Mark Anthony Hughes (born 9 December 1986) is an English former professional footballer who is assistant manager at Plymouth Argyle. An Everton academy graduate, Hughes also played for clubs Northampton Town, Walsall, North Queensland Fury, Bury and Morecambe. Career Early senior career Born in Liverpool, he joined Everton at the age of seven and progressed to the rank of reserve team captain. During his time at Everton, he spent a period in 2006 out on loan at Stockport County in League Two. He signed a new 1-year deal with Everton in April 2006 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2007. He was a regular captain for the reserves team and made three appearances in the Everton first team. He started in the Football League Cup game against Peterborough United on 20 September 2006 which Everton won 2–1, and came on as a substitute at half time against Luton Town in the following League Cup match which Everton won 4–0, as well as making his Premier League debut on 3 December 2006, being substituted on in the final minutes of a 2–0 victory over West Ham United at Goodison Park. He moved to Northampton Town on 31 January 2007 for an undisclosed fee and signed a two-year contract. He became a first choice centreback under Stuart Gray, and scored his first goal for the club against Rotherham United on 24 March. In June 2009 he did not take up an offer of a new contract with Northampton Town. On 8 July, Hughes signed for League One club Walsall on a free transfer. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win at Wycombe Wanderers on 31 October 2009. He was offered a new contract by Walsall on 10 May 2010. North Queensland Fury In June 2010, Hughes signed a contract with North Queensland Fury in the Australian A-League. The move came as a surprise, after signing contract acceptance forms with Walsall just one month earlier. He was given a role in the leadership group at the Fury upon arrival. Hughes quickly made a name for himself in the A-League, having to turn down contracts offered by several other A-League clubs midway through the season, including Sydney FC. In total, he scored four goals for the season including one penalty. He went on to be named the Fury's best player of the season at the