Early life and career Daniel Ben Murphy was born on 18 March 1977 He started his career as a trainee at
Crewe Alexandra. Murphy praised the role of Crewe
manager Dario Gradi in his footballing education, considering him as his mentor. In November 2016, as the
United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal erupted, Murphy also strongly defended Gradi's reputation. Murphy made his
first-team debut for Crewe as a 16-year-old on 7 December 1993, coming on as a
substitute in a 3–2 away win over
Bradford City in the
Football League Trophy.
Liverpool kit during
Jamie Carragher's testimonial match in 2010 Murphy signed for
Premier League club
Liverpool in 1997 for an initial fee of £1.5 million. He made his debut as a substitute on the opening day of the 1997–98 season in a draw with
Wimbledon. However, he did not break into the team immediately and, after making just one league appearance for the club during the following season, he returned to Crewe on
loan, during which he helped save his old club from relegation. After the loan period ended, he went on to become a regular at Liverpool. Though naturally a
central midfielder, Murphy often played as a
wide midfielder due to competition for places, particularly from
Steven Gerrard and
Dietmar Hamann. Murphy's career at Liverpool included a cup treble in 2001 (
FA Cup,
UEFA Cup and
League Cup), a
Premier League second-place finish in 2002, and the
League Cup in 2003. During the 2001–02 season, when he established himself as a key member of the side, Liverpool's assistant manager
Phil Thompson praised Murphy, citing his versatility and describing him as 'probably the most tactically aware player that we have.' Although the 2002–03 season was overall a disappointing one for Liverpool, with the club dropping to fifth in the table, Murphy had a fine individual campaign which saw him score 12 goals and be voted the supporters' player of the season. He also started the
2003 League Cup final as Liverpool beat
Manchester United, having missed the
2001 final due to injury. He developed a habit of scoring the deciding goal in 1–0 wins away to Manchester United, a feat he achieved three times in four seasons (2000–01, 2001–02 and 2003–04).
Charlton Athletic Murphy signed for
Charlton Athletic in August 2004 on a four-year contract for a fee of £2.5 million. In his first season at Charlton, Murphy struggled to recapture the form that he had shown at Liverpool. However, in the first three months of the
2005–06 season he emerged as a viable option for England once more, and also won the
Premier League Player of the Month award for September, scoring several goals along the way.
Tottenham Hotspur On 31 January 2006, Murphy signed for
Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £2 million. He appeared only fleetingly in the remaining games of the season. Murphy scored his first Tottenham goal in a 2–1 win over
Portsmouth on 1 October 2006 after only 39 seconds of the game. He was unable to establish himself as a regular at Tottenham, but made clear later that despite reports in the media, there was no disagreement between him and Jol.
Fulham for
Fulham in 2009
Fulham took over Murphy's Tottenham contract on 31 August 2007. He cemented himself as a regular starter, kept his place in the team throughout the season and scored six goals in 43 matches. One goal, a rare header scored on 11 May 2008, gave Fulham a 1–0 win away at
Portsmouth and ensured their Premier League survival. Following the match, Murphy highlighted manager
Roy Hodgson's "key role" in the team's avoiding relegation. Murphy signed a new one-year contract, with an option for a further year, at the end of the season, and was appointed club
captain for the
2008–09 season. On 9 November 2008, Murphy scored his 100th goal at club level with a
penalty kick, as Fulham beat
Newcastle United 2–1. Murphy scored another penalty as, for the first time in 45 years, Fulham beat title-chasing Manchester United at home. The year's option on Murphy's contract was taken up during the season, but in August 2009, amid reported interest from clubs including Birmingham City and
Stoke City, he signed another extension, until June 2011. Murphy missed two months in the early part of the season with a knee ligament problem, but went on to captain Fulham to their first European final. They eliminated opponents including
Juventus, defending champions
Shakhtar Donetsk,
Bundesliga champions
VfL Wolfsburg, and
Hamburger SV to reach the
2010 UEFA Europa League final. Ahead of the semi-final, Murphy said that just reaching the final "would be one of the greatest achievements of our history". Fulham lost 2–1 to
Atlético Madrid to a goal scored just four minutes from the end of
extra time. in 2012 The
2010–11 season started without Hodgson, who left for Liverpool, and was replaced by
Mark Hughes. In October, Murphy made a controversial comment about managers responsible for dangerous tackles made by players. His comment was supported by some, but received heavy criticisms from other managers. In response to these criticisms, Murphy said his comments "were blown out of all proportion". In late-January 2011, Murphy signed another contract extension to keep him as Fulham until June 2012. Just one day after signing a new contract, Murphy scored his first goal of the season and then another, as Fulham beat his former club Tottenham 4–0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Murphy was praised by Manager Mark Hughes for helping the club turn things around and avoid relegation. Ahead of the
2011–12 season, Murphy believed he could play a major role and declared himself "fitter than ever". After making forty-nine appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions, he was released by Fulham at the end of the season as he and Martin Jol, who had replaced Hodgson's successor, Hughes, could not agree on a contract extension. In his last season at Fulham, Murphy created more goalscoring chances than any other player in the top-flight.
Blackburn Rovers in 2013 On 25 June 2012, Murphy signed for
Championship club
Blackburn Rovers on a two-year contract. He said that he moved to Blackburn to play regularly and that it was the right time to leave Fulham. He scored his first goal for Blackburn in a 2–2 draw with
Huddersfield Town on 6 November 2012. In March 2013, Murphy was succeeded as Blackburn captain by
Scott Dann. On 1 July, Murphy had his contract terminated by mutual consent despite being willing to stay at the club for another season. While at the club, Murphy was praised by manager
Gary Bowyer for his assistance during Bowyer's management career at Blackburn. ==International career==