STEPHEN  HALLIDAY

Height  5' 10"

Weight 11 11lbs

Forward

League Appearances  172 (77) - 3 (6) in Scotland

Stevie was born in Sunderland on the 3rd of May 1976.  He signed as a trainee for Hartlepool on the 5th of July 1994  He proved a popular player  making 114 (31) league appearances and scoring 26 goals.  While he was at Hartlepool he attracted the interest of Sunderland who offered £175,000 but Hartlepool felt he was worth more. The tribunal agreed, valuing him at £750,0000 and Sunderland pulled out of the deal. He moved to Motherwell on the 30th of May 98 for £50,000 but things did not go well there and he only made 3 full league appearances.  On the 14th of February 2000 he signed for Carlisle on the recommendation of then player Shaun Teale

Halliday made his debut away at Rotherham.  Carlisle lost the match 4-2 in a game where Leo Fortune West grabbed a hat trick but Stevie played well and grabbed a goal in the 43rd minute, side footing the ball home. The next game, round 2 of the LDV trophy saw Halliday score again. then in the next league game 26th of February he scored a vital goal against Shrewsbury at home for a 1-1 draw. 3 goals in 3 games, Halliday was fast becoming a vital member of the team.  His next game came against York, away on the 11th of March. Speculation was rife that coach Martin Wilkinson would be sacked if this game ended in defeat.  Halliday scored a spectacular goal in the 60th minute when his 20yard shot beat York's keeper Fettis. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.  The next game Halliday went one better, scoring two goals in the 3-1 home win against promotion chasing Barnet.  His first goal in the 42nd minute came after he got the ball on the edge of the box, after beating two defenders  he almost casually placed the ball in the net.  His second came in the 51st minute with a perfect lob over the Barnet keeper. Stevie's next game came at home against Swansea on the 28th of March. Searle had already scored in the first half, Halliday's goal came in the 59th minute for a 2-0 score line.  In the vital Chester away game on the 8th of April Halliday  got a red card, apparently for dissent, from Carlisle's favourite referee Mr Kevin Lynch. he was ordered off after Stuart Whitehead had suffered the same fate.  Hallidays last goal of the season came in the home match with Darlington on the 29th of April a 1-1 draw, that gave United some hope that they could escape relegation on the last day. United lost at Brighton but the other results meant that it was Chester who were to drop out of the league.  After the match it was revealed that Halliday and team mate John Durnin had been caught dringking in a night spot in Brighton in the early hours before the game.  Both were dismissed from the club and fans were left  with  mixed feelings, very let down but also knowing that  Hallidays goals had made the difference in the final games of the season and they had seen a talent not often seen in div 3.

Rumours circulated from the start of the season that Halliday was to return to Carlisle. He had signed with non league Doncaster Rovers on the 23rd of July, making 7 (4) appearances but was thought to be unsettled there.  He resigned for Carlilse on the 21st of October and immediately went into the squad for the Torquay away game, he  came on from the bench in the 62nd minute, replacing Lemarchand.  The talent was still there but Stevie seemed to have put on weight and struggled for fitness. Halliday only made 4 starts, the first round of the LDV Trophy against Kidderminster, Scunthorpe at home, Southend away and Hull on the last day of the season.  However he appeared in nearly every game, coming on  in the second half, often replacing Stevens but at other times one of the midfielders. His ability to beat defenders was still very obvious but this season did not bring the goals, scoring only one at Cardiff away on the 17th of March.  The match had already been won by Cardiff when Stevie came on in the 76th minute.  Working with Cullen he broke forward and scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute, to make the result 4-1.

The 2001/02 season saw Stevie Halliday much more involved in first team action. He started the first 13 league games, scoring three times in this period.  His first goal of the campaign came in the 2-2 draw away at Darlington on the 8th of September.  Stuart Elliot booted the ball up field, the ball hit a Darlington defender and soared into the air. Halliday was the quickest to react bringing the ball under close control  and passing the ball into the net past the stranded keeper. His next goal came at home on the 22nd of September in the 2-2 draw with Lincoln City. United were behind and  had wasted chances from the start and it was beginning to look like one of those days!   Halliday  made the break through in the 29th minute when Foran headed the ball on to Stevie who had space and time to score, his shot hit the upright and rebounded straight back,  he buried the second attempt.  The next came  with 10 minutes gone in the home match against Bristol Rovers on the 6th of October, a nervy affair after two away defeats. A good tackle by Murphy got the ball through to Winstanley down the left and his cross found Stevie on the near post who took the chance with ease.  Stevie had to wait a while for his next goal which didn't come until January.  December has seen the return to favour of veteran striker Ian Stevens and for the rest of the season Hallidays chances were more limited although he made an appearance in most games usually coming on in the second half  as Ian tired.  Stevie's  fourth goal of the season came at home to Rushden and Diamonds on the 22nd of January. United's confidence was high, the team had finally clicked and after a poor performance against a niggley Rushden away in December the blues had a point to prove, which they did in style with a 3-0 win. Stevies goal was the last of three, in the 65th minute Green put a cross into the box, Foran headed it back to the far post and Hallie was there to volley home. The next match was away at high flying Rochdale and fans remembered the 6-0 humiliation suffered at Spotland the previous season.  This match was a totally different affair with chances and good defending from both sides, the match ended in a 1-1 draw with Carlisle scoring first.  Halliday and Foran  passing the ball back and forth at the edge of the box before Stevie saw the opening and fired into the bottom corner in the 18th minute.  Stevie's last two goals  were both scored at Kidderminster away on the 9th of February. They should have been more than enough for us to win the match which eventually ended in a 2-2 draw.  Kidderminster were one up when in the 25th minute Michael Jack  saw Stevie on a run and sent a perfectly judged ball forward for  Stevie to stroke into the net. In the 57th minute  it was Stuart Green's turn to feed the striker, laying the ball on for him to again  find the net.

Stevie is yet another Carlisle player released at the end of the season, a player with undoubted talent, at his best he can beat any defender with his tricky play, sometimes guilty of a touch too many, often suffering from being left to hold up the ball with no options to get rid of it. When Stevie has the ball, it might be a an invitation for a defender to steal but it might be that little touch of magic rarely seen in the lower divisions.

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