Portsmouth transfer eliminated any doubt about Carlisle United favourite | OneFootball

The midfielder has gone onto achieve more than anybody thought he would.

Carlisle United's decision to sign Owen Moxon was an unquestionable gamble by the club, but it's one of the bits of recent recruitment that they have got absolutely spot on.

"He's one of our own. He's one of our own. (Insert name here), he's one of our own!"

There aren't many chants that you would rather do, as a football fan, than one that celebrates the success of a homegrown player.

In the case of Carlisle, Moxon wasn't homegrown in the way that most players are, i.e coming through the academy ranks and into the first team. He had to go about it in a slightly different way. He was released when he was 16-year-old by the club, but didn't give up on his dream of playing football.

Many years down the road, off the back of a very successful 2021/22 season with Annan Athletic in which he was included in the Scottish League Two Team of the Season, he was back in the Brunton Park ranks. Little did we know what the 26-year-old was going to do in a Carlisle shirt.

Owen Moxon's breakout season for Carlisle United

The midfielder was Paul Simpson's first signing in his first full season back at the club, after returning to help save them from relegation in the prior campaign. He spoke of his delight about capturing Moxon's signature, and said that it was now up to the player to show what he could do as a professional footballer.

"I’m really pleased that I’ve got it all agreed, and the challenge now for Owen is for him to show us that he can play at this level. I believe he has the capability, he’s got everything in his locker, and I’m really looking forward to working with him."

Carlisle's pre-season friendly against League One's Bolton Wanderers that summer was the first proper indication that the Blues had something special on their hands. He ran the show that day, outclassing the likes of former United midfielder Kyle Dempsey.

Those friendlies can be taken with a pinch of salt, but he kept on putting in strong performance after strong performance, and he ended up as the league's joint assist king.

The below pictures of Moxon and his three fellow Cumbrian teammates - Taylor Charters, Jack Ellis and Paul Huntington (who had gone to the same school as the midfielder) - were taken after Carlisle beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0 at Prenton Park. They stood arm in arm, lapping up the admiration of the travelling fans.

That bond that's created between supporters and a local player, or someone that has come through the academy, is unlike any other. There's that extra willingness to want them to do well.

In the case of Moxon, the 'one of our own' chant was particularly apt, because that's exactly what he was. Many of his friends and schoolmates would be in the crowd at games cheering him on. He was, and is, one of us.

The 26-year-old maintained his high levels, pushing Carlisle to reach the play-offs. He helped set up Callum Guy's goal in the second leg of the semi-final against Bradford City, and then won the Man of the Match award in the final, in which he scored the penultimate penalty to send Carlisle up to League One.

Owen Moxon proved any doubts about him to be wrong

Things didn't work out for Carlisle after their promotion. They went down with a whimper and sold their star man to Portsmouth - the eventual League One champions - late in the January window.

Even after making another big step up in his career, the midfielder continued to make effect big games, namely his thunderbolt against promotion rivals Derby County; a goal which put one Pompey hand on the league title.

This season has been a bit of a struggle for Moxon. A hip injury has largely kept him out of action until recent weeks. Pompey may need him to produce more heroics this season as they are currently struggling in the Championship.

Even if they were to get relegated, Moxon's short career as a professional, so far, has been nothing short of spectacular. He went from a UPS delivery driver to one of the best footballers in League Two in the space of a year. And now, around a year-and-a-half on from that Wembley victory over Stockport County, he is a Championship footballer.

Simpson set him the challenge of proving he was up to being at the requisite level for a League Two player. He's done that and some more, and then a bit on top of that too, truly putting any initial worries about whether he could play at a high level to bed.