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Personal
Fullname: Mark McKay Fotheringham
aka: Mark Fotheringham
Born: 22 October 1983
Birthplace: Dundee
Signed: 1 August 1999
Left: 29 August 2003
Position: Midfield
Debut: Celtic 0-0 St Johnstone, May 2000, League
Internationals: N/A
International Caps: N/A
Biog
Dundee-born Mark Fotheringham was a midfielder who made three senior appearances after coming through the Parkhead youth ranks.
Once hailed as a potential world class talent Fotheringham was the youngest player to date to make the Celtic first team when he made his competitive debut at the age of 16 back in May 2000 during a 0-0 league draw with St Johnstone (since superceded).
He also played a week later in a 2-0 victory over Dundee Utd, in what was the tail-end to one of the most demoralising league campaigns that the Celtic first team had been involved in. The manager Barnes had already been sacked mid-season, and Dalglish as interim manager had done fine but there was a mixed opinion on his involvement and long-term role. However, Mark Fotheringham had a good game with commentators reporting back positively on his contribution in the match, which is best remembered as one that saw Larsson return after a long-term injury.
The problem for Fotheringham was that once Martin O’Neill came in to manage Celtic, he relied instead on established players and transfers in (some quite expensive). As this strategy paid dividends, it hindered opportunities for Mark Fotheringham and others.
Mark Fotheringham was to simply fail to fulfil those early expectations and the vast majority of his Parkhead career was spent with the Under-21s where he was a capable but not outstanding performer. He did catch the eye on one occasion when he performed a sublime piece of skill which saw him flick the ball over his head and that of his bewildered marker.
Such tricks were not enough to win him first team football at Parkhead and after a total of just three appearances for the first team he left the Hoops to join Dundee in August 2003. He left with a win, a draw and a defeat in his three matches.
His last appearance was in a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the treble winning season of 2000-01, a season with lots of incoming big transfer players who had pushed out most chances for youth players. So in light of this, Mark Fotheringham’s opportunities were seen to be limited.
It was another example of unnecessary initial hyperbole when it comes to a young talent. He just seemed to be at Celtic at an unlucky time for him in two extremes, firstly at Celtic when at a very low point (under Barnes) then immediately at the opposite extreme with Celtic at their peak with an expensively assembled squad (under Martin O’Neill). Somewhere in the middle could have been better for Mark Fotheringham possibly in giving him further opportunities.
We wished him all the best.
Post-Celtic
After a fair time at Dundee, he went on to play for German side SC Freiburg and Swiss club FC Aarau before having an unsuccessful trial with Rangers in January 2007. He joined Norwich City later that month and would be appointed captain of the Carrow Road club before being stripped of that role following a display of petulance when substituted.
He was released by the Canaries in April 2009 and had unsuccessful trial periods at Espanyol and Derby County.
In September 2009 he was back in Scotland and training with Dundee Utd but a contract was not forthcoming. Instead Mark Fotheringham moved to take a contract with Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus. He later returned to Scotland, running down his career with a plethora of clubs in Scotland and then in England.
One notable spell was at Notts County, where he ended up playing alongside on loan Callum McGregor who went on to be a Celtic great.
Mark Fotheringham went on to become a player/assistant manager at Cowdenbeath in the third tier in Scottish football, but left in 2019, when he finally retired from play.
He then moved into coaching in Germany, and then in 2022 became the manager of Huddersfield Town in the second tier in England, which ended up lasting for a brief half a season.
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Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1999-2003 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) |
| Goals: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |