Harry McKirdy

Harry McKirdy (born 29 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League Two side Port Vale.

Harry McKirdy
Personal information
Full name Harry McKirdy[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-29) 29 March 1997[2]
Place of birth London, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Port Vale
Number 22
Youth career
2004–2011 Stoke City
2011–2013 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Aston Villa 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Stevenage (loan) 11 (1)
2018 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 16 (3)
2019 → Newport County (loan) 12 (1)
2019–2020 Carlisle United 28 (5)
2020– Port Vale 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

McKirdy is a product of the Aston Villa and Stoke City academies. While in Aston Villa's academy he played on loan at English Football League sides Stevenage, Crewe Alexandra and Newport County. He played for Carlisle United on a permanent basis during the 2019–20 season and then signed with Port Vale in September 2020.

Career

Aston Villa

McKirdy was born in London[3] and brought up in the Stoke-on-Trent area, where he attended St Joseph's College.[4] He was on the books of Stoke City from the age of seven to fourteen, and then joined Aston Villa's academy.[5] He signed a scholarship in 2013,[4] and went on to sign a two-year professional contract with the "Villans" in 2016.[6] He scored six goals in the 2016 HKFC Soccer Sevens tournament to win the golden boot, with one of his goals coming in the final as Villa beat West Ham United 2–0 to claim their sixth tournament title.[7] He achieved this despite having only recently returned to fitness following a five-month lay-off with injury.[8]

McKirdy trained with the first-team in 2016–17 pre-season,[3] and joined League Two club Stevenage on 31 August 2016, on loan until January 2017.[6] He made his senior debut for "Boro" on 24 September, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Exeter City at Broadhall Way.[9] He scored his first career goal in an EFL Trophy tie against Brighton & Hove Albion Under-23s on 4 October.[10] He marked his first league start with the winning goal in a 2–1 victory at Mansfield Town on 29 October.[11] Head coach Darren Sarll said that "it was a terrific finish, the temperament of the lad to go through on his debut and finish like that, top drawer, the lad's going to be a good player".[12]

In October 2017, McKirdy signed a contract extension to keep him at Villa Park until 2019.[13] On 19 January 2018, he signed for Crewe Alexandra on loan to the end of the 2017–18 season.[14] He scored on his debut after coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers at Gresty Road on 20 January.[15] Manager David Artell revealed that: "He even said that if money was an issue then he would look to pay his own way. That made me smile. That shows a real desire and hunger to come out on loan and play some football."[16] McKirdy had been keen on the loan move with the "Railwaymen" and had consulted with Ashley Westwood and Steve Bruce before making up his mind.[17] He scored three goals in 16 League Two games at Crewe Alex.[18]

On 31 January 2019, McKirdy joined League Two side Newport County on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[19] He made his debut for the "Exiles" on 19 February as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 win at Notts County.[20] He scored his first goal for Newport on 13 April in a 3–0 win against Cambridge United.[21] He was part of the team that reached the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 25 May, although he was an unused substitute in the final, which ended in a 1–0 defeat to Tranmere Rovers.[22] He was used primarily as a substitute by manager Michael Flynn, making 11 substitute appearances and only two starts during his time at Rodney Parade, scoring one goal.[18] McKirdy was released by Aston Villa in May 2019.[23]

Carlisle United

McKirdy signed a one-year deal with League Two club Carlisle United on 11 June 2019.[24] He scored a headed goal six minutes into his debut for the "Cumbrians", in a 2–1 win over Crawley Town on 3 August.[25] Manager Steven Pressley said after the game that "I'm pleased for him because he’s a really good kid. He takes a bit of managing, but he's a good kid underneath that".[26] McKirdy scored 11 goals from 38 games to finish as United's top-scorer for the 2019–20 season.[18] However he was released in May 2020.[27] Manager Chris Beech said that "I respect the skill sets he has got... [but] Harry wasn't happy... [and] I don’t want to get a footballer in a headlock and make him do something he doesn’t want to do".[28]

Port Vale

McKirdy signed a one-year contract with League Two side Port Vale on 11 September 2020 after impressing manager John Askey on trial.[29][30] He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" on 10 November, in a 4–2 win over Liverpool U21 at Vale Park in the group stages of the EFL Trophy.[31] He failed to establish himself in the first-team however and was transfer-listed in December.[32] Interim manager Danny Pugh deselected him from the club's 22-man squad the following month.[33]

Style of play

McKirdy is a versatile attacker, able to play in any forward position, either centrally or out wide.[34] Crewe boss David Artell called McKirdy "a natural goalscorer" and "one of those nuisance forwards, who gets under the feet of centre-halves".[35][36] He has been criticized for his temperament, particularly in regards to his reactions to jeering by fans both on the pitch and on social media.[37]

Career statistics
As of match played 12 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 2016–17[38] Championship 0000000000
2017–18[39] Championship 0000000000
2018–19[40] Championship 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Stevenage (loan) 2016–17[38] League Two 11110001[lower-alpha 1]1132
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2017–18[39] League Two 163000000163
Newport County (loan) 2018–19[40] League Two 12100001[lower-alpha 2]0131
Carlisle United 2019–20[41] League Two 28555213[lower-alpha 1]03811
Port Vale 2020–21[42] League Two 5010102[lower-alpha 1]292
Career total 72107531738919
  1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in play-offs

References
  1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2016-17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  2. "Harry McKirdy". 11v11. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. Evans, Gregg (1 July 2016). "Aston Villa: Roberto Di Matteo keen on young trio – and promotes them to first-team set-up". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  4. "Football: St Joe's starlet hoping for a big future in the game with Villa". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. Baggaley, Michael (3 September 2020). "'Show us what he can do' - Harry McKirdy training with Port Vale". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. "McKirdy pens new deal and joins Stevenage on loan". Aston Villa F.C. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  7. Kendrick, Mat (22 May 2016). "Villa clinch Hong Kong Soccer 7s title with a defender in goal!". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. Evans, Gregg (24 May 2016). "Aston Villa striker returns with a bang after lengthy lay-off". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. "Match report: Stevenage 0, Exeter City 2". Stevenage F.C. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  10. "Stevenage 2-2 Brighton U23: Late McKirdy goal rescues point for Boro in Checkatrade Trophy". hertfordshiremercury.co.uk. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  11. "Mansfield Town 1-2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. McCartney, Aidan (1 November 2016). "Boss predicts big future for Aston Villa starlet". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  13. Evans, Gregg (9 October 2017). "Aston Villa striker signs contract extension until 2019". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  14. "Signing: Harry McKirdy Joins On Loan From Aston Villa". CreweAlex.net. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  15. "Crewe Alexandra 2-3 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  16. Dicken, Alex (23 January 2018). "Villa youngster offered to 'pay his own way' to secure loan move". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  17. Morse, Peter (19 January 2018). "Crewe Alex: Harry McKirdy on his loan move from Aston Villa". crewechronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  18. Harry McKirdy at Soccerway
  19. "Newport sign Azeez, Kennedy and McKirdy". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  20. "Notts County 1-4 Newport County". BBC Sport. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  21. "Cambridge United 0-3 Newport County". BBC Sport. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  22. Pearlman, Michael (25 May 2019). "Tranmere beat Newport to win promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  23. Evans, Gregg (30 May 2019). "Confirmed: Released Aston Villa man has found himself a new club". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  24. "Harry McKirdy: Carlisle United sign former Aston Villa striker on one-year deal". BBC Football. BBC. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  25. "Carlisle United 2-1 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  26. Hall, Andy (7 August 2019). "MANAGER: He's such an exciting player". www.carlisleunited.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  27. "CLUB: End-of-season retained and released list confirmed". www.carlisleunited.co.uk. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  28. Baggaley, Michael (20 May 2020). "Port Vale's rivals defend decision to release former Stoke City youth forward". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  29. "Vale sign ex-Carlisle forward McKirdy". BBC Sport. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  30. Baggaley, Michael (11 September 2020). "'Raring to go' - Port Vale sign Harry McKirdy". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  31. Baggaley, Michael (10 November 2020). "Port Vale 4, Liverpool under-21s 2 - Report and ratings as Vale go through". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  32. Baggaley, Michael (29 December 2020). "Port Vale boss on Robinson and McKirdy as they are left out". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  33. Baggaley, Michael (11 January 2021). "Port Vale explain decision to leave Harry McKirdy out of plans". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  34. "BREAKING: Forward joins the Blues". www.carlisleunited.co.uk. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  35. Kendrick, Mat (24 March 2018). "The story of the Villa striker, the telling off & the lucky t-shirt". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  36. "Boss Hails Hard Working McKirdy". www.crewealex.net. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  37. Colman, Jon (11 January 2020). "Nobody is above criticism, but who wouldn't react to the sort of flak Carlisle Utd's Harry McKirdy has also received?". News and Star. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  38. "Games played by Harry McKirdy in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  39. "Games played by Harry McKirdy in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  40. "Games played by Harry McKirdy in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  41. "Games played by Harry McKirdy in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  42. "Games played by Harry McKirdy in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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