Michael Stewart

Michael James Stewart (born 26 February 1981) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a midfielder.

He began his career with Manchester United and played for both Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts and Hibernian.

He also played for Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic during his career.

Stewart was capped four times for the Scotland national football team.

As a young player, Stewart trained twice a week with Rangers while still at Craigmount High School.

Manchester United signed Stewart as a professional in 1998.

He made his senior debut for the club on 31 October 2000 against Watford.

Later that season, it was agreed that Stewart and two other players (John O'Shea and Jimmy Davis) would be loaned to Belgian feeder club Royal Antwerp, but Stewart decided against the move, believing he would break into the first team more quickly by training with United.

Initially, he filled in for a suspended Roy Keane.

He struggled to hold down a first-team place, however, and had a disappointing loan spell at Nottingham Forest.

His high-tempo style often included landing in trouble, regularly being booked or sent off.

Stewart made his debut for the Scotland under-21 team in the 1−1 draw with Northern Ireland in May 2000.

On 1 September, he made his competitive debut in the win against Latvia during qualification for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

He featured three more times during qualifying but Scotland failed to progress from their group.

In the summer of 2004, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson indicated Stewart had no future at the club and he was free to leave.

Rangers initially showed interest, but after a two-week trial, he was sent back to Manchester.

The cost of Stewart's contract with United was seen as a stumbling block to a transfer.

A loan deal was reached with Stewart's boyhood favourites Hearts, with Stewart taking a substantial wage drop to facilitate the deal.

Stewart failed to match expectations and at the end of a season disrupted by injury, Hearts allowed him to leave.

Desperate for continuity and regular football, Stewart expressed his wish to stay in Edinburgh and signed for Hearts' rivals Hibernian after negotiating the end of his Manchester United contract.

Stewart played four matches during qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, including the 1−0 win away to Germany in September 2003.

Scotland ultimately qualified as group winners and progressed to the play-offs.

On 16 November, he started the first leg of the play-off tie against Croatia but Scotland lost 2−0 at Stadion Varteks.

Two days later, he was an unused substitute in the second leg as Scotland won 1−0 at Easter Road, but were eliminated 2−1 on aggregate.

This was Stewart's last involvement with the U21s; overall he made 18 appearances and scored no goals.

After two seasons with Hibs, the club announced in April 2007 that his contract would not be extended and he was free to leave the club.

He left Easter Road after the media reported that there was unrest amongst the Hibs squad.

Stewart spent a week training with Roy Keane's Sunderland, but he did not earn a contract.

On 30 June 2007, Hearts introduced Stewart as a new signing, making him the only player since the Second World War to sign for Hearts, then Hibs and then return to Hearts.

Stewart scored his first SPL goal for Hearts against Aberdeen on 12 August 2007.

He also scored a penalty for Hearts in a 4–2 win over Rangers in September 2007.

Stewart was appointed Hearts club captain by manager Csaba Laszlo before the start of the 2009–10 season, following the departure of Robbie Neilson.

He was sent off, for two bookable offences, 52 minutes into his first competitive game as captain.

Stewart left the club by mutual consent on 13 May 2010.

Stewart then agreed a "lucrative" move to Turkish club Gençlerbirliği signing a one-year contract with the club with the option of a further two years.

He agreed to sign for Charlton until the end of the 2010–11 season on 22 March.

Stewart picked up an injury early into his spell at Gençlerbirliği, Stewart left the club in January 2011, claiming that they had not honoured his contract since suffering an injury early in the 2010–11 season.

Sky Sports reported on 6 February that Stewart had been given a one-week trial with Leeds United.

He took part in a training ground friendly match against York City.

Stewart's trial period with Leeds was extended, but he did not sign for Leeds and subsequently went on trial at Charlton Athletic.