Michael Tonge

He made his first team debut as a 68th-minute substitute for Darren Bullock in a 1–0 defeat to Wimbledon at Bramall Lane.

Michael William Eric Tonge (born 7 April 1983) is an English football coach and former player.

A midfielder, he scored 39 goals in 544 league and cup appearances in a 19-year career in the English Football League.

He made his first senior start in the last game of the 2000–01 season, a 1–1 draw away at Bolton Wanderers.

A former England under-21 international, he began his career in Manchester United's youth team before joining Sheffield United in 2001.

He scored his first competitive goal for the "Blades" in a 1–0 home victory over Crewe Alexandra on 27 October 2001.

He went on to establish himself in the first team under manager Neil Warnock, scoring three goals in 32 appearances throughout the 2001–02 season.

He soon became a vital player for Neil Warnock's "Blades", and was named on the First Division's PFA Team of the Year in 2002–03, before he helped the Bramall Lane side achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2005–06.

Having scored eight goals in 58 appearances, Tonge was named on the First Division PFA Team of the Year in 2002–03, alongside midfield teammate Michael Brown.

On 8 January 2003, he scored both of United's goals in a 2–1 win over Liverpool in the first leg of the semi-final of the League Cup.

United also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 to Arsenal at Old Trafford.

United finished third in the First Division, and reached the play-off final, where they again faced disappointment with a 3–0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium.

Tonge scored four goals in 51 games across the 2003–04 campaign as United posted an eighth-place finish, two points outside the play-offs.

He then scored three goals in 41 games in the 2004–05 season, as the club again finished in eighth place, this time six points shy of the play-off places.

He scored three goals from 33 appearances in the 2005–06 campaign as United secured promotion out of the Championship as runners-up behind Reading.

The club lasted just one season in the Premier League, with Tonge scoring twice in 28 matches as United were relegated on the last day of the 2006–07 season following a 2–1 home defeat to Wigan Athletic.

He scored in Bryan Robson's first game as manager of the club, a 2–2 home draw with Colchester United on 11 August 2007.

Tonge made 52 appearances during the 2007–08 campaign, but United struggled and Robson was sacked in February before his replacement, Kevin Blackwell, led the club to a ninth-place finish.

After making a total of 302 appearances for the club, he was sold to Stoke City in August 2008 for £2 million.

He struggled to break into the first team at Stoke, however, and was sent out on loan to Championship teams Preston North End (twice), Derby County, Barnsley and Leeds United.

On 1 September 2008, Tonge signed for Premier League side Stoke City for a fee of £2 million.

He made his "Potters" debut in a 3–2 defeat to Everton at the Britannia Stadium on 14 September.

Tonge failed to establish himself in the Stoke squad and only made a further nine appearances in the 2008–09 season, of which only one was as a starter in the league.

Having been limited to just three League Cup appearances at the start of the 2009–10 season, he joined Championship side Preston North End on loan on 19 November 2009.

Manager Alan Irvine attempted to extend the loan deal, but was unsuccessful as Tonge played seven games for the "Lilywhites" before he was recalled from his loan spell at Deepdale on 31 December by Stoke manager Tony Pulis.

On 1 February 2010, Tonge signed for Derby County on loan until end of the 2009–10 season, with manager Nigel Clough saying Tonge had "proven pedigree".

Tonge scored his first goal for the "Rams" in a 2–0 win over Watford on 6 March.

His loan spell proved successful, and after Tonge scored twice in 19 starts, Clough attempted to secure his services on loan for the following campaign.

Still struggling for first team appearances at Stoke, Tonge returned to Preston North End on a month long loan on 17 November 2010, along with fellow Stoke teammate Danny Pugh.

This was extended until 16 January 2011 after he impressed manager Darren Ferguson with his consistency.

He scored his first goal for Preston in a 1–1 draw with Cardiff on 4 December.

Tonge completed a full pre-season prior to the 2011–12 season, playing in all but one of Stoke's games and scoring in the 3–1 friendly win against Austrian side SV Thal.

On 18 August, he made his first start of the season in Stoke's 1–0 Europa League play-off win against FC Thun, making his European debut in the process.

However, Tonge was subsequently left out of Stoke's 25-man Premier League and 23-man Europa League squads for the first half of the season, which meant he was only eligible to play in domestic cup and reserve team games.

He joined Leeds on a permanent basis in January 2013.

He joined Millwall on loan in January 2015, before he was released from Leeds in May 2015.

He signed with Stevenage five months later and was voted the club's Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season.

After his 18-month spell ended he joined Port Vale in July 2017.

He began his coaching career at Huddersfield Town in November 2020.

Born in Manchester, Tonge was signed as a youth team player by Sheffield United manager Steve Bruce when he was released by Manchester United.