Biography
Creative midfielder Jimmy Bullard has occupied many column inches since he signed for Hull City in January 2009, but it is worth remembering that beneath all the financial shenanigans, disputed contracts and questionable evening activities, when Hull City signed fringe England player Jimmy Bullard For £5 million it wasn’t just a club record fee paid, it was a massive paradigm shift for a small club realising it was now a big club. Bullard’s debut ended within ten minutes to a serious knee injury that required surgery (the knee had been damaged previously while Bullard was at Fulham) and it took him nine months to recover. He briefly showed good form when he returned in November 2009, scoring three goals in four appearances and sparking a temporary revival of City’s second Premier League season – he even made worldwide headlines when his goal celebration at the Etihad Stadium mocked Phil Brown’s on-pitch half-time team-talk the previous season. In December 2009 Bullard again injured a knee against Aston Villa while dualling with James Milner. He briefly returned at the fag end of that relegation season but made no impact.
His third season at City was again studded with injuries, a mooted season-long loan to Scottish Premier League side Celtic having fallen through. The season was also full of stories of Bullard’s wild nights out that ensnared other squad members, but he did play a few games and even contributed a marvellous last minute winner against Sheffield United on Boxing Day 2010. But continued disciplinary issues led to Jimmy being loaned to Championship side Ipswich Town between February and April 2011 where he scored five goals in 16 appearances and won a Player of the Season award. Returning to Hull during the summer of 2011, the Tigers suspended Bullard for misconduct on a pre-season trip and jettisoned him shortly afterwards.
James Richard Bullard was born in East London and raised in the South East London suburbs of Bexley. As a teenager he came into football by spending his teenage years playing for non-League sides in the London suburbs. He spent the 1998/99 season at Southern Premier League side Gravesend & Northfleet where he scored seven goals in 30 appearances and attracted the attention of Football League sides. In February 1999 he joined Premier League side West Ham United for a £30,000 fee but in two years he hadn’t had a sniff of the Hammers’ first team and was made available for transfer.
In July 2001 Bullard moved to League Division 2 side Peterborough United and it was at the Posh that Jimmy first made his name with eighteen months of goals and assists. His League debut came in August 2001 against Swindon Town and his first goal came a month later against Bournemouth. He ended his first season of senior football with eleven goals and he was again a prominent force for Peterborough during the 2002/03 season, taking his tally to fourteen goals in 77 appearances.
In January 2003 ambitious League Division 2 side Wigan Athletic paid £275,000 for Bullard and his promptings from midfield helped the Latics lift the League title and win promotion to League Division 1. For two seasons Bullard was ever-present for Wigan as they narrowly missed out on the play-off and then, in the 2004/05 season, won the Championship title and rose to the Premier League. Jimmy made his top flight debut against Chelsea in August 2005 and ended the season with four goals, taking his Wigan Athletic tally to eleven goals in 157 appearances – he also played in the 2006 League Cup final that Wigan lost 0-4 to Manchester United in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
In May 2006 Bullard transferred to Premier League rivals Fulham for a £2.5 million fee. After two goals in his first three starts for the Cottagers Jimmy suffered a dislocated kneecap in September 2006 that kept him out of the game for over a year. He returned to the Fulham first team in January 2008 and was a regular starter for the rest of the 2007/08 season as Fulham lifted themselves away from the threat of relegation. His good form continued at the start of the 2008/09 season and briefly attracted international interest, but a contract wrangle was not resolved and he was sold to Hull City in January 2009. He scored seven goals in 41 appearances for Fulham.
After being paid off by Hull City Bullard rejoined Ipswich Town in August 2011 and after starting the 2011/12 season as a first team regular Bullard was again dogged by injuries and disciplinary problems. He left the Tractor Boys in August 2012 having added one goal in 21 appearances and signed a short term deal at Milton Keynes Dons, but he made only three appearances before hanging up his boots in October 2012.
Bullard attempted a second career in football coaching and was first team manager at Isthmian League side Leatherhead during the 2016/17 season. He also launched a media career in 2014 when he was a contestant on the “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here…” insect-chomping show, which led to appearances on panel shows and comedy series. Between 2017 and 2023 he was a co-host of the Sky Sports football banter-fest Soccer AM, though that role ended when the show was cancelled in May 2023.
Bullard was called into the England squad for the first and only time in August 2008, but did not appear in either of the subsequent internationals.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 23 October 1978, Newham
Hull City First Game: 28 January 2009, West Ham United A (Premier League), 30 years, 97 days old
Hull City Final Game: 8 January 2011, Wigan Athletic H (FA Cup Third Round), 32 years, 77 days old
Clubs
Corinthian (1996-1997), Dartford (1997-1998), Gravesend & Northfleet (1998-1999), West Ham United (1999-2001), Peterborough United (2001-2003), Wigan Athletic (2003-2006), Fulham (2006-2009), Hull City (2009-2011), Ipswich Town (2011, loan), Ipswich Town (2011-2012), Milton Keynes Dons (2012)
Hull City Record
Career: 24 apps, 7 goals
Jimmy Bullard| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008/09 | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009/10 | 13 (1) | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010/11 | 5 (3) | 2 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |