Adam Murray

Adam David Murray (born 30 September 1981) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who manages National League club Barrow. A creative midfielder, he made over 500 appearances in a 17-year playing career in the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference. An England under-20 international, Murray turned professional at Derby County, making his Premier League d...

Adam David Murray (born 30 September 1981) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who manages National League club Barrow. A creative midfielder, he made over 500 appearances in a 17-year playing career in the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference. An England under-20 international, Murray turned professional at Derby County, making his Premier League debut in April 1999. He played 62 games in six seasons at Derby, including 32 Premier League matches, but struggled with alcoholism and spent four weeks in recovery at the Priory Hospital. He spent time on loan at Mansfield Town (winning promotion out of the Third Division in 2001–02) and Kidderminster Harriers, before leaving Derby in November 2003. He had brief non-contract spells at Notts County and Burton Albion before seeing out the 2003–04 season with Kidderminster Harriers. He signed with Mansfield Town in June 2004, moving on to Carlisle United in March 2005. He helped Carlisle to win promotion back into the Football League through the Conference National play-offs in 2005 and then to win the League Two title in 2005–06, whilst also reaching the 2006 Football League Trophy final. He joined Torquay United for a £10,000 fee in August 2006 and was sold to Macclesfield Town for £17,500 in January 2007. He returned to the Conference Premier upon joining Oxford United in January 2008. He spent two and a half seasons at Oxford and was club captain for many of his 97 appearances. However, he missed the second half of the 2009–10 campaign and the subsequent 2010 play-off final victory due to injury. He remained in the Conference Premier, signing with Luton Town in July 2010. Three months later, he was loaned out to Mansfield Town through a deal made permanent in January 2011. He would spend four and a half seasons with Mansfield, taking his final tally with the club over his four different spells to 211 games and 24 goals. He featured on the losing side in the 2011 FA Trophy final and was named as the club's Player of the Season as Mansfield won promotion into the Football League as champions of the Conference Premier in 2012–13. He had short loan spells at Rainworth Miners Welfare and Worksop Town after falling out of favour in 2013. He retired from playing at the end of the 2014–15 season, though he briefly came out of retirement to play for Sutton Coldfield in 2018. He was appointed as Mansfield Town's assistant manager whilst still a player and became caretaker manager in November 2014. He got the job permanently the following month, aged 33, and kept the club in League Two with a 21st-place finish. A 12th-place finish followed in the 2015–16 season before he quit the club in November 2016. He was appointed Boston United manager the next month, taking the club to a 15th-place finish in the National League North at the end of the 2016–17 season. He resigned in October 2017 and was named assistant manager at Guiseley the following month. He left Guiseley in February 2018 and went on to coach at Burton Albion, Barnsley, West Bromwich Albion, Port Vale and Beşiktaş. He served Barnsley as caretaker manager in October 2019 and October 2020. He took charge at AFC Fylde in November 2022 and led the club to the National League North title at the end of the 2022–23 season before being sacked in October 2023. He joined Cheltenham Town as assistant manager in October 2023 and was appointed manager at Eastbourne Borough in January 2024. He spent 18 months at the club before switching to Kidderminster Harriers. He led Harriers to promotion out of the National League North via the play-offs in May 2026 and then moved on to manage Barrow. Playing career Derby County Born in Birmingham, West Midlands, Murray began his career as a trainee with Derby County at the age of 11. He turned professional in August 1998. He made his Premier League debut on 17 April 1999, coming on as a second-half substitute for Mikkel Beck in Derby's 5–1 defeat away to West Ham United. He made a further three substitute appearances in what remained of the 1998–99 season. Manager Jim Smith would hand him his first start on 6 May 2000, in a 0–0 draw with Newcastle United at Pride Park. This was his only start from eight appearances in the 1999–2000 campaign. He featured 18 times throughout the 2000–01 season. Derby were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2001–02 season, and Murray featured irregularly under both Smith and Colin Todd. On 25 February 2002, Murray joined Third Division club Mansfield Town on loan. He scored his first goal in professional football in his second appearance for the "Stags", a 2–1 win over Scunthorpe United at Field Mill on 2 March. He went on to score seven goals in 13 games for Mansfield, leading manager Stuart Watkiss to say that "his goals have been invaluable to us" as Mansfield secured promotion with a third-place finish. Back with Derby in the First Division for the 2002–03 season, Murray gradually established himself in John Gregory's first-team. He received the first sending off of his career on 12 October, getting shown the red card for a reckless challenge late into a 0–0 draw at Bradford City. He featured a total of 24 times that season, bringing his final tally at Derby to 62 appearances. Transition period His career stalled whilst he struggled with alcohol addiction problems whilst only 21-years old. Murray was able to gain treatment at the Priory Hospital in 2003. He made a swift return to football after four weeks of treatment. He started the 2003–04 season on loan at Kidderminster Harriers in the Third Division. However, he was released from Derby County in November 2003 after having already been transfer-listed in the summer by new Derby manager George Burley. Murray joined Notts County in 2003 after leaving Derby County, during this transition period he played twice in a one-week non-contract spell with Conference club Burton Albion, before returning to Notts County. In January 2004, Murray rejoined Kidderminster Harriers and was a regular in their side until the end of the season. He was released by Kidderminster because of what director of football Jan Mølby said were "financial reasons". Mansfield Town In June 2004, he joined Mansfield Town following "lengthy talks with Stags boss Keith Curle". However, Curle departed in November, and Murray later admitted that he "didn't really get on with [Curle's successor] Carlton Palmer at all". He scored five goals in 37 games. Carlisle United Murray moved on to Brunton Park in March 2005 after Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson succeeded in his fourth attempt to sign him. He played ten games in what remained of the 2004–05 season, helping United to qualify for the Conference National play-offs in third-place. He was an unused substitute in the play-off final as Carlisle returned to the Football League with a 1–0 victory over Stevenage Borough at the Britannia Stadium. Murray scored three goals in 42 appearances during the 2005–06 season, including the equalising goal in the 2006 Football League Trophy final against Swansea City at the Millennium Stadium. However, his side went on to lose 2–1. Carlisle won promotion as champions of League Two. On 10 August 2006, Murray handed in a transfer request to new manager Neil McDonald, after he failed to appear in Carlisle's opening two League One games of the 2006–07 season. Torquay United On 31 August 2006, summer transfer deadline day, Murray joined Torquay United for a fee of £10,000; manager Ian Atkins said that "I must admit I'm surprised that the chairman (Mike Bateson) has stuck his neck out financially... but Adam will make a big difference to us". He was a key player for Atkins and his successor Luboš Kubík, and played 25 games in the first half of the 2006–07 season, but opted to leave Plainmoor after what new club chairman Chris Roberts described as "quite severe family problems to deal with nearer his home in the Midlands". Macclesfield Town On 10 January 2007, Murray joined fellow League Two side Macclesfield Town, after being signed by manager Paul Ince for a fee of £17,500 on a two-and-a-half-year contract. He made eight starts and three substitute appearances in the second half of the 2006–07 season. He played 25 matches under the stewardship of Ian Brightwell in the first half of the 2007–08 season. Oxford United Murray joined Oxford United on 4 January 2008. He signed a new two-year contract in May after being a consistent first-team player at the Kassam Stadium as Oxford ended the 2007–08 season with nine wins in eleven games. He was named as captain in July after manager Darren Patterson said that "he looks incredibly lean and has obviously looked after himself well during the close season". He scored seven goals in 51 appearances across the 2008–09 campaign, and was an ever-present in the league as the "U's" posted a seventh-place finish as they missed out on the play-offs after being deducted five points. Following an operation on his back, Murray missed the second half of Oxford's 2009–10 campaign, in which they were promoted into the Football League via the play-offs. He was released from the club at the end of the season after his family failed to settle into the Oxford area and subsequently returned to Derby. Chairman Kelvin Thomas told the club's official website: "Unfortunately Adam wasn't involved in the final promotion push due to injury, but we do feel that our decision to have players live close has been justified. Adam has made a decision to put his family first, which as a family orientated club we fully understand and appreciate." Speaking in November 2015, Murray said that he had resented manager Chris Wilder for releasing him, but now saw him as one of the best managers in English football and that "when I look back now I respect that decision because I would have done the same thing". Luton Town On 7 July 2010, Murray joined Conference Premier side Luton Town on a two-year contract. He made only seven appearances for Richard Money's side and departed Kenilworth Road early in the 2010–11 season. Return to Mansfield Murray rejoined Mansfield Town, only 20 miles (32 km) from his home in Derby, on a three-month loan deal on 1 October 2010, with a view to a permanent move taking place in January. On 5 January 2011, Murray made his transfer permanent despite manager David Holdsworth having been replaced by Duncan Russell. He ended the 2010–11 campaign with seven goals in 41 games for Mansfield, who went on to reach the final of the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium. Murray was substituted 18 minutes into extra-time of the final, with the only goal of the game being scored by Darlington with just one minute left to play. He was appointed club captain in August 2011 and signed a new contract three months later. Mansfield won 13 of their last 15 matches of the 2011–12 season to qualify for the play-offs. They went on to lose to York City in the play-off semi-finals despite Murray and Gary Roberts dominating much of the midfield play. In June 2012, Murray became assistant manager at Mansfield following Micky Moore's decision to leave. He signed a new one-year deal in November 2012, combining first-team duties with coaching the youth team. This came a month after he criticised sections of the supporters for dishing out "personal" abuse following a four-match run without a win. At the end of the 2012–13 title-winning season, The Non-League Paper described how "Muzza the magician grabbed games by the scruff of the neck whether playing in an advanced or deeper role". Promotion was confirmed with a 1–0 victory over Wrexham on 20 April, after which Murray stated that "this is the best without doubt. It's the best thing I've ever done". Murray fell out with manager Paul Cox early in the 2013–14 season. He was loaned out to Rainworth Miners Welfare of the Northern Premier League Division One South. He had an eventful spell at Rainworth, with manag