Mark Edward Boyd (born 22 October 1981) is an English former football player and manager. He scored 19 goals in 298 league and cup appearances in an 11-year career in the English Football League, Scottish Football League and Conference, and also later spent six years playing non-League football below the Conference level.
Beginning his career as midfielder with Newcastle United, he never made the first team and instead signed with Port Vale in 2002. After two years with the Vale, he moved north to the Scottish side Gretna via Carlisle United. Failing to make an impact, he returned to the Football League with a Macclesfield Town loan in 2005. After a short spell with Accrington Stanley in 2006, he joined non-League side Southport. He joined the Irish club Sligo Rovers in 2007 before turning to the English non-League scene with Barrow the following year. He joined Workington via Droylsden in 2011 before switching to Celtic Nation in June 2013. He helped Celtic Nation to a second-place finish in the Northern League in 2013–14 before taking up the management position for the 2014–15 season, after which the club was folded. He later played for Penrith and Carlisle City.
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Playing career
Mark was released from the Carlisle United school of excellence at the age of 14 and joined the Academy at Newcastle United after a successful trial. He left St James' Park in May 2002 on a free transfer to League One side Port Vale after being recommended to the "Valiants" manager Brian Horton by Bobby Robson. However, he suffered a broken ankle with a couple of months of the season remaining. Boyd never really forced his way back into the reckoning the following season as Vale were challenging for the play-offs in League One, and he was released by mutual consent in 2004 to join Carlisle United until the end of the season.