James O'Connor (footballer, born 1979)

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For other people of the same name, see James O'Connor (disambiguation).

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James O'Connor
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O'Connor playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2009
Personal information
Full name James Kevin Matthew O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (1979-09-01) 1 September 1979 (age 44)[2]
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Louisville City (Head Coach)
Youth career
1994–1996 Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2003 Stoke City 176 (16)
2003–2005 West Bromwich Albion 30 (0)
2004–2005 → Burnley (loan) 13 (0)
2005–2008 Burnley 126 (11)
2008–2011 Sheffield Wednesday 139 (6)
2012–2014 Orlando City 41 (0)
Total 525 (33)
Managerial career
2013–2014 Orlando City (assistant)
2015– Louisville City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:28, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

James Kevin Matthew O'Connor (born 1 September 1979) is a former Irish professional footballer currently head coach of Louisville City.[3] He has played for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s.[4]

O'Connor began his career with Stoke City and after progressing their youth team he helped them to victory in the 2000 Football League Trophy Final and 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final. After making over 200 appearances for the Potters he left to join Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2003. He spent one season at the Hawthorns before moving on to Burnley. O'Connor became a regular at Turf Moor making 149 appearances in four seasons at the club. In June 2008 he joined Sheffield Wednesday where he had spent four years making over 150 appearances. In January 2012 he decided to move to the United States to play for Orlando City. He retired from playing in the summer of 2014 to become head coach of Louisville City.

Club career

O'Connor was born in Dublin and joined English club Stoke City in 1996 after being spotted by the club's Irish base scouts. He made his debut in the 1998–99 season before becoming a regular in the team in 1999–2000. He scored eight goals in 55 appearances as Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to Gillingham although he did play in the 2000 Football League Trophy Final where Stoke beat Bristol City 2–1 and his performances during the season earn him the player of the year award. He played 54 times in 2000–01 for Stoke scoring ten goals as they again failed in the play-offs losing to Walsall. He played in 50 matches in 2001–02 as Stoke finally won promotion via the play-offs, beating Brentford 2–0 in the 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final. He played 47 times in 2002–03 helping Stoke avoid relegation before he turned down the offer of a new contract.[5]

He moved to West Bromwich Albion in summer 2003 for a fee of £250,000 and made his debut in the 4–1 defeat to Walsall. He spent a successful three-month loan spell with Burnley in 2004–05. That season he made only two substitute appearances for West Bromwich Albion and moved to Burnley permanently to pursue first-team football, signing on transfer deadline day in 2005 for a £175,000 fee where he became a popular player with the fans.[6]

His form at the start of the 2006–07 season at Burnley was among the best of his career. However, by the start of the 2007–08 season he seemed to be relegated to a squad player's role. The departure of Steve Cotterill as Burnley manager brought Owen Coyle in and he immediately restored O'Connor to the starting eleven. O'Connor responded by resuming his previous good form as the team's results improved. He was offered a new contract at the end of the 2007–08 season but when O'Connor asked for more time to consider his options, Coyle withdrew the offer and released him. O'Connor confirmed in an interview on BBC Radio Lancashire on 23 May that he was about to start a coaching course before deciding on his future.[6][7]

O'Connor confirmed his move to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on 27 June 2008 following a month of speculation surrounding the move in the press.[8][9] He joined the club on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling after turning down the offer to extend his stay at Turf Moor.[10]

On 10 January 2012, O'Connor signed with American third-tier side Orlando City of USL Pro.[3] He became a player-coach in 2013 with the team. He is now the manager of Louisville City (Orlando City sold their rights to a USL Pro team to an investor group in Louisville, Kentucky). Louisville City is the affiliate of the MLS side Orlando City.[11]

International career

O'Connor has played for the Republic of Ireland at Under-21 level.[4]

Personal life

O'Connor's two brothers, Danny and Kevin both play for Bray Wanderers.

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1998–99 Second Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
1999–2000 Second Division 42 5 1 0 3 0 9 3 55 8
2000–01 Second Division 44 8 1 0 5 2 4 0 54 10
2001–02 Second Division 43 2 4 0 0 0 3 1 50 3
2002–03 First Division 43 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 47 0
Total 176 16 9 0 9 2 17 4 211 22
West Bromwich Albion 2003–04 First Division 30 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 36 0
2004–05 Premier League 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Total 30 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 38 0
Burnley 2004–05 Championship 21 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 23 2
2005–06 Championship 45 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 49 3
2006–07 Championship 42 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 44 3
2007–08 Championship 29 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 33 3
Total 137 11 4 0 8 0 0 0 149 11
Sheffield Wednesday 2008–09 Championship 41 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 43 0
2009–10 Championship 44 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 46 3
2010–11 League One 36 2 4 0 2 0 3 2 45 4
2011–12 League One 18 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 22 1
Total 139 6 7 0 6 0 4 2 156 8
Career Total 482 33 22 0 29 2 21 6 554 41
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League play-offs, and Football League Trophy.

Honours

Stoke City

Orlando City

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com/news/teamnews/index.html?article_id=626
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ .Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/soccer/blog/os-orlando-city-usl-franchise-transfer-louisville-20140603,0,476606.post

External links

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