Michael O'Connor
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Michael O'Connor (footballer born 1987)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Joseph O'Connor | ||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2009 | Crewe Alexandra | 77 | (3) |
| 2009 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2009–2012 | Scunthorpe United | 97 | (12) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2008 | Northern Ireland U21 | 3 | (2) |
| 2008– | Northern Ireland | 10 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:52, 8 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Michael O'Connor (born 6 October 1987, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Northern Ireland.
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Contents
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Club career
Crewe Alexandra
O'Connor was spotted by Crewe Alexandra scouts as a young teenager playing youth football in Northern Ireland. In 2004, shortly after he turned 16, he signed scholarship terms. He was a prominent member of the Alexandra youth team that reached the semi-final of the 2004 FA Youth Cup and he later captained the side.[1] In July 2005 he signed a three year professional contract.
On 25 February 2006, aged 18, he made his Championship debut when he came on as a late substitute for Gareth Taylor in a 2–1 win against Brighton. He made his second senior appearance for Alexandra in the club's final game of the 2005–06 season against Millwall on 30 April 2006. O'Connor replaced Lee Bell at half time and instantly made an impact, setting up two goals and hitting the post with his one shot.[2][3]
Crewe rejected a £1,000,000 offer from Derby County for O'Connor,[1] but he then fell out of favour at Crewe under manager Gudjon Thordarson.[1] After returning from his loan spell at Lincoln, O'Connor trained with Scottish Premier League club Hibernian.[1]
On 3 July 2009, Crewe accepted an undisclosed offer for O'Connor from Scunthorpe United.[4]
He was released by the club in May 2012.[5]
Lincoln City
O'Connor joined Lincoln City on a one-month emergency loan on 6 March 2009, a day before a Lincolnshire derby against Grimsby, as a short-term answer to the loss of Lee Frecklington. O'Connor returned to Crewe on 18 April 2009 after he was suspended for picking up 10 yellow cards that season.
International career
O'Connor, together with Tony Kane, Marc Wilson and Darron Gibson, was one of several Northern Irish footballers, involved in a dispute between the (Northern) Irish Football Association and the Football Association of (the Republic of) Ireland concerning international eligibility. Having initially represented Northern Ireland, O'Connor was persuaded to switch to the Republic of Ireland's U-21 squad for a brief period.[6][7] However, he subsequently decided to revert permanently to Northern Ireland, to whom he became irrevocably committed.[8]
Northern Ireland
O'Connor was a regular captain for Northern Ireland at every youth level up to under-20[9] and scored six goals at under-17 level.[10] However he initially chose to represent the Republic of Ireland at under-21 level before switching his allegiance back to Northern Ireland.[9] On 16 November 2007 he made his debut for the Northern Ireland U-21s, scoring in a 5–0 win against Luxembourg.[11][12] On 20 November he scored again for the U-21s in a 3–0 win against Moldova.[13]
On 6 February 2008 he also played against Israel.[14] All three of these games were qualifiers for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship. On 26 March 2008 O'Connor made his senior international debut for Northern Ireland in a 4–1 win against Georgia. During the friendly at Windsor Park, he came on as half-time substitute for Damien Johnson.[15]
Republic of Ireland
In October 2006 O'Connor was called up to play for the Republic of Ireland U-21s for a friendly against Luxembourg.[16] However he subsequently had to withdraw from the squad.[17] In February 2007 he was also selected for the Republic U-21 squad to play in the Madeira Cup,[18] but did not play in any of the three games involved.[8]
Personal life
While on Northern Ireland under-21 international duty in 2007, O'Connor was involved in a sex video that was published on YouTube.[19][20]
Statistics
-
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Club | Season | Domestic League |
FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2005–06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 1 | |
| 2007–08 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Total | 2005-2009 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 56 | 1 |
| Career totals | 2005-present | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 56 | 1 |
References
- ^ a b c d Mixu ponders Hibs bid for Crewe star O'Connor Scotsman.com, 24 April 2009
- ^ Michael O'Connor career stats at Soccerbase
- ^ Michael O'Connor Crewe Alexandra FC
- ^ Crewe Accept Bid For O'Connor Crewe Alexandra FC, 3 July 2009
- ^ "Cliff Byrne heads Scunthorpe United departures". BBC Sport. 10 May 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18018280. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
- ^ Wilson aiming to come of age Independent.ie, 18 October 2006
- ^ FAI responds over NI defections BBC Sport, 25 October 2006
- ^ a b I can be Northern Ireland's perfect middleman, says O’Connor Belfast Telegraph, 9 October 2008
- ^ a b O'Connor named in NI U21 panel BBC Sport, 7 November 2007
- ^ Michael O'Connor UEFA.com
- ^ Northern Ireland U-21s v Luxembourg[dead link] UEFA.com
- ^ NI U21 5-0 Luxembourg U21 BBC Sport, 16 November 2007
- ^ N Ireland U21 3-0 Moldova U21 BBC Sport, 20 November 2007
- ^ Srur strike revives Israel hopes UEFA.com, 6 February 2008
- ^ O'Connor marks senior debut for Northern Ireland Crewe Alexandra FC, 27 March 2008
- ^ Occy offered international switch Crewe Alexandra FC, 4 October 2006
- ^ Don Givens Forced to Make Changes Ahead of Luxembourg Friendly FAI, 16 October 2006
- ^ Changes to under 21 team SoccerScene.ie
- ^ IFA to probe under 21 footballers sex video[dead link] Tribune.ie, 9 December 2007
- ^ Occy shamed over sex video VitalFootball, 10 December 2007
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