Kieran Djilali

Kieran Djilali

Djilali playing for Crystal Palace in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Kieran Stephen Larbi Allen-Djilali [1]
Date of birth	(1991-01-01) 1 January 1991 (age 34) [1]
Place of birth	Lambeth, London, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
0000–2008	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	Crystal Palace	28	(1)
2009	→ Crawley Town (loan)	5	(0)
2009–2010	→ Chesterfield (loan)	8	(1)
2011	→ Chesterfield (loan)	10	(1)
2011–2012	AFC Wimbledon	12	(1)
2012	Portsmouth	1	(0)
2012–2013	AFC Wimbledon	5	(0)
2013–2014	Sligo Rovers	40	(7)
2014	Limerick	13	(2)
2015	Cork City	10	(2)
2016	Dulwich Hamlet	1	(0)
2016–2017	Three Bridges	14	(2)
Total		147	(17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kieran Stephen Larbi Allen-Djilali (born 1 January 1991), more commonly known as Kieran Djilali, is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. He played in the Football League with Crystal Palace, Chesterfield, AFC Wimbledon and Portsmouth.

Early life

Djilali attended Dunraven School in Streatham. ^[2]

Club career

Crystal Palace and loans

Born in Lambeth, London, ^[1] Djilali came through the academy at Crystal Palace, going on trial with Manchester United in mid-2007.

Djilali made his Palace debut aged 17, as a substitute in a 2–1 Football League Cup victory over Hereford United. ^[3] This was followed quickly by a string of first-team appearances in which he impressed.^{[ citation needed ]}

Djilali joined Conference Premier side Crawley Town on a month-long loan on 1 September 2009. ^[4] He returned from his loan spell early in late September, ^[5] having made 5 league appearances. ^[6]

On 13 November, he moved on loan to League Two side Chesterfield, ^[7] where he scored his first career goal in a game against Darlington on 21 November 2009. ^[8] On 15 December 2009, his loan was extended by a further month. ^[9]

He returned to Crystal Palace following his loan spell on 12 January 2010, ^[10] and scored his first goal for Palace against Doncaster Rovers on 27 February 2010. ^[11] He began the following season in Palace's first team but dropped out as manager George Burley sought to bring in more experienced players.

In February, he returned to Chesterfield for a second loan spell. ^[12] On 23 March, his loan at Chesterfield was extended to 16 April. ^[13] Djilali scored once in 10 matches as Chesterfield were promoted to League One at the end of the season. ^{[14] [15]}

When his contract at parent club Crystal Palace expired, he opted to leave Selhurst Park in the summer of 2011 to seek more game time.^{[ citation needed ]}

AFC Wimbledon

In July 2011, Djilali played on trial for Scunthorpe United, ^[16] but ended up signing for League Two club AFC Wimbledon on 26 August. ^[17] On 3 September, he made his debut for the club, against Port Vale. ^[18] On 10 March 2012, he scored his first goal for the club, against Dagenham & Redbridge. ^[19] In May 2012, Djilali was released from the club as his contract expired. ^[20]

Portsmouth

On 16 August 2012, Djilali signed a one-month contract with League One side Portsmouth. ^[21] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Bournemouth on the opening day of the League One season, but was released after just two weeks due to Portsmouth's tight wage budget, ^[22] with manager Michael Appleton putting Djilali's release down to his lack of fitness. ^[23]

Return to AFC Wimbledon

On 16 November 2012, Djilali re-signed for AFC Wimbledon on a short-term deal. Manager Neal Ardley said of the move: "Kieran has been with us for a month now. He has trained well and showed a very good attitude. He has the potential to play at a higher level but first he needs to prove himself with us. With the busy winter period coming on, we thought we should augment the squad and take the chance to have a good look at him in competitive action." ^[24] Djilali was released by AFC Wimbledon on 31 January 2013. ^[25]

Sligo Rovers

In March 2013, Djilali signed a contract with League of Ireland champions Sligo Rovers. ^[26] He made his debut on 8 March, against Derry City. ^[27] On 18 March, he scored his first goal for Sligo, against Bray Wanderers. ^[28]

Limerick

In July 2014, Djilali signed with League of Ireland side Limerick. ^[29]

Cork City

On 21 November 2014, Cork City announced the signing of Kieran Djilali from Munster rivals, Limerick ahead of the 2015 season. The winger made his debut as a substitute against former club, Sligo Rovers in a 1–1 draw at The Showgrounds. He scored his first goal for the Rebel Army after coming on late against Bray Wanderers, scoring the vital winning goal in a dramatic 1–0 victory.

Whilst at Cork, Djilali suffered a knee injury which he never fully recovered from and led to him leaving full-time football following his departure from the club. ^[30]

Dulwich Hamlet

After leaving Cork City, and following a period out of the game whilst he recovered from injury, Djilali joined Dulwich Hamlet of the Isthmian League Premier Division in September 2016, ^[31] going on to make his debut as a substitute against Grays Athletic in the Isthmian League Cup on 13 September 2016. ^[32]

Three Bridges

After making three substitute appearances in all competitions for Dulwich Hamlet, Djilali joined Three Bridges of the Isthmian League South Division on 17 October 2016.^{[ citation needed ]}

After football

After Djilali left the League of Ireland and full-time football, he took up youth football coaching. ^{[30] [2]} He attained a UEFA B License and worked as a coach at Fulham's academy, ^[2] and also operated his own coaching business. ^[30]

Honours

Chesterfield

• Football League Two (1): 2010–11

Sligo Rovers

• FAI Cup (1): 2013
• Setanta Sports Cup (1): 2014

Statistics

As of 20 July 2013

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Other [A]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crystal Palace	2008–09	6	0	0	0	2	0	–		8	0
	2009–10	8	1	2	0	1	0	–		11	1
	2010–11	14	0	0	0	2	0	–		16	0
	Total	28	1	2	0	5	0	–		35	1
Crawley (loan)	2009–10	5	0	0	0	0	0	–		5	0
Chesterfield (loan)	2009–10	8	1	0	0	0	0	–		8	1
Chesterfield (loan)	2010–11	10	1	0	0	0	0	–		10	1
AFC Wimbledon	2011–12	12	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	14	1
Portsmouth	2012–13	1	0	0	0	0	0	–		1	0
AFC Wimbledon	2012–13	5	0	0	0	0	0	–		5	0
Sligo Rovers	2013	17	3	1	0	2	0	3	0	23	3
Career total		86	7	4	0	7	0	4	0	101	7

A.  ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances (including substitutions) and goals in either the Football League Trophy, the Setanta Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

References

1. Hugman, Barry J. (2010). The PFA footballers' who's who 2010–2011. Mainstream publishing. p. 121. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
2. Ritson, Mark (22 November 2017). "Whatever happened to former Eagles youngster?". Croydon Advertiser. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
3. Moody, Graham (13 August 2008). "Warnock reveals half-time rage". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. Moody, Graham (1 September 2009). "Djilali goes to Crawley on quiet deadline day". Your Local Guardian.
5. Talbot, Bruce (25 September 2009). "Reds boss plays down play-off chances". The Argus. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
6. "Games played by Kieran Djilali in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
7. "Spireites sign Palace youngster". BBC Sport. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
8. "Chesterfield 5–2 Darlington". BBC Sport. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
9. "Spireites extend Djilali contract". BBC Sport. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
10. "Djilali returns to Palace". Sky Sports. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
11. "Doncaster 1–1 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
12. "Chesterfield sign Djilali on loan". BBC Sport. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
13. "Chesterfield extend Djilali loan". BBC Sport. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
14. "Games played by Kieran Djilali in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
15. Moore, Glenn (23 April 2011). "Chesterfield promoted to League One after Wycombe draw in Devon". The Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
16. "Trialists set to appear". scunthorpe-united.co.uk. Scunthorpe United FC. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
17. "AFC Wimbledon sign winger Kieran Djilali". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
18. "AFC Wimbledon 3–2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
19. "AFC Wimbledon 2–1 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
20. "AFC Wimbledon release nine players". London24. London: Archant Community Media. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
21. "New Faces at Fratton". portsmouthfc.co.uk. Portsmouth FC. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
22. "Djilali Leaves Pompey". portsmouthfc.co.uk. Portsmouth FC. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
23. Allen, Neil (31 August 2012). "Appleton criticises Djilali fitness". Portsmouth News. Portsmouth: Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
24. "Kieran re-joins the Dons". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
25. "AFC Wimbledon: Sullivan and Alexander among four arrivals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
26. "Kieran Djilali signs for Sligo Rovers". Extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
27. "Derry City 0–1 Sligo Rovers: Debut goal from Anthony Elding goves champions winning start". Goal. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
28. "Sligo Rovers 3–0 Bray Wanderers – Elding double sends Sligo top". Goal. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
29. "Djilali and Ndo sign for Limerick". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
30. Lucey, Dan. "Kieran Djilali: Many more players from the League of Ireland could go and play in England or other countries with a higher standard". extratime.com.
31. "Former Crystal Palace winger returns to south London".
32. "Dulwich Hamlet 4-0 Grays Athletic".

External links

• Kieran Djilali at Soccerbase