Alan O'Brien

Alan O'Brien (born 20 February 1985) is a former Irish footballer who last played for Wealdstone.[1] O'Brien, who played as a winger, represented the Republic of Ireland at full international level five times, all while he was on the books of Newcastle United.

Alan O'Brien
Personal information
Full name Alan O'Brien
Date of birth (1985-02-20) 20 February 1985
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
2001–2004 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Newcastle United 5 (0)
2005 → Carlisle United (loan) 5 (1)
2007–2009 Hibernian 47 (0)
2009–2011 Swindon Town 30 (0)
2011–2012 Yeovil Town 13 (0)
2012 Gateshead 12 (0)
2012–2017 Hungerford Town 73 (4)
2017 Chippenham Town 3 (0)
2017–2018 Wealdstone 4 (0)
National team‡
2006–2007 Republic of Ireland 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:27, 12 December 2017 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:57, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Club career

Newcastle United

O'Brien played for Cabinteely and St Josephs at youth level in Ireland before signing for Newcastle United.[2] He played in the under–17 national championship winning team who beat Manchester United 5–2 in a final played over two legs at Old Trafford and St James' Park. He then featured regularly for the Newcastle reserve team during the 2003/04 season, but he suffered a broken leg in a training ground accident in July 2004.[2] O'Brien progressed in the next year to the extent that he was in the first team squad,[3] but he was sent on loan to Carlisle United during October 2005.[4] He scored within 10 minutes of his debut for Carlisle,[5] but the loan spell was cut short due to injury.

O'Brien made his Newcastle first team debut on 7 January 2006 in a FA Cup tie against Mansfield Town. Wolves and Norwich City were interested in signing O'Brien, but Glenn Roeder kept O'Brien due to the demands on a small Newcastle squad.[6][7] O'Brien eventually made his first full Premier League appearance on 20 January 2007 against West Ham United at St James' Park. He played the full 90 minutes against West Ham, but never made another first team start.[8]

Hibernian

On 25 June 2007, O'Brien agreed to sign a three-year contract with Scottish Premier League side Hibernian after the expiry of his contract with Newcastle United, who were entitled to compensation.[8] O'Brien initially struggled to win a place in the Hibernian team, and he turned down a loan move to Football League One side Crewe Alexandra in January 2008.[9] He played more regularly for Hibs during the 2008–09 season, although he missed two months due to a knee injury.[10] He was released by the club on 1 July 2009 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[11]

Swindon Town

Soon after his release by Hibernian, O'Brien signed for Swindon Town.[11] He made his debut for Swindon on the opening day of the 2009–10 season in a 5–0 defeat away at Gillingham.[12]

O'Brien managed four appearances for Swindon before suffering a hamstring injury in August.[13] O'Brien made just one substitute appearance under the management of Paul Hart, who decided to release O'Brien from his contract in April 2011.[14] O'Brien made a total of 40 appearances, the majority as a substitute, in two seasons for Swindon.[14]

Yeovil Town

O'Brien signed for Yeovil Town on 12 August 2011.[15] He was released from his contract by Yeovil on 4 January 2012, along with Kerrea Gilbert, Flavien Belson and Abdulai Bell-Baggie.[16]

Gateshead

O'Brien signed for Gateshead on 9 February 2012.[17] He made his debut on 18 February 2012 in a 2–1 defeat against Forest Green Rovers.[18] O'Brien was released by Gateshead at the end of the season.[19]

Hungerford Town

In the summer of 2012, O'Brien joined Hungerford Town; he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 away win at Bridgwater Town on 18 August 2012.[20]

Wealdstone

O'Brien signed for National League South side Wealdstone FC in September 2017.[21] His season was affected by a succession of injuries and, by July 2018, decided to retire from football.[22]

International career

O'Brien was capped by Ireland at several youth levels. After impressing during the pre-season of 2006 he received a call up to the senior squad for the first time, where he joined up with then Newcastle teammates Damien Duff, Stephen Carr, and Shay Given.[23] He came on as a second-half substitute for the friendly match against Netherlands to gain his first full international cap.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 December 2017 [24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newcastle United 2004–05[25] Premier League 0000000000
2005–06[26] 3010000040
2006–07[27] 2020001[lower-alpha 1]050
Total 5030001090
Carlisle United (loan) 2005–06[26] League Two 5100000051
Total 5100000051
Hibernian 2007–08[28] Scottish Premier League 230301000270
2008–09[29] 24010001[lower-alpha 1]0260
Total 470401010530
Swindon Town 2009–10[30] League One 9010103[lower-alpha 2]0140
2010–11[31] 21010103[lower-alpha 3]0260
Total 300202060400
Yeovil Town 2011–12[32] League One 13010001[lower-alpha 3]0150
Total 130100010150
Gateshead 2011–12[33] Conference Premier 12000001[lower-alpha 4]0130
Total 120000010130
Hungerford Town 2012–13[34] SFL - Div 1 South & West ?2?0—?0?2
2013–14[34] SFL - Premier Division ?2??—???2
2014–15[34] 33510—6[lower-alpha 5]1406
2015–16[34] 26220—6[lower-alpha 6]1343
2016–17[34] National League South 19100—3[lower-alpha 7]0221
Total 781230001529614
Chippenham Town 2017–18[33] National League South 3000—0030
Wealdstone 2017–18[33] National League South 4000—0040
Career totals 197131303025223815
  1. Appearances in the Intertoto Cup
  2. Appearances in the League One play-offs
  3. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  4. Appearance in the FA Trophy
  5. Two appearances in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup; One appearance in the FA Trophy; One appearance in the Southern League Cup; one appearance in the Southern League Premier Division play-offs; one appearance and a goal in the Basingstoke Senior Cup
  6. Four appearances and a goal in the FA Trophy; two appearances in the Southern League Cup
  7. Two appearances in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup; One appearance in the FA Trophy

International
As of match played 26 May 2007 [35]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 200640
200710
Total50

References
  1. "Alan O'Brien Retires". My Local News.
  2. Injury blow for O'Brien, BBC Sport, 23 July 2004.
  3. Queens fail in O'Brien loan bid, BBC Sport, 24 August 2005.
  4. O'Brien seals Carlisle loan move O'Brien seals Carlisle loan move, BBC Sport, 1 October 2005.
  5. Carlisle 1–3 Bristol Rovers, BBC Sport, 1 October 2005.
  6. Buckingham, Mark. Norwich miss out on O'Brien, Sky Sports, 22 September 2006.
  7. Bailey, Graeme. Wolves warned off Toon starlet, Sky Sports, 4 October 2006.
  8. Buckingham, Mark. Magpies winger to join Hibs, Sky Sports, 25 June 2007.
  9. "O'Brien opts to remain with Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  10. "Winger Alan O'Brien returns to training for Hibs". Daily Record. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  11. "Swindon swoop for winger O'Brien". BBC Sport. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  12. Gillingham vs. Swindon
  13. Swindon midfielder closing on first-team comeback
  14. "Alan O'Brien leaves struggling Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  15. "Yeovil Town complete deal for Alan O'Brien". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  16. "Yeovil Town release four but re-sign Watford's Gavin Massey". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  17. "Gateshead snap up ex-Newcastle United winger Alan O'Brien". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  18. Bowron, Jeff (19 February 2012). "Forest Green Rovers 2–1 Gateshead". Gateshead F.C. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  19. Bowron, Jeff (30 April 2012). "Gateshead 2012/13 Squad Update". Gateshead F.C. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "Now O`Brien Re-Unites With Former Boss". Non-League.
  22. "Alan O'Brien Retires". My Local News.
  23. Parkes, Ian. Staunton keeps watch on Robson for Ireland's Dutch clash, The Independent, 9 August 2006.
  24. "Luton Town 2–0 Gateshead". Gateshead F.C. 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  25. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  26. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  27. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  28. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  29. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  30. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  31. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  32. "Games played by Alan O'Brien in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  33. Alan O'Brien at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  34. "Alan O'Brien". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  35. "O'Brien, Alan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
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