Mark Bright

He lost his first-team place in the 1996–97 season and was loaned out to Millwall, also spending time at Swiss club Sion, who were unable to play him in competitive fixtures after failing to agree with Sheffield Wednesday.

He helped the club to win promotion to the Premier League with victory in the 1998 First Division play-off final before announcing his retirement the following year shortly before his 38th birthday.

[8] A clumsy attempt to combat the racism from the headteacher in a school assembly worked and the boys began to be accepted by the other children due to their natural footballing ability.

[13] Manager John McGrath handed him his full debut on the last day of the 1981–82 season, in a 2–0 win over Torquay United at Vale Park, two weeks after coming on as a substitute in a goalless home draw with York City on 1 May 1982.

[1] In the game against Torquay, he provided as assist for Paul Bowles, although missed an opportunity to score himself, telling a local reporter that, "I was waiting for the ball to bounce instead of having a go straight away".

[20] Lineker finished as the First Division's top-scorer but was sold to Everton in the summer of 1985, leaving Bright with an opportunity to establish himself in the starting eleven at Filbert Street.

[22] However, he struggled to match this performance for the rest of the campaign and lost confidence, which was worsened when a section of the Leicester crowd turned on him with racially aggravated abuse.

[27][28] The initial contract was only a temporary three-month deal as there were medical concerns with his Osteitis pubis, meaning that if he was unfit at the end of this period he would be returned to Leicester.

Bright was named on the PFA Team of the Year and earned the Golden Boot for the highest scorer in the division in 1987–88 with 24 goals, although the club finished one place and two points outside of the play-offs.

[34] He ended the 1989–90 season with 12 league goals, including a brace against Manchester United at Old Trafford, helping the team to finish five points above the relegation zone.

[39] The potency of Bright and Wright's partnership was demonstrated on 25 September, when both players scored hat-tricks in an 8–0 win over Southend United at Selhurst Park in the League Cup.

[40] Palace went on to win the Full Members' Cup, beating Bristol Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Norwich City and then Everton in the Wembley final, with Wright scoring a brace in extra-time.

[42] Bright scored Crystal Palace's first-ever Premier League goal on the opening day of the 1992–93 in a 3–3 home draw against Blackburn Rovers before being sold on to Sheffield Wednesday.

[43] Bright joined Sheffield Wednesday on 11 September 1992 in a cash plus player exchange deal involving fellow striker Paul Williams that was rated at a total transfer value of £1,375,000.

[44][28] The Wednesday players were experienced and at the peak of their careers; manager Trevor Francis was eager to win trophies at Hillsborough and felt Bright would prove a good partner to club stalwart David Hirst, particularly with the highly talented Chris Waddle in midfield.

[46] Wednesday also reached the final of the FA Cup, where they would again face Arsenal, with Bright scoring an extra-time header against derby rivals Sheffield United to secure victory in the semi-finals.

[48] Bright finished as the club's top-scorer for three consecutive seasons, eventually became the "Owls" highest goalscorer in the Premier League as of December 2019, scoring 48 goals between 1992 and 1996.

[51] Having been almost entirely frozen out of the first-team during the 1996–97 season, Bright was loaned to South London derby rivals Millwall in the Second Division and scored on his debut for the "Lions" in a 1–1 draw at AFC Bournemouth.

[54] Despite being unwanted at Leicester, the club still demanded a transfer fee of £60,000, which Sion chairman Christian Constantin refused to pay, which meant that Bright trained with the squad at Stade Tourbillon but was unable to feature in any competitive games.

[58] Manager Alan Curbishley was keen on experienced players to bolster his young squad, therefore signed Bright to a one-year deal in the summer.