Martin O'Connor (footballer)

Martin O'Connor
Personal information
Full name Martin John O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (1967-12-10) 10 December 1967[1]
Place of birth Walsall,[1] England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1992 Bromsgrove Rovers
1992–1994 Crystal Palace 2 (0)
1993 → Walsall (loan) 10 (1)
1994–1996 Walsall 94 (21)
1996 Peterborough United 18 (3)
1996–2002 Birmingham City[1] 187 (16)
2002–2003 Walsall 48 (2)
2003–2005 Shrewsbury Town 56 (2)
2005–2006 Kidderminster Harriers 12 (0)
Total 427 (45)
National team
2000 Cayman Islands 2 (0)
Teams managed
2006–2007 Halesowen Town
2009–2011 Walsall (assistant manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Martin John O'Connor (born 10 December 1967) is a football coach and former professional player. Born in England, he represented Cayman Islands at international level.

Club career

O'Connor was a late entrant to senior football. He joined Southern League Premier Division club Bromsgrove Rovers in his early 20s, and played his part in their winning the 1991–92 title.[3] He signed for Crystal Palace for a £25,000 fee ahead of the inaugural Premier League season, but never appeared in that league. Instead, he made his Football League debut at the age of 25 during the first of three spells at Walsall, joining on loan in March 1993 before signing permanently the following year.[2] He played a key role in the Saddlers winning promotion to Division Two in 1994–95.[4]

He then joined Peterborough United, followed by Birmingham City,[4] whom O'Connor represented in the 2001 Football League Cup Final against Liverpool, which Birmingham lost in a penalty shootout.[5]

O'Connor re-joined Walsall in 2002, but his contract was not renewed at the end of the 2002–03 season.[4][6] He then signed for Shrewsbury Town in July 2003,[7] before ending his playing career with Kidderminster Harriers.[4]

He was player-manager of Halesowen Town from December 2006 until October 2007.[8] On 20 January 2009, he was named assistant manager to Chris Hutchings at Walsall,[9] but the pair were sacked on 3 January 2011 after a series of poor results left Walsall bottom of Football League One.[10]

International career

O'Connor was called up to the Cayman Islands national football team in 2000; his father was born in that country.[11] He played twice before FIFA ruled that neither he nor many others who had been invited were eligible.[12] The Cayman Islands had been attempting to exploit their status as a British Overseas Territory by picking British passport holders who would not ordinarily be eligible to play for them.[13]

Honours

Walsall

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Martin O'Connor". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2005). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-1-85291-662-6.
  3. ↑ Tattum, Colin (24 February 2001). "Captain O'Connor: Rebel with a cause". Birmingham Evening Mail. p. 52. Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via Infotrac Newsstand. (Subscription required (help)).
    Gammie, Walter (10 April 1992). "Bromsgrove's late run stirs Hope". The Times. London. p. 36. Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via Academic OneFile. (Subscription required (help)).
    "Bromsgrove Rovers". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Martin O'Connor". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Blues shot down as Liverpool lift cup". BBC Sport. 25 February 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Walsall let pair leave". BBC Sport. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "O'Connor signs for Shrews". BBC Sport. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Halesowen Town profile: Martin O'Connor". Yeltz Archives. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    "O'Connor sacked as Yeltz lose". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Jones, Mark (21 January 2009). "Blog: Welcome and good luck". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Walsall sack manager Chris Hutchings and assistant Martin O'Connor". The Guardian. London. Press Association. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  11. ↑ Milledge, Adrian (7 February 2000). "Cayman call for O'Connor". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 18 April 2018 – via TheFreeLibrary.com.
  12. ↑ Hickman, Leon (6 March 2000). "O'Connor booster for Blues; Cayman Islands trip was a waste of time". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2011 – via HighBeam Research.
  13. ↑ Ross, Ian (29 February 2000). "Many are called but few are chosen for Cayman's World Cup campaign". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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