Paul Leeman

Last updated

Paul Leeman
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-01-21) 21 January 1978 (age 45)
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Team information
Current team
Crusaders (coach)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1993–2011 Glentoran 597 (45)
2011–2015 Crusaders 110 (2)
Total707(47)
Managerial career
2018–2019 Glentoran (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Leeman (born 21 January 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former footballer who is currently first team coach at Crusaders.

Contents

He notably played for Glentoran for 15 years and captained the side to Irish League and cup titles, playing 597 times for the team, before being released in 2011. [1] He moved to Crusaders in 2011, where he spent 4 years, winning another league title, Setanta Cup and Irish League Cup. He began coaching at Glentoran in 2018, becoming assistant manager in January 2019, before returning to his coaching role when Mick McDermott arrived at the club. Leeman left Glentoran in the summer of 2019. [2] [3]

Playing career

Glentoran

After playing for Dungoyne Boys, Leeman joined Glentoran as a schoolboy in 1993. Two years later he made his first-team debut. Initially playing in midfield and at right back, he switched to centre-back. He was named as the Ulster Footballer of the Year for the 2004/05 season. [4] Leeman missed almost all of the 2005–06 season.

He brought his children out with him to lift the Irish Premier League trophy after Glentoran had beaten Cliftonville to see off the challenge of Linfield who had beaten Crusaders 5–0 at Seaview. He had his testimonial against Roy Keane's Ipswich Town, a 3–1 defeat. He was the fourth generation of his family to play for Glentoran. [1]

Crusaders

Leeman joined fellow Belfast side Crusaders in June 2011, linking up with former Glens team-mate Michael Halliday. [5] He scored his first Crusaders goal in a 5-1 league victory over Carrick Rangers on 29 October 2011. [6]

Coaching career

Leeman returned to Glentoran as a coach on 24 May 2018 alongside former team-mate Gary Smyth. He became assistant manager on 3 January 2019, in a role he held until 31 March 2019. Following the sale of Glentoran, Leeman left the team in controversial circumstances on 23 May 2019, two days after Smyth. [3] [7]

He returned to Crusaders in July 2019, filling the post of first team coach vacated by the long-serving Charlie Murphy. [8]

Honours

Glentoran

Crusaders

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glentoran F.C.</span> Association football club in Northern Ireland

Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club, based in East Belfast, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and have since won more than 130 major honours, making them one of the most successful football clubs in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linfield F.C.</span> Association football club in Northern Ireland

Linfield Football Club is a Northern Irish professional football club based in south Belfast which plays in the NIFL Premiership – the highest level of the Irish League. The fourth-oldest club on the island of Ireland, Linfield was founded as Linfield Athletic Club in March 1886 by workers at the Ulster Spinning Company's Linfield Mill. Since 1905, the club's home ground has been Windsor Park, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland national team and is the largest football stadium in Northern Ireland. The club's badge displays Windsor Castle, in reference to the ground's namesake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crusaders F.C.</span> Association football club in Northern Ireland

Crusaders Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership, highest level of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club, founded in 1898, is based in north Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annagh United F.C.</span> Association football club in Northern Ireland

Annagh United Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club, founded in 1963, hails from Portadown and plays its home matches at the BMG Arena. The club home colours are all red and away all white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ireland Football League Cup</span> Football tournament

The Northern Ireland Football League Cup is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League. It is the third-most prestigious competition in domestic Northern Irish football after the NIFL Premiership and Irish Cup. It should not be confused with the Irish League Floodlit Cup which ran from 1987–88 to 1997–98. Unlike the Irish Cup, the League Cup does not have a berth for UEFA Europa Conference League qualification. The cup has been operated by the Northern Ireland Football League since the 2013–14 season when it took over the administration from the Irish Football Association (IFA), after which the cup was renamed to the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Setanta Sports Cup</span> Football tournament

The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and the NIFL Premiership from Northern Ireland. The cup was sponsored by Setanta Sports, the Irish subscription sports television network. The competition was discontinued after the 2014 edition. A successor competition, the Champions Cup, was announced in 2019.

Robert Wright "Roy" Walker is a football manager and former player. His most recent job was as manager of NIFL Premiership side Ballymena United.

The Irish Intermediate Cup is a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, including NIFL Premiership reserve sides. It is a straight knock-out tournament and is currently sponsored by McCombs Coach Travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Patterson</span> Northern Irish footballer

Rory Christopher Patterson is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a forward for Strabane Athletic and is the club's player-manager. He also played for the Northern Ireland national team. Having played youth football for Sion Swifts, Moorfield Celtic and Townsend United, Patterson joined Rochdale in 2002 before having spells with Radcliffe Borough and Mossley.

Stephen John Baxter is a Northern Irish football manager and retired footballer. He is the current manager of Crusaders, where he had two spells as a player, and is currently the longest serving manager of one club in world football.

Gary Smyth, nicknamed Smickers is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a centre back for Glentoran, Glenavon, Ballymena and Crusaders. He previously managed Glentoran in 2019 and had two spells managing H&W Welders, first from 2013–2018 and the second spell from 2019–2022.

Ronald Joseph McFall MBE is a former football player and former manager of NIFL Premiership sides Glentoran and Portadown. He was most notably manager of hometown club Portadown for 29 years from December 1986 until his resignation in March 2016. At the time of his resignation he was the longest-serving manager in European club football, having held the record ever since Alex Ferguson stood down as Manchester United manager in 2013. He had two spells managing Glentoran, between 1979 and 1984 and 2018 and 2019.

Chris Morrow is a Northern Irish footballer who currently plays for Brantwood.

David Rainey is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays as a striker.

The 2011–12 IFA Premiership was the 4th season of the IFA Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, and the 111th season of Irish league football overall.

The North Belfast derby is the name given to football matches between Cliftonville and Crusaders who play in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The two are separated by around 1.5 miles with Cliftonville based at Solitude on Cliftonville Road and Crusaders at Seaview on the Shore Road.

This page details football records in the Northern Ireland.

The 2015–16 NIFL Premiership was the 8th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 115th season of Irish league football overall, and the 3rd season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

The 2017–18 NIFL Premiership was the 10th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 117th season of Irish league football overall, and the 5th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

The 2018–19 NIFL Premiership was the 11th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 118th season of Irish league football overall, and the 6th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

References

  1. 1 2 "Glens release long-serving Leeman". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  2. Gareth Hanna (21 May 2019). "Gary Smyths departure confirmed, Paul Leemans future uncertain". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Paul Leeman leaves". Glentoran. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. M. Brodie (ed.), Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 2009-2010, p. 102. Belfast:Ulster Tatler Publications
  5. "Defender Leeman joins Crusaders". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  6. "Crusaders 5-1 Carrick Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. Steven Beacom (24 May 2019). "Glentoran Hero Number Two sacked by post as Leeman shares fate of Smyth". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  8. "Paul Leeman takes up new coaching role with Crusaders". Belfast Live. Retrieved 15 August 2019.