Joe Murphy (footballer, born 1981)

Joe Murphy

Personal information
Full name	Joseph Murphy [1]
Date of birth	(1981-08-21) 21 August 1981 (age 43) [2]
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Tranmere Rovers
Number	13
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2002	Tranmere Rovers	63	(0)
2002–2005	West Bromwich Albion	6	(0)
2004–2005	→ Walsall (loan)	25	(0)
2005–2006	Sunderland	0	(0)
2005–2006	→ Walsall (loan)	14	(0)
2006–2011	Scunthorpe United	201	(0)
2011–2014	Coventry City	137	(0)
2014–2017	Huddersfield Town	9	(0)
2015	→ Chesterfield (loan)	0	(0)
2017	→ Bury (loan)	16	(0)
2017–2019	Bury	63	(0)
2019–2020	Shrewsbury Town	4	(0)
2020–	Tranmere Rovers	39	(0)
International career
2000–2002	Republic of Ireland U21	10	(0)
2003–2010	Republic of Ireland	2	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Republic of Ireland UEFA Euro U-16 Winner 1998 Scotland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:43, 1 December 2023(UTC)

Joseph Murphy (born 21 August 1981) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers.

Murphy began his career with Tranmere Rovers, and has since represented eight other clubs, making over 500 appearances in the Football League and playing twice in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion in 2002.

Born in Dublin, ^[2] he was capped twice by the Republic of Ireland at international level in 2003 and 2010.

Club career

Early career

With his first club, Tranmere Rovers, Murphy played in the 2000 Football League Cup final against Leicester City, before joining West Bromwich Albion in July 2002. ^[3] With his first touches in a Premier League game, Murphy saved a Michael Owen penalty following the sending off of Russell Hoult. ^[4] He spent the majority of the 2004–05 season on loan at Walsall. In August 2005, he moved from West Brom to Sunderland, but was again loaned to Walsall during 2005–06. ^[5]

Scunthorpe United

Murphy signed for Scunthorpe United in May 2006 after being released by Sunderland. ^[6] He had an excellent 2006–07 season, and was an integral part of the team that led Scunthorpe to the League One trophy. He was in the League One team of the season, and also won the golden glove (award for most clean sheets). He was also named League One player of the month for February 2007. ^[7] On top of this, he hit the crossbar during Soccer AM's crossbar challenge. His clean sheet in Scunthorpe's 2–0 home victory over Burnley on 30 September 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week. ^[8] He made the Team of the Week once more following his side's 1–0 victory over Charlton Athletic in February. ^[9]

Murphy enjoyed a good set of performances during the 2008–09 season but never caught the eye of Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni due to playing in the third tier. Murphy's performance in the League One play-off semi-final second leg against MK Dons helped the team proceed to the final as he kept a clean sheet in 120 minutes and saved two penalties in the shootout from Jason Puncheon and Jude Stirling. ^[10] Scunthorpe won the play-off final against Millwall. ^[11]

Murphy's contract was to end at the end of the 2008–09 season and there was much speculation as to where his future lay; many reports suggested that he would be moving to a much bigger club to gain international football for Ireland. This speculation was ended when he signed a one-year contract extension with Scunthorpe, extendable to 2011 if the Iron remained in the Championship. He told local newspapers that he signed the new deal because "He owed the club for all it has done for him".^{[ citation needed ]} He was selected as a member of the League One team of the year for 2008–09. ^[12]

Murphy was one of seven players to be released by Scunthorpe in May 2011. He was not offered a new contract because of cost-cutting measures implemented after the team was relegated. ^[13]

Coventry City

On 30 June 2011, Murphy joined Championship club Coventry City on a three-year deal. ^[14]

Huddersfield Town

Murphy signed for Championship side Huddersfield Town on a two-year contract, with the option of a further year in the club's favour, on 17 June 2014. Although expected to start as 2nd choice, he aimed to challenge Alex Smithies for the goalkeeper spot. ^[15] After making his début in the League Cup first round match against Chesterfield in August, he would make his league début against Sheffield Wednesday on 22 November 2014.

Chesterfield (loan)

On 9 May 2015, Murphy was sent on a week-long emergency loan to Chesterfield for their play-off campaign, following an injury to Tommy Lee. ^[16] Unfortunately, he couldn't help the Spireites get to Wembley, as they lost in the two-legged semi-final to Preston North End.

Bury

On 30 January 2017, Murphy signed a loan deal with Football League One side Bury to the end of the 2016–17 season, making sixteen first team appearances. ^[17] He left Huddersfield on 1 July 2017 to sign a full contract with Bury and made eighteen first team appearances in 2017–18. ^[18] Bury were relegated to League Two in May 2018 but Murphy's contract was extended by one year and he has played in every Bury match of the 2018–19 season to date. ^{[19] [20]}

Shrewsbury Town

On 4 July 2019, Murphy signed for League One side Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal, becoming the club's seventh summer signing. ^[21]

At the end of the season, Murphy was not offered a contract extension and was released by the club on 11 June 2020. ^[22]

Tranmere Rovers

On 22 August 2020, Murphy signed a 1-year deal to rejoin Tranmere Rovers. ^[23] Having made 21 appearances the previous season, this was extended by a further year on 10 June 2021. ^[24] On 26 May 2022, Murphy extended his stay for a further 12 months, taking on the additional role of goalkeeping coach while remaining on the playing staff. ^[25] At the age of 41 years and 187 days, Murphy became the oldest player to represent Tranmere Rovers, keeping a clean sheet against promotion-chasing Stevenage in a 1-0 away win on 25 February 2023. ^[26]

On 26 June 2023, Murphy signed a 4th consecutive 12 month contract, continuing his role of goalkeeping coach while remaining on the playing staff supporting new #1 Luke McGee as coach and understudy. ^[27] On 29 August 2023, he started in the EFL Cup against Championship leaders Leicester City, 23 years after playing in goal for Rovers against Leicester in the 2000 final. ^{[28] [29]} In April 2024, he signed a new one-year deal as player-coach. ^[30] On 27 August 2024, he started in the EFL Cup tie, again against Leicester City, who were now playing in the FA Premier League.

International career

Murphy is a former member of the Republic of Ireland national under-21 team and has been capped twice at senior level for the Republic. ^[31] His first senior international appearance came in a 2-2 draw in a friendly at Landsdowne Road on 9 September 2003 against Turkey having come on as a 76th minute substitute for Nick Colgan. ^[32] His second, and final appearance came over 7 years later in 2010 as he appeared as an 86th minute substitute for Kieren Westwood in a 3-0 friendly win over Algeria at the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds on 28 May 2010. ^[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 August 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tranmere Rovers	1998–99 [34]	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	1999–2000 [35]	First Division	21	0	2	0	4	0	—		27	0
	2000–01 [36]	First Division	20	0	0	0	1	0	—		21	0
	2001–02 [37]	Second Division	22	0	1	0	3	0	1 [a]	0	27	0
West Bromwich Albion	2002–03 [38]	Premier League	2	0	0	0	1	0	—		3	0
	2003–04 [39]	First Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2004–05 [40]	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Walsall (loan)	2004–05 [40]	League One	25	0	0	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	27	0
Sunderland	2005–06 [41]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Walsall (loan)	2005–06 [41]	League One	14	0	0	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	16	0
Scunthorpe United	2006–07 [42]	League One	45	0	3	0	2	0	2 [a]	0	52	0
	2007–08 [43]	Championship	45	0	1	0	0	0	—		46	0
	2008–09 [44]	League One	44	0	3	0	0	0	6 [b]	0	53	0
	2009–10 [45]	Championship	40	0	1	0	3	0	—		44	0
	2010–11 [46]	Championship	29	0	1	0	2	0	—		32	0
Coventry City	2011–12 [47]	Championship	46	0	0	0	1	0	—		47	0
	2012–13 [48]	League One	45	0	2	0	3	0	6 [a]	0	56	0
	2013–14 [49]	League One	46	0	5	0	1	0	1 [a]	0	53	0
Chesterfield (loan)	2014–15 [50]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	1	0
Huddersfield Town	2014–15 [50]	Championship	2	0	0	0	2	0	—		4	0
	2015–16 [51]	Championship	7	0	2	0	1	0	—		10	0
Bury (loan)	2016–17 [52]	League One	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
Bury	2017–18 [18]	League One	17	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	18	0
	2018–19 [20]	League Two	46	0	2	0	1	0	3 [a]	0	52	0
Shrewsbury Town	2019–20 [53]	League One	4	0	4	0	1	0	3 [a]	0	12	0
Tranmere Rovers	2020–21 [54]	League Two	13	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	9	0
	2021–22 [55]	League Two	17	0	0	0	0	0	3 [a]	0	20	0
	2022–23 [56]	League Two	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2023–24 [57]	League Two	2	0	0	0	2	0	2 [a]	0	6	0
	2024–25 [58]	League Two	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Career totals			579	0	27	0	28	0	38	0	664	0

1. Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy.
2. Five appearances in EFL Trophy; one in EFL League One play-offs.
3. Appearance(s) in the EFL League One play-offs.

International

As of match played 28 May 2010. ^[31]

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Republic of Ireland	2003	1	0
	2010	1	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Tranmere Rovers

• Football League Cup runner-up: 1999–2000 ^[59]
• EFL Trophy runner-up: 2020–21 ^[60]

Scunthorpe United

• Football League One: 2006–07; ^[61] play-offs: 2009 ^[62]
• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2008–09 ^[63]

Bury

• EFL League Two runner-up: 2018–19 ^[64]

Republic of Ireland U16

• UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1998 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2006–07 League One, ^[65] 2008–09 League One, ^[12] 2018–19 League Two ^[66]
• FAI Under-21 Footballer of The Year: 2002^{[ citation needed ]}
• Football League One Golden Glove: 2006–07 ^[67]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Tranmere Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 71. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream. p. 301. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
3. "West Brom land Murphy". BBC Sport. 13 July 2002. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
4. "Baros ends Liverpool frustration". BBC Sport. 21 September 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
5. "Murphy returns to Walsall on loan". BBC Sport. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
6. "Scunthorpe sign up keeper Murphy". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
7. "Murphy is handed League One prize". BBC Sport. 4 March 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
8. "Coca-Cola Championship Team of the Week (20/08/2007)" (PDF). The Football League. 20 August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
9. "Coca-Cola Championship Team of the Week (04/02/2008)" (PDF). The Football League. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
10. "Iron on the spot to reach final". thenorthernecho.co.uk. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
11. "Millwall 2-3 Scunthorpe". BBC. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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13. "Murphy and Mirfin exit Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. 20 May 2011.
14. "Coventry City sign sign Chris Dunn and Joe Murphy". BBC Sport. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
15. Thomson, Doug (17 June 2014). "Huddersfield Town sign Joe Murphy from Coventry City". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
16. "Experienced Keeper Signed on Loan". Chesterfield Football Club. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
17. "Bury sign goalkeeper Murphy on loan". BBC Sport. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
18. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
19. "Neil Danns: Bury offer new contract to veteran midfielder". BBC Sport. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
20. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
21. "Joe Murphy: Shrewsbury Town sign Bury goalkeeper on one-year deal". BBC Sport. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
22. "Retained List". Shrewsbury Town FC. 11 June 2020.
23. "Joe Murphy: Tranmere Rovers re-sign veteran goalkeeper". bbc.co.uk. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
24. "Joe Murphy signs new one year deal at Tranmere Rovers". tranmererovers.co.uk. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
25. "Joe Murphy: Tranmere Rovers goalkeeper signs new deal and takes on coaching job". bbc.co.uk. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
26. "Stevenage 0-1 Tranmere Rovers". tranmererovers.co.uk. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
27. "Joe Murphy: Veteran Tranmere Rovers keeper signs one-year deal and joins coaching staff". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
28. "Tranmere's Joe Murphy: 'Eight of the team weren't born when I made my debut'". Guardian. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
29. "Tranmere Rovers 0 Leicester City 2". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
30. "Joe Murphy signs new one-year deal as player-coach". www.tranmererovers.co.uk. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
31. "Joe Murphy". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
32. "Irish snatch draw with Turkey". BBC Sport. 9 September 2003. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
33. "Rep of Ireland 3-0 Algeria". BBC Sport. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
34. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
35. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
36. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
37. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
38. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
39. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
40. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
41. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
42. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
43. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
44. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
45. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
46. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
47. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
48. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
49. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
50. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
51. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
52. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
53. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
54. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
55. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
56. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
57. "Games played by Joe Murphy in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
58. "Joe Murphy | Football Stats | Tranmere Rovers | Season 2024/2025 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
59. "Leicester triumph at Wembley". BBC News. 27 February 2000. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
60. Pilnick, Brent (14 March 2021). "Sunderland 1–0 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
61. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2007). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2007–2008. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 47, 338–339. ISBN   978-0-7553-1664-9.
62. Fletcher, Paul (24 May 2009). "Millwall 2–3 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
63. Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
64. • "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    • "Bury: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
65. "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
66. "League Two: Lincoln and Bury dominate PFA selection of team of 2018–19". BBC Sport. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
67. The Football League (11 May 2007). "League To Honour Golden Six". The Football League. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

External links

• "Joseph Murphy". soccerscene.ie. TPL Design.
• Joe Murphy at Soccerway