 he was rewarded with a new two year contract, although he was in and out of the side for the first year of this, making just thirteen starts and coming off the bench eleven times. 

For the next two seasons Welsh rarely featured at Preston due to injuries and others being ahead of him but he remained a popular member of the squad. His departure was announced prior to the end of 2017/18 so he could be given a proper farewell by the fans. He then dropped two divisions, joining Grimsby Town in League Two where he was immediately installed as club captain. He made seventeen appearances for them before leaving by mutual consent the following March. This followed him being found guilty of grievous bodily harm at Liverpool Crown Court and being handed a suspended prison sentence. The incident, which had involved him fracturing a woman's leg at a bus stop in Liverpool, occurred prior to him joining Grimsby and he had failed to tell them about the court case. 

In October 2019 Welsh agreed a short term deal with Atherton Collieries who were in the eighth tier of English football and earned praise for the way he adapted to playing at that level. In July 2020 he moved one step back up the ladder, joining Stafford Rangers of the Northern Premier League. He made eight appearances before the non league season was cut short due to Covid. After a brief coaching stint with Robbie Fowler's academy, Welsh returned to Preston as a coach in October 2021, overseeing the under 12's to under 16's. 

Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 4 1 3 2 0 10
2002-2003 0 0 1 0 0 1
2003-2004 1 0 0 1 0 2
2004-2005 3 1 2 1 0 7
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
1 90 Crystal Palace
1 75 Burnley
1 73 Bolton Wanderers
1 69 Tottenham
1 38 Ipswich Town
1 20 Leverkusen
1 15 Middlesbrough
1 12 Manchester City
1 7 Arsenal
1 4 Olimpija
Total Started/substitutions
3 Started
9 On the bench
7 Substitute
2 Substituted
Total Venue
6 Away
4 Home
Total Competition
4 Premier League
3 League Cup
1 UEFA Cup
1 Champions League
1 FA Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
7 4 0 3 57.1% Rafa Benítez
3 1 1 1 33.3% Gérard Houllier
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 04.12.2002 Ipswich Town Anfield League Cup
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Hull City 2005-2006 England Championship 32 2 33 2
Hull City 2006-2007 England Championship 18 1 21 1
Chester City 2007-2008 England Conference 6 0 6 0
Carlisle United 2008-2009 England League One 4 0 6 0
Bury 2008-2009 England League Two 5 0 6 0
Tranmere Rovers 2009-2010 England League One 45 4 52 4
Tranmere Rovers 2010-2011 England League One 41 4 48 4
Tranmere Rovers 2011-2012 England League One 44 3 46 3
Preston North End 2012-2013 England League One 36 1 42 1
Preston North End 2013-2014 England League One 36 2 45 2
Preston North End 2014-2015 England League One 32 0 44 0
Preston North End 2015-2016 Championship 24 0 26 0
Preston North End 2016-2017 Championship 6 0 8 0
Preston North End 2017-2018 Championship 9 0 11 0
Grimsby Town 2018-2019 League Two 13 0 17 0
Atherton Collieries 2019-2020 England Northern Premier League 15 0 21 0
Stafford Rangers 2020-2021 England Northern Premier League 4 0 8 0
Total 370 17 440 17