Mark Kelly (footballer, born 1969)

Mark Kelly (born 27 November 1969 in Basingstoke) is a former professional footballer who played for Portsmouth and also won four caps for the Republic of Ireland.

Mark Kelly
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-11-27) 27 November 1969
Place of birth Basingstoke, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Portsmouth
(academy manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1993 Portsmouth[1] 49 (2)
1996–1997 Sligo Rovers ? (?)
1997–1998 Farnborough Town 1 (0)
2000–2001 Finn Harps 9 (0)
National team
1988–1989 Republic of Ireland 4 (0)
1989–1990 Republic of Ireland U23 2 (0)
1989–1990 Republic of Ireland U21 3 (0)
1987 Republic of Ireland U19 1 (1)
Teams managed
2014– Portsmouth Academy
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Portsmouth manager Alan Ball described the 18-year-old Kelly as "the next George Best" but despite some exciting performances a series of injuries prevented him from becoming fully established in the first team. He made his debut for Portsmouth as a substitute away to West Ham United in February 1988.[2]

He never recovered from a serious knee injury sustained in 1991 and was forced to retire a year later, after a brief trial at Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to resurrect his career. Later he played part-time for Sligo Rovers and Farnborough Town.

International career

Although born in Basingstoke, Mark played for the Republic of Ireland through the parentage rule after being recommended to manager Jack Charlton. His first cap came on 27 April 1988, aged just 18, in a 2-0 friendly win over Yugoslavia at Lansdowne Road . He won his first cap a month before he made his full debut at club level.[3]

Coaching

Kelly worked as head of youth development at his former club, Portsmouth before leaving the club in October 2009.[4] He eventually returned to Pompey on 18 June 2014, being appointed Academy manager.[5]

Media work

Kelly joined BBC Radio Solent at the start of the 2011/12 season as their match summariser for live commentaries on Portsmouth matches.[3]

See also

References
  1. "PORTSMOUTH : 1946/47 - 2008/09". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  2. Cooper, Mick. The Definitive PORTSMOUTH F.C.. Association of Football Statisticians, 1996, p. 70.
  3. Kelly is Solent's New Voice of Pompey Archived 14 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Portsmouth FC
  4. Portsmouth axe eight youth coaches - including Chamberlain Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine; TribalFootball, 24 October 2009
  5. Kelly appointed Academy manager; Portsmouth FC, 18 June 2014
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