Mark Cullen (footballer, born 1992)

Born in Ashington, Northumberland,[2] Cullen spent his early years at Newcastle United's Academy before he was released from St James' Park at the age of 14.[4] He joined the Hull City youth system on a two-year scholarship in June 2008.[5] 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.[6] He was given a place in the team after scoring 27 goals for the youth team in the 2009–10 season.[7] He 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.[8] He scored his first goal in senior football in his first start for the "Tigers", in a 2–2 draw at Wigan on 3 May.[9] He then went on to start in Hull's last game of the 2009–10 season, a 0–0 home draw with Liverpool.[10]

Cullen scored his second and final goal for Hull in a 2–1 League Cup second round defeat by Brentford on 24 August 2010.[11] He made 17 Championship appearances in the 2010–11 season and in January 2011, Cullen, along with fellow youth team graduate Tom Cairney, signed a new contract with the club until the summer of 2013.[12] A few days later, Cullen joined League Two club Bradford City on a one-month loan; manager Peter Taylor had originally enquired about Cullen the previous year but at the time instead opted to sign Ryan Kendall.[13][14] He played four games for the "Bantams" before returning to Hull.[15]

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Cullen was loaned to League One club Bury for six months.[16] However he made only four appearances for the "Shakers" before returning to Hull in January 2012.[17] He featured in four Championship games for Hull in the month of March, but was otherwise absent from Nick Barmby's first-team plans.[17] On 7 August 2012, Cullen returned to Bury for a further loan period on the same day that manager Richie Barker left Gigg Lane.[18] He played in 12 games, scoring once in a 2–2 draw with Stevenage.[19][20] His loan spell was brought to an end on 18 October following a shin injury.[21] On 31 January 2013, Cullen went out on a month-long loan to Stockport County in the Conference Premier.[22] This was later extended until the end of the 2012–13 season.[23] Cullen scored two goals in a 2–0 win over Barrow on 12 March.[24] He scored a total of four goals in 16 games at Edgeley Park as Ian Bogie's "Hatters" were relegated into the Conference North.[25] In contrast, Hull won promotion back to the Premier League at the end of the season, however manager Steve Bruce allowed Cullen to leave on a free transfer after deciding not to offer the 21-year old a new contract.[26]

On 17 May 2013, Cullen signed for Conference Premier club Luton Town on a two-year contract.[27] He scored his first goals for the club in a 3–2 win over Lincoln City on 21 September.[28] Cullen was primarily used as a substitute for much of the 2013–14 season as the goalscoring form of Andre Gray and Paul Benson kept him out of the starting lineup. He came on as a substitute against Cambridge United to score a 90th minute "stunning" equaliser that kept Luton 15 points clear of their nearest title rivals on 11 March.[29] Cullen regained a place in the starting line-up towards the end of the season, scoring three goals in five games as Luton won promotion to League Two.[30] Cullen played 36 times and scored 10 goals in all competitions during the season,[31] and in May 2014, he signed a new three-year contract to keep him at Kenilworth Road until the end of 2016–17.[32]

Cullen was promoted to a regular starting place in the team for the 2014–15 season after Luton sold Andre Gray. He was named as League Two Player of the Month for October after scoring five goals, including a "perfect hat-trick" – scoring with his head, left foot and right foot – in a 3–1 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge.[33] However manager John Still revealed that the striker had expressed a wish to leave the club in February and an unnamed club made an approach to take him in on loan.[34][35] Cullen stated that he wished to play at a higher level and also wanted to move further north to be closer to his family.[36] He played in 47 games in all competitions, scoring 14 goals to end the campaign as Luton's top-scorer.[37]

On 30 June 2015, Cullen signed for League One club Blackpool on a three-year deal, who paid Luton a transfer fee of £180,000.[38] Manager Neil McDonald said that "he's an inter-link player who can go in behind and has said he will even play wide if he needs to" and set him a target of 20 goals for the upcoming campaign.[39] Cullen scored both goals in a 2–2 draw with Colchester United on his debut on 8 August.[40] He ended the 2015–16 season as the "Tangerines" top-scorer with nine goals in 43 games and Blackpool were relegated down to League Two. He scored 13 goals from 40 appearances in the 2016–17 campaign, again leaving him as the "Seasiders" top-scorer; this tally included a hat-trick against former club Luton Town in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals at Bloomfield Road.[41] Blackpool eliminated Luton and Cullen went on to score the winning goal as Blackpool beat Exeter City 2–1 in the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium.[42]

He was restricted to just nine appearances in the 2017–18 season after undergoing surgery to resolve a hamstring injury.[43] He signed a new one-year contract with Blackpool in May 2018, with the club retaining the option of a further year.[44] However he suffered a stress fracture on his leg in November.[43] He joined League Two club Carlisle United on 28 January 2019 on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[45] Carlisle manager Steven Pressley said that Cullen rejected the chance to join a League One club in order to go to Brunton Park, but admitted that the striker was still two weeks away from full fitness.[46] He made his first start for the "Cumbrians" at Colchester United on 23 February, and Pressley said that the side was weakened after he was taken off for fitness reasons on 69 minutes.[47] His injury problems continued after he suffered a grade two tear in his groin, which kept him out of action for six weeks.[43] He ended his loan spell without scoring for the "Blues" in three starts and six substitute appearances.[43] He left Blackpool after manager Terry McPhillips opted not to take up the option to extend Cullen's contract by a further 12 months; he was the club's longest serving player at the time of his departure.[48] He was a linked with a return to Bradford City, who were managed by former Blackpool boss Gary Bowyer.[49]

On 26 June 2019, Cullen signed a one-year contract with League Two club Port Vale.[50] He described the move as a "fresh start" following a long spell struggling with injuries as the club entered a new era with new owners in Carol and Kevin Shanahan, and a new manager in John Askey.[51] He scored in his first start at Vale Park, converting from the penalty spot in a 2–1 defeat to Burton Albion in the EFL Cup on 13 August.[52] He found first-team opportunities limited at the start of the 2019–20 season, but nevertheless boasted a record of four goals from four starts and six substitute appearances after a brace against Newcastle United U21 in the EFL Trophy on 12 November.[53] He again dropped down the pecking order, before replacing a suspended Tom Pope to score a brace in a 3–0 home win over Colchester United on 15 February to earn himself a place on the EFL team of the week.[54] He was offered a new contract after he ended the campaign with eight goals in 25 appearances.[55]