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Mike Carter |
After retirement from football, Mike formed his own self-build company and he built many individual large houses and was extremely proud of his work. Sadly, Mike began to develop heart problems and had his first major heart attack in 2005 at the age of 45 but his strength of character made him fight to live on. He had two further heart attacks but carried on working until he and his wife Anita, decided to take a holiday in the Philippines to meet their daughter, who was in the middle of a two-year travelling trip. After checking into their hotel with their son Paul, they got their heads down and were due to meet up with their daughter the following day. Tragically, it never happened. The next morning, Mike was sitting at the "island" in the kitchen of the villa they were renting, with a coffee in his hand when he suddenly collapsed from the stool he'd been sitting on and died instantly. Anita had the unenviable task of breaking the news to their daughter, then being faced with the heart-rending task of arranging to get Mike’s body home, all of which she bravely achieved.
This all happened back in November 2018 but somehow news never reached the outside footballing world. Anita and her family are now looking forward to spending a few days in Hereford next March and hope to visit Edgar Street to take in a game. In the meantime, Ron has put together the following summary of Mike’s footballing career, along with his own memories of Mike’s time at Edgar Street.”
Appearances: 91 (83+8 sub.) Goals: 37
Seasons played: 1982/83 to 1986/87
Born Warrington 18th April 1960, died Manila, Philippines 12th November 2018
Mike started as an apprentice at Bolton and was at Burnden Park for five seasons from 1977 until the summer of 1982, scoring eight times in 49 appearances. He doubtless had lots of memories from his time in Lancashire but one of them revolved around a match at Queens Park Rangers. He was tackled and landed up on the gravel track that ran around the ground, much to the mirth of fans in near proximity, who it’s fair to say, gave him a lot of stick. Incensed, Mike rolled over, grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it at the faces of the main culprits. One of the recipients lodged a formal complaint with the police and Mike was duly charged with assault and threatening behaviour, hauled up in front of the magistrates and fined a sum of £100. Mike kept his sense of humour and had the cheek to ask for time to pay! Before leaving Bolton, Mike had a couple of loan spells; firstly with Mansfield Town, where he scored four times in 18 games and secondly, for Swindon Town for five matches in March and April 1982. That summer, Mike signed for Plymouth Argyle but struggled to nail down a first-team place and by the end of February 1983, he had only played a dozen games.
Mike decided to cut his losses and became John Newman’s first signing for Hereford United in March 1983. Mike’s debut in a 4-1 defeat at Rochdale, coincided with Newman’s first game in charge and Mike went on to start every game until the end of the season. He signed full terms in the summer of 1983, only to miss the whole season through injury. Mike scored regularly in his second full season and his most memorable game was when he scored an FA Cup hat-trick in a 4-2 away win at Yeovil Town, the only one recorded in that competition by a Hereford player during their Football League days. Personally, I liked Mike for his guts and determination and although he was not the fastest winger I’ve ever seen, his ratio of goals per game spoke for itself. However, my lasting memory of Mike was not for goals scored but for a goal missed. On a frost-bound pitch, he had a last-minute chance to beat the mighty Arsenal at Edgar Street. The cross came over and with only the keeper to beat, he headed the ball downwards and it bounced back up for the keeper to tip it over the bar. I’ve replayed the video countless times over the years but the outcome is always the same! Over his four-year stay at Edgar Street, Mike went on to play 91 times for the club and scored 37 goals, an excellent return for a winger, of just over a goal every three games.
After leaving Edgar Street, he linked up with Wrexham on a free transfer and went on to score seven times in 34 games over two seasons but injuries took their toll and Mike was forced to end his career in the full-time game, having played 215 Football League games. Mike then joined Colne Dynamos in the Northern Premier League and had a short spell at Rossendale before signing for Accrington Stanley, where he spent just one season, making 25 appearances. At the end of the 1991/92 season, Mike went to the States where he wound up his career playing indoor soccer.