FCUM Players

Player Profile ~ Mark Ayres



Player Information
Name	Mark Ayres
Player Sponsor	-

Kit Sponsor(s)	-

Position	Centre Back
Date of birth	-
Place of birth	-
Previous clubs	Salford City
Favourite club
All Seasons
Total Appearances	8
Goals	0
Yellow cards	0
Red cards	0
Profile
Mark Ayres Interviewing a defender in the aftermath of one of his club's poorest ever performances, a defeat to a team labelled 'the worst in the country', does not really appeal. But thankfully Mark Ayres is a nice lad and he didn't take FC United's woeful loss to basement club Durham City out on me as we talked about his career to date and his hopes and aspirations for the future. The affable Walkden-raised centre half obviously takes things firmly in his stride - he has appeared at Old Trafford, the home of his boyhood heroes, and enjoyed a brief spell in Blackpool's youth team. All on the way to linking up with his former teammate Karl Marginson in the red of FC. "I just love football and, apart from my family, the game has always been the biggest thing in my life. It is my hobby and it's what I really enjoy doing the most. I don't have many other interests outside of that, sorry to be boring," says the 24- year-old father of one. And it's refreshing to hear someone so dedicated to the game. Starting out at Deans Sports, the Swinton-based club famous for providing many young stars including Ryan Giggs, Mark enjoyed schoolboy success. "We had a really good side and won lots of competitions. Scouts from various clubs would come down and watch and many of us were spotted by league teams. "I got lucky and was asked to go along to Blackpool and so I was there from 13-years-old. "It was a great experience training at a league club and I enjoyed my time at Bloomfield Road and learned a lot. "I made it as far as the youth team and was getting regular games." Unfortunately for Mark, he took a gamble while with the Seasiders and it didn't pay off. "I left Blackpool so that I could have a trial with Bolton that had come about through playing for Salford Boys school team. "I had to leave Blackpool to be allowed to trial somewhere else so took the decision to give it a go as Bolton were a bigger club in the Premier League. I would have regretted it if I didn't try. Unfortunately I didn't make the grade at Bolton." Meanwhile, through his attendance at Walkden High School, he was selected to represent Salford Boys and that led to his dream appearance at Old Trafford in 2000. The team from the Dirty Old Town won the English Schools Cup for the first time in 53 years with a 2-1 victory over Cardiff. "We had a cracking team, the most successful of which was probably Danny Livesey, who played in the Premier League for Bolton for a while before ending up at Carlisle, where he still plays now. "A lot of the lads we would have had to pick from were at United or City, but they had a policy that prevented them playing for schools teams. "Danny was told he couldn't play by Bolton but he turned round and threatened to leave if they didn't let him. They backed down. "We travelled to Ninian Park, in Cardiff, for the first leg and that was a great experience, as well as being a tough game. But the game I'll never forget was obviously the match at Old Trafford. "Being from Salford, I've been a United fan all my life so it really was a dream come true. I remember looking up at the stadium in the warm up and just smiling. "The facilities were fantastic and there was a decent crowd, I think there were a few thousand who turned out to support us. It was a real highlight and something you never forget." Despite this success, after the disappointment of leaving Blackpool and failing at Bolton, Mark drifted into Sunday league football with some mates in Little Hulton. He was soon back at a higher level though and ended up playing against FC United. "Mark Mollineux was involved with the Sunday team and he recommended I go to Flixton, so I did and started getting regular games there. "It was at Flixton that I met Karl Marginson, as he was coaching at the time. Then FC started and he left. Because of Karl, and me being a United fan, I used to look out for the results. "I got to play against FC about four times and each one was great, just because of the crowds and we seemed to have some good matches. "We played a couple of games over Christmas that were close and I can just remember the big crowds that FC brought to Valley Road. "We were used to playing in front of 60 people and all of a sudden there was 2,000 fans watching. The match that stands out was during the season when both teams were up for promotion and we beat FC 2 - 1 at Gigg Lane. The atmosphere was unbelievable and we raised our game and deserved to win." After that spell at Valley Road, Mark ended up following manager Paul 'Fester' Wright to Salford City. "Fester left and asked me to join his new team. We had a good side with the likes of former FC players Rhodri Giggs, Dave Neville, Alex Mortimer and Neil Chappell. "We played some good stuff but just couldn't get any kind of consistency and the results didn't come. Fester departed and a few of us were in limbo so I left. "I got Karl's number from Fester soon after and rang him to see how he was doing and to talk about coming down to FC." Mark's career at United didn't get off to the greatest of starts due to dental issues. More specifically, his wisdom teeth were that infected Margy didn't recognise him when he turned up for his first match, away to Frickley, such was the swelling in his mouth. "I had really bad problems with my teeth, but I wanted to be involved and didn't want to miss any football so I turned up. I then had to have them operated on and, with games being called off as well, I have had an interrupted start to playing here. "Wherever I've been I've always played and not missed many games, so it has been really frustrating for me. "My first impressions of the club are really good and the facilities and the way FC is run is as close to a professional setup as you can get at this level. "The fans are something else. The crowds turning out week after week are amazing and the noise they make is brilliant. It's a pleasure to play in front of supporters like this. "I really hope to force myself into a regular place in the team and help the club push on for promotion because that's our aim." The Durham match is one we would all much rather forget, but as a mate remarked during a brief post-match discussion, Mark was 'one of our least-worst performers on the day'. If that can be a backhanded compliment, then he will hopefully take it on board and the only way has to be up.