Throughout football there have been stories of players rising from non-league football despite failing to make it at bigger clubs or slipped through the net of professional football.
One of the biggest rollercoaster rides that any player has taken in their career is Malcom Christie, who went from the English sixth-tier to the Premier League.
Shelf-stacker at Somerfield
There was no academy start for Christie, whose secondary school PE teacher was a scout. He started his career playing Sunday football. He even played for multiple teams in his non-league days.
He played for his Sunday team, Deeping Rangers and sixth-tier Nuneaton Borough, as he loved playing the game. The amount of football he played may well have been related to his dad paying him £5 per goal scored, though. Unsurprisingly, Christie was lethal in front of goal.
Before his move to Nuneaton Borough, the forward was a shelf stacker in the supermarket chain Somerfield in his hometown of Stamford in Lincolnshire.
He was pretty happy playing Deeping Rangers at the weekends and enjoyed the banter and the camaraderie of just playing football with the lads. He didn’t really have any expectations of becoming a footballer.
A big move to Nuneaton Borough
A move to Nuneaton Borough in 1997 was a big step in Christie’s career. In fact, the switch got him moving up the football pyramid. However, Borough were still in the sixth tier of the English football pyramid.
In what seems like a crazy situation, Nuneaton at first struggled to meet Christie’s salary from Somerfield but, in the end, found a way to match his wages.
The forward admitted he didn’t even know where Nuneaton was in England and had to look it up on a map when he heard of the move. It turned out that Nuneaton was one and a half hours away from his home in Stamford.
He stayed at home, and his dad, who seems to have played a crucial role in Christie’s story, filled in as his chauffeur. Signing for Nuneaton was a shrewd move as he thrived in front of goal, scoring 12 goals in his first ten games.
The forward was so prolific in front of goal that he attracted the interest of several Premier League clubs, reportedly including the club he supported as a child, Manchester United, as well as Arsenal and Chelsea.
This interest excited Christie, as playing for United was his dream as a child. He even came close to joining the club’s supporters club so he could travel down to Old Trafford with his fellow United fans from Stamford for each home game.
However, his dad discouraged the move, as it would have affected his playing time, which would have had a negative effect on his own game.
In the big-time
Christie eventually made a big move, but it wasn’t to his beloved United. Instead, the forward joined Midlands outfit Derby County for a reported fee of £55,000 in October 1998.
He had previously been on trial at the Rams Midlands rivals Leicester City. However, it was County who won the race for the forward’s signature.
Although £55,000 isn’t a hefty fee by Premier League standards, even in 1998, it represented a tidy profit for Nuneaton. The deal was even better, considering that the forward had only played for the club for a few months.
Christie admitted that he was awe-struck at the move. He went into the club shop with his parents and bought a load of County merchandise, as he was so proud that he had made it to a Premier League club.
The forward even admitted to buying a replica shirt and a Derby sticker for the back of his car window. As he was previously playing non-league football, none of the shop workers recognised him.
Christie made a flying start for the Rams, scoring a brace in a 4-1 win over future employers Middlesbrough on his full debut.
There was another memorable moment for the forward during his time with the Rams, as he scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford against Manchester United that secured the Rams’ top-flight status.
His Derby County career consisted of 116 league appearances, in which he scored 30 goals.
In 2003, he moved to Middlesbrough in a deal potentially worth £5m that also included defender Chris Riggott. He played a part in Boro’s 2004 League Cup triumph, although he missed out on the final due to injury.
Unfortunately for the forward, injuries hampered his chances of becoming a success at the north east club. From when he joined until Boro released him in 2007, Christie made just 49 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals.
After his release from Middlesbrough, he started training with Leeds United in order to rediscover his fitness. In October 2008, he played in a reserves game for Leeds against Scunthorpe.
A month later, he was offered a deal with the Yorkshire club. Unfortunately for Christie, he made just five appearances for United before having to retire from the game in January 2009 due to a spinal injury.
It was a sad end to a career that promised so much. However, it seems the forward is thankful for the time he had in the professional game.
What is Malcolm Christie up to now?
Well, reportedly, Christie had carved himself out a career as a salesman of luxury cars, hopefully sans Derby stickers.
However, the forward has also released a book, and according to the Derby Telegraph, he is now looking into coaching, having acquired a UEFA A license.
He has spent time in the Middlesbrough youth coaching set-up while also working as a BBC Derby covering County.
Whatever happens in Christie’s life from now on, his achievement of making it all the way up the English football ladder to the Premier League is a proud achievement.
He comes across as a genuine, down-to-earth guy. Hopefully, he can now take all that he has learnt in his playing career into coaching.
His experience can benefit some of the upcoming generation of footballers. as he truly has a different perspective than many former players, and that can only be a good thing for the players he coaches in the future.