Where is Mark Draper now?
A talented midfielder who spent most of his Premier League playing career at Aston Villa and Leicester City retired from playing in 2003 after three seasons at Southampton. He did however make a brief comeback in 2009 when he signed for non-league Dunkirk.
Starting his professional career at the age of 18 at Notts County, he went onto make over 400 first-team appearances for five clubs including a loan spell in Spain with Rayo Vallecano. He arguably enjoyed the best football of his career at Aston Villa where he won the League Cup in 1996 and also won two call-ups to the England national side (although he was never capped).
Upon retiring from playing Draper moved to Spain where he spent a couple of years before returning to the UK to study for his coaching badges.
He then joined former club Notts County working within the club’s academy and also helped out as kitman because the club had no money before leaving in 2011 to join Stoke City coaching within their academy set up.
Having already obtained his UEFA ‘A’ and ‘B’ coaching badges, Draper joined non-league side Radford FC as a coach in 2012 before a brief spell in the same capacity at Arnold Town.
In 2013 Draper teamed up with ex-footballer David Norton and set up a football academy based in Nottingham which offers a football and education programme for 16-18 year olds. They also run an under-19’s academy at Nottingham University as well as working with younger age-groups through after school clubs and holiday camps.
Follow on Twitter @DraperNorton
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Mark Draper: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | English |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Appearances | 183 |
| Goals | 13 |
| Yellow Cards | 23 |
| Red Cards | 1 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Aston Villa, Leicester City, Southampton |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 6 July 2021 by Admin