5 Karl Culley

Karl Culley, was possibly the most gifted goal scorer I can remember in the maroon & gold of Whitley. A local lad he worked his way up through the junior teams before being a part of the team during the last days of the old Heineken Premier League days and year at the Arena. With the end of imports at the bay, Karl became a very important player for the side over the next few years. With the arrival of Andrew Carter in 1999, Karl's game went from strength to strength. The 2 of them were best friends off the ice, and on it developed a very good partnership not unlike the dual goalscorers of Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand at Newcastle United. With Simon Leach returning to Whitley around the same time it meant the Warriors had a really strong top line that would certainly have been good enough to grace the top 2 divisions in Britain at the time. With the formation of the Vipers in Newcastle, in 2002, Karl was one of a number of Whitley players who made the move along the Coast Road. Despite not being fully appreciated by the fickle Vipers fans, Karl worked hard and eventually started seeing more ice time. How we missed him during those barren years of 2002-2006 where someone of his quality would have made a huge difference to the team. In 2007 he decided to leave the Vipers and return to Whitley so that he could play his last season back at his old club and end his career there. He combined playing with co-coaching the team with his good friend Andrew Carter. The season ended in style with the Warriors winning the ENL Championship Playoffs in Coventry, beating the Peterborough Islanders. The coaching duo had watched the team the week before on a scouting mission so as to learn how they would play and that paid off as Whitley won the trophy comfortably. Having announced his retirement and then played in his and Carter's joint testimonial, he hinted that his retirement might only last a year before returning. He would return in 2009 forming an effective top line with Adam Reynolds and Paul Windridge, clinching 2 more league titles along the way before retiring once again in 2011. Karl has been a part of every single championship success Whitley have had since 1999 and only missed out on one trophy win (the Northern League Finals in Dundee 2007, a matter of weeks before he returned to the team).

Karl's Honours while at Whitley
League Winners: 2002, 2011
Play Off Winners: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2011
Anglo-Scottish Cup: 2001
ENL Cup: 2002