Mark Cullen

Mark Cullen (born 21 April 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Bamber Bridge. A player with excellent finishing skills, he has scored in each of the top five divisions of the English football league system. A former Newcastle United youth-team player, he went on to graduate from the Hull City Academy and make his Premier League debut for the club in the 2009–10 season. He spent the next three seasons on loan at Bradford City, Bury and Stockport County, before taking a free transfer move to Luton Town in May 2013. Luton won promotion back into the English Football League as champions of the Conference Premier at the end of the 2013–14 season and he was sold on to Blackpool for a fee of £180,000 in June 2015 after a successful season in League Two. Blackpool were relegated from League One the next year, but secured an immediate promotion after Cullen scored the winning goal in the 2017 League Two play-off final. He then struggled with injuries over the next two years, spending time on loan at Carlisle United, before he was allowed to move on to Port Vale in June 2019. He spent two seasons at the Vale though struggled for first-team appearances and moved on to Hartlepool United in August 2021. He then signed permanently for National League North side AFC Fylde six months later. He started the 2023–24 season with Bamber Bridge. Career Hull City Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Cullen spent his early years with Newcastle United's youth academy before being released at the age of 14. He joined the Hull City youth system on a two-year scholarship in June 2008. He made his first-team debut as a 67th-minute substitute for Kamel Ghilas in a 4–1 defeat to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round on 2 January 2010. Cullen was given a place in the team after scoring 27 goals for the youth team in the 2009–10 season. Cullen made his Premier League debut on 24 April, when he came on as a substitute for George Boateng in the 75th-minute of a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland at the KC Stadium. He scored his first goal in senior football in his first start for the club, in a 2–2 draw at Wigan on 3 May. He then went on to start in Hull's last game of the 2009–10 season, a 0–0 home draw with Liverpool.