Liam O'Brien (footballer, born 1964)

Last updated

Liam O'Brien
Personal information
Full name William Francis O'Brien [1] [2]
Date of birth (1964-09-05) 5 September 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Stella Maris
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1982–1983 Bohemians 5 (1)
1983–1986 Shamrock Rovers 70 (21)
1986–1988 Manchester United 31 (2)
1988–1994 Newcastle United 151 (19)
1994–1999 Tranmere Rovers 181 (12)
1999–2000 Cork City 27 (4)
2000–2002 Bohemians 7 (0)
Total472(59)
International career
1986 League of Ireland XI 2 (0)
1986–1996 Republic of Ireland 16 (0)
1989 Republic of Ireland U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Francis "Liam" O'Brien (born 5 September 1964) is an Irish former footballer who played for Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tranmere Rovers and Cork City.

Contents

Club career

O'Brien began his career with the schoolboy club Stella Maris. He began his senior career under Billy Young at Bohemians where he was also a youth international representing his country at the 1983 UEFA European Under-18 Championship where Ireland were knocked out despite not losing a game.

In April 1983 he played for the League of Ireland XI U21s against their Italian League counterparts who included Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in their team. [4]

After only five League appearances, he signed for Shamrock Rovers in September 1983. The midfielder had Rovers blood in him as his grandfather Tom Caulfield was a regular in the first team at Glenmalure Park in the 1920s.

After having won his third League of Ireland title with Shamrock Rovers in 1986, and making six appearances in European competition and 118 total appearances, O'Brien became Ron Atkinson's last signing as manager of Manchester United. He joined the Reds for an initial fee of £50,000. [5]

With the club not recovering sufficiently after losing their first three league games of the season, a League Cup loss to Southampton saw Alex Ferguson take over from Atkinson as manager in November 1986, with O'Brien making his debut a couple of games into Ferguson's tenure, in a 2-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford on 20 November 1986. [6]

O'Brien would play nine times that season, including a record-breaking appearance in an away game at Southampton in January 1987 where he was sent-off just 85 seconds, compounded by the fact the game was live on television back home in Ireland. [7] The dismissal,a then English top-flight record, is still the quickest in club history. [8] The majority of his appearances in the 1987–88 season were as a substitute, and, frustrated by lack of first-team opportunities, he joined Newcastle United in a £275,000 move in November 1988, after 36 appearances (31 in the League) & two goals for Manchester United.

His career at St James' Park brought mixed fortunes. O'Brien suffered relegation from the top flight in the 1988–89 season. However, he played a major role as Newcastle won the First Division title in 1993, making 33 appearances and scoring six goals.

O'Brien found himself surplus to requirements as Newcastle rejoined the top flight and subsequently made a £350,000 move to Tranmere Rovers after a successful loan period. After Tranmere, he signed for Cork City, where he played in the UEFA Cup before returning to Bohemians in 2000 as player-coach. He enjoyed some great European nights during this season as Bohs knocked out Aberdeen and beat 1.FC Kaiserslautern. He also played a part as Bohs won the League and Cup Double before retiring as a player.

International career

O'Brien played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team that qualified for the 1983 UEFA European Under-18 Championship where despite remaining unbeaten in a group that included eventual winners France they were eliminated. He was also a Republic of Ireland international, winning his first cap while still at Shamrock Rovers. In all he won 16 caps as well as an U23 cap and was part of the UEFA Euro 1988 squad.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, O'Brien had spells as assistant manager at Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers. He was appointed first team coach of Hibernian in November 2011 by Pat Fenlon. [9] O'Brien left Hibernian after the end of the 2012–13 season. O'Briens last coaching role was at Sligo Rovers who he joined in 2015. [10]

Honours

Club

Shamrock Rovers

Newcastle United

Individual

Sources

Related Research Articles

Aaron Joseph Callaghan is a football manager and retired player. He played in the Football League for Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Fenlon</span> Irish football player and coach

Patrick Fenlon is an Irish football coach and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Quigley</span> Irish footballer

Mark Quigley is an Irish former professional footballer who played for Millwall, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Dundalk, Sligo Rovers and Derry City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killian Brennan</span> Irish retired footballer

Killian Brennan is an Irish retired footballer who played as a midfielder in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen O'Donnell (Irish footballer)</span> Irish footballer and manager

Stephen O'Donnell is an Irish professional football coach and former player. During his playing career the clubs he played at were Arsenal, Falkirk, Bohemians, Cork City, Galway United, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.

Vincent Thomas Arkins is an Irish retired footballer who played as a striker during a 20-year career. He is most notable for his time with Portadown in Northern Ireland, where he is their all-time leading goalscorer and also briefly managed the club on an interim basis after retiring. He also played for clubs in his native Republic of Ireland, Scotland and England.

Terry Eviston was a footballer who played for Home Farm, Bohemians, Athlone Town A.F.C., Dundalk F.C. and two spells with Shamrock Rovers. He is the current manager of Raheny United in the Women's National League (Ireland).

Jason McGuinness is an Irish footballer.

Michael Byrne is an Irish footballer who played during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Anthony Gerard Whelan is an Irish former soccer player who played during the 1970s and 1980s.

Seán Thomas was an Irish football manager.

Mark O'Brien is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

David Martin Campbell is an Irish football coach and former player. He is opposition analyst and head of recruitment at Sligo Rovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Bermingham</span> Irish professional footballer

Ian Bermingham is an Irish former professional footballer who spent 13 seasons with League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patricks Athletic, where he was club captain and is the all-time appearance record holder. He previously spent two seasons at UCD and a season at Shamrock Rovers.

Liam Buckley, is an Irish former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made two appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Christopher Joseph Fagan, known as Chris or Christy Fagan, is a retired Irish footballer who played as a forward. He last played for St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Forrester</span> Irish footballer (born 1992)

Christopher Stephen Forrester is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He has also previously played for Bohemians, Peterborough United, Aberdeen and the Republic of Ireland under-21's. In March 2016 he was called up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad but has yet to be capped.

Daniel Jordan Mandroiu is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Shamrock Rovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Scales</span> Irish footballer (born 1998)

Liam Scales is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a left-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Republic of Ireland national team.

George Martin Kelly is an Irish professional association footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League Two club Carlisle United.

References

  1. ↑ "William Francis "Liam" O'Brien". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Player Profile: William Francis "Liam" O'Brien". toon1892.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 234. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  4. ↑ "Mistake leads to a lucky Italian win". Irish Times. 1 December 1983. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "O'Brien signs for United". Irish Times. 4 October 1986. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "'Out of the blue, I got a phone call to say Manchester United were interested in me'". The 42. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "'Out of the blue, I got a phone call to say Manchester United were interested in me'". The 42. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Football: News, opinion, previews, results & live scores – Mirror Online".
  9. ↑ "Management team confirmed". Hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Owen Heary adds O'Brien and Ndo to Sligo Rovers staff". RTE. 9 April 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.