Of all of John Coleman's many ex-Accrington signings, Ray Putterill was one that briefly did excite Rochdale supporters - despite making just one league start for the club.

Position: Left Winger

Appearances: 18

Goals: 0

Arrived from: Southport

Left for: Hyde United

An all-action winger who could hardly be accused of shying away from the spotlight, Putterill's many substitute cameos for Dale provided some excitement although he was never likely to edge out Bobby Grant for a starting position at Spotland.

Another player having come through the ranks at Liverpool, where he was an FA Youth Cup winner in 2007, Putterill was named on the bench for the first-team for the Reds on one occasion as a youngster and he earned the nickname 'Razor' at the club, partly for his first-name but also for the similarity in aggressive playing style to former Reds defender Neil 'Razor' Ruddock.

That playing style was perhaps to be to Putterill's detriment though as he suffered terrible luck with injuries as a young player, a fractured spine sustained in an England Schoolboys fixture against Ireland being just one of many injuries he suffered. Unfortunately, his Liverpool dream came to an end in 2009, as he struggled to overcome complications from a hip injury that left him missing out on the majority of the season for the reserves at Anfield.

After briefly turning out for amateur outfit Halewood Town of the Liverpool County Premier League, he found himself a home at Accrington Stanley, as many of his previous Liverpool youth team-mates had done before. He quickly endeared himself to the Crown Ground faithful in the League Cup, scoring in a comeback win over Doncaster Rovers to set up a huge tie against the mighty Newcastle United - a game in which he also scored, drawing Stanley level in first-half injury time before they eventually succumbed to a 2-3 defeat.

Putterill was at the centre of a controversy not long after this though, as it was discovered that he had played an EFL Trophy game while under an FA suspension that had come as a result of an incident during his time at Halewood where he had used 'improper or insulting behaviour'. This led to Accrington withdrawing from the competition.

With fitness still an issue, Putterill would return from the ban in October and go on to make a total of 24 league appearances. Accrington would make it into the play-offs where they would miss out on a Wembley trip following a semi-final defeat to Stevenage, but Putterill's time at the club was over by this point following the expiration of his short-term deal and he quickly joined Southport in non-league. However, discipline again was an issue for the fiery winger and he was sent off for foul and abusive language in only his second game for the Sandgrounders, leading to him being sent on loan to Vauxhall Motors - where he failed to make a single appearance.

Given that Putterill's hopes of a career in the game appeared to be quickly disappearing, it was something of a surprise when he managed to earn himself a non-contract deal to join Rochdale in August 2012. Clearly offered the opportunity as a last chance saloon from former boss Coleman, Putterill played like his life depended on it at times and indeed his career did - but fitness and discpline again appeared to be the problem.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 4-2 away defeat at Torquay United and an exciting performance in a 2-2 EFL Trophy draw with Fleetwood, which he marked with a brilliantly-taken goal before converting in the penalty shoot-out, saw many fans clamouring for Putterill to be given opportunities in the first-team, but given his history it's fair to assume there may have been some issues behind the scenes that we weren't privy to, either in terms of injuries or discipline.

His only start came not long after that win over the Cod Army, but he was withdrawn in the second half of a 0-1 home defeat to Burton Albion. His low centre of gravity, fearsome shot and turn of pace made Putterill a player that seemed to have serious potential, but perhaps by this point his body had already been through the ringer given the myriad of surgeries he'd undergone as a youth player at Liverpool.

After making a total of 17 substitute appearances in the league to add to his solitary start, Putterill found himself without a club once again after being released alongside fellow former Accrington man Ian Craney in January, not long before John Coleman would depart the club.

From here, his career consisted largely of short-term spells with plenty of north-west based non-league outfits. He joined Hyde for the remainder of the 2012/2013 campaign but managed just one appearance, before playing one game for Formby the following season. Eventually, he arrived at Marine in 2016 following a spell back in the Liverpool County Premier League with Waterloo Dock, but played just twice for the Mariners before returning to the amateur game with Aigburth Peoples Hall.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters