Fitz Hall

Fitz Benjamin Hall (born 20 December 1980) is an English former professional footballer and current football agent.

He played as a defender in his professional career, and as a striker in amateur football.

Hall began his career as a West Ham United youth player on the same day as Paul Konchesky, Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel but was released at the age of 15.

He played for Senrab in Wanstead Flats.

Hall was also once told that he wasn't good enough to become a professional footballer but found his lucky break through a friend that got him a trial at Barnet.

Hall then joined Barnet as part of a Youth Training Scheme, before moving to non-league Chesham United under the management of Bob Dowie.

It was there when he signed his first professional contract at 21 years old.

It was at Chesham United when Dowie converted him from playing a striker to a central defence, a position he played throughout his professional career.

Hall quickly became a first team regular for the club throughout his time there, making twenty–one appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

Hall's performances at Chesham came to the attention of Dowie's brother Iain, manager of Oldham Athletic, who bought him for £30,000 during the 2001–02 season and signed a two–year contract with the club.

He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Wycombe Wanderers on 13 April 2002, This turns out to be his only appearance of the season.

The 2002–03 season saw Hall saw him shine as he was part of a defence as a first team regular.

Hall helped the club keep four clean sheets in four matches between 13 August 2002 and 26 August 2002 despite being sent–off in a 0–0 draw against Brentford on 17 August 2002.

His performance led manager Dowie to praise his performance on being "comfortable on the ball and quick in the tackle."

After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up against Notts County on 7 September 2002, winning 3–1.

Hall, once again, helped Oldham Athletic keep three clean sheets in the next four matches between 17 September 2002 and 5 October 2002, in which he missed a match against Swindon Town.

Hall then scored his first goal for the club against Stockport County on 2 November 2002.

Two weeks later on 16 November 2002, he scored his second goal for Oldham Athletic, in 2–2 draw against Burton Albion in the first round of the FA Cup.

His performance saw him being awarded November's Player of the Month in the second division.

A month later on 21 December 2002, Hall scored his second goal, in a 1–0 win against Chesterfield.

Despite being further sidelined with a toe injury that saw him miss two matches, he continued to remain as a first team regular for the rest of the 2002–03 season, as the club reached the play–offs and proved to be only the second best to league champions Wigan Athletic.

Hall played in both legs against Queens Park Rangers, as Oldham Athletic lost 2–1 on aggregate.

His next goal for Oldham Athletic came on 14 January 2003 against Brentford, in a 2–1 win, Five days later on 19 January 2003, he signed a new deal, which would have kept him at the club until 2005, Six days later on 26 January 2003, however, Hall received a straight red card in the 28th minute for a foul on Steve Jones, in a 3–1 loss.

After serving a two–match suspension, Hall returned to the starting line–up against Notts County and helped the club draw 1–1 on 22 February 2003.

This was followed by scoring his fifth goal for Oldham Athletic, in a 1–0 win against Mansfield Town.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make fifty appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.

For his performance, Hall was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

However, there was a financial meltdown at the club, leading his future in doubt and reports suggested that Hall could be a free agent by exercising his rights if he didn't receive his salaries by then.

On 3 July 2003, Hall and teammates, Will Haining and Les Pogliacomi informed Oldham Athletic that they threatened to leave the club after they weren't paid the previous month.

This led to British clubs expressed their interests in signing Hall, such as, Everton, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers.

After his departure, manager Dowie accused Oldham Athletic's owner Chris Moore of "ripping the heart out of the club" for his role on selling key players, including Hall.

Hall was sold to Premiership side Southampton for a transfer fee between £250,000 and £350,000.

He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 4–0 loss against Jönköpings Södra in a friendly match on 24 July 2003.

Hall was involved in a number of friendly matches throughout the club's pre–season tour.

However, he did not manage to break into Southampton's first team on a regular basis, due to competitions and his own injury concern.

As a result, Hall had to wait on 16 December 2003 to make his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Bolton Wanderers in the quarter–finals of the League Cup.

He made his Premiership debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal on 29 December 2003.

By April, he received a handful of first team appearances for the rest of the 2003–04 season.

By the end of the 2003–04 season, Hall had made 12 first-team appearances in all competitions.

In his second league Premier League appearance against Birmingham City on 10 January 2004, however, Hall scored an own goal, as Southampton lost 2–1.