Adam McGurk

Name: Adam McGurk
Born: 24 January 1989, Larne
Height: 5.09 ft / 1.75 m
Weight:
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Under-21 Cap (2009), Youth.

Club Career:
Teams ......... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League-- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Larne Youth
Aston Villa ...................... Youth .0 (0)/ 0
Hednesford Town 09/10...... Mar-10 .Free (Southern League)
Tranmere Rovers 10/11-12/13 Aug-10 .Free 48(31)/10 3(0)/1 1(1)/0 3(2)/1
Burton Albion.. 13/14-14/15 Aug-13 .Free 58(13)/15 3(1)/1 4(0)/1 3(1)/2
Portsmouth .... 15/16 ..... Jun-15 .Free 12(15)/ 2 4(0)/3 2(0)/1 1(2)/0
Cambridge Utd.. 16/17 ..... Jul-16 .Free .7 (8)/ 0
Morecambe ..... 17/18 ..... Aug-18 .Free 29 (5)/ 5 2(0)/0

Biography:
Young striker who's progress at Aston Villa was slowed by serious injury. Described by Steve Beaglehole as "technically good and adaptable" big things had been expected of him prior to undergoing knee reconstruction surgery and he had been training with the Villa firstteam before his seventeen month enforced absence. By early 2010 he had given up hopes of ever making it as a professional and had taken the decision to retire.

Encouraged by his family to give it another go, McGurk joined Hednesford Town where he played under former Northern Ireland midfielder, Bernard McNally. He then signed for Tranmere Rovers, initially on a non-contract basis and established himself over the next few seasons.

After starring at youth level for Northern Ireland, McGurk's only appearance for the Under-21 team lasted just 38 minutes as he struggled to make an impact as he was in the middle of an abortive return from a succession of serious and niggling injuries which included shin splints and as well as torn knee ligaments.

Good form in the 2012/13 season saw a first senior call-up for the February friendly against Malta. His contract with Tranmere expired in the summer of 2013 and he was targeted by several higher-tier clubs but eventually signed with League Two side Burton Albion. In 2015 he joined Portsmouth on a two year deal. He remained at Fratton Park for just a year before joining Cambridge United. He spent 2017/18 with Morecambe and his five goals helped them to avoid relegation from the EFL but he was released as the campaign ended.

Soccerbase

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
11-08-2009 Portugal A L 1-2 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Pictures by Roy Cathcart.

Gavin Melaugh

Name: Gavin Mark John Melaugh
Born: 9 July 1981, Londonderry
Height: 5.07 ft
Weight: 9.07 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 11 Under-21 Caps / 1 Goal (2002-2003).
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 2004/05; Irish Cup Winner 2003/04, Runner-Up 2005/06.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Aston Villa	-	Jul-98	Youth	0(0/0	-	-	-	-
Rochdale	02/03	Nov-02	Free	17(2)/1	5(0)/1	-	-	-
Glentoran	03/04-05/06	Jul-03	Free	-	-	-	-	-
Donegal Celtic	06/07	Jul-06	Free	-	-	-	-	-
Ballymena United	06/07-08/09	Jan-07	-	56(2)/4	6(1)/0	4(0)/0	-	4(0)/0
Lisburn Distillery	09/10	Jun-09	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	-	-	-	-

Biography:
Gavin Melaugh was a reglar in the Aston Villa reserves during his time as Northern Ireland Under-21 captain, though he was destined never to make the Villa firstteam. In April 2002 he was an unused substitute for a weakened senior Northern Ireland team for a friendly against Spain.

In November 2002 Melaugh joined Rochdale on loan where he teamed-up with two Northern Ireland Under-21 colleagues, Pat McCourt and Lee McEvilly. He made his League debut in a 2-0 defeat at Oxford establishing himself immediately as a firstteam regular. So impressive were his performances that when his loan spell expired Dale offered him a contract for the remainder of the season which he duly accepted. His inclusion, along with McCourt and McEvilly, in the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad would force the postponement of a Rochdale fixture - an historic first for the club!

February 2003 proved a golden month for Melaugh. He scored his first senior goal in a 2-1 win in the return game against Oxford, scored for the Northern Ireland Under-21s as they defeated Finland 3-1 and so bringing to an end an eleven game winless streak and then he scored the equaliser for Dale in their televised FA Cup fifth round clash with Wolves. All this earned him the accolade of Rochdale Player of the Month.

Although Melaugh lost his Rochdale place for a spell late in the season, he was surprised not to be offered a long-term deal at Spotland. After a trial spell at Partick Thistle he returned to Northern Ireland to join Glentoran. With Glentoran Melaugh played on the wing, in central midfield and at full-back, collecting League and Cup winner's medals. After his contract at the Oval expired he briefly played with Donegal Celtic in 2006 before two-and-a-half seasons at Ballymena United and was Player of the Year in 2008.

Transfer-listed during the 2008/09 season, in June 2009 Melaugh was signed by Distillery, managed by former Glentoran assistant-manager Jimmy Brown.

More details to follow.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
12-02-2002 Germany. H L 0-1 FR
06-09-2002 Scotland A D 1-1 FR
11-10-2002 Spain... A L 0-1 ECQ
15-10-2002 Ukraine. H D 1-1 ECQ
11-02-2003 Finland. H W 3-1 FR. 1 Goal
28-03-2003 Armenia. A L 0-2 ECQ
01-04-2003 Greece.. H L 2-6 ECQ
10-06-2003 Spain... H L 1-4 ECQ
05-09-2003 Ukraine. A L 0-1 ECQ
09-09-2003 Armenia. H W 3-1 ECQ
10-10-2003 Greece.. A W 1-0 ECQ
Summary: 11/1. Won 3, Drew 2, Lost 6.

Jamie Ward

Name: Jamie Ward
Born: 12 May 1986, Birmingham (England)
Height: 5.05½ ft
Weight: 9.04 st
Position: Forward/Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full (2011-date); 7 Under-21 / 2 Goals (2006-2008), 2 Under-18 Caps.
Club Honours: (with Aston Villa) FA Youth Cup Runner-Up 2003/04.
Awards: League Two Player of the Month Oct-2008.

Club Career:
Teams........ --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- --League-- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Aston Villa ............. Jul-05 Youth ..0 (0)/ 0
Stockport Co. 05/06 ..... Mar-06 .Loan ..7 (2)/ 1
Torquay Utd.. 06/07 ..... Jul-06 .Free .21 (4)/ 9 2(0)/2 1(0)/0 0(1)/0
Chesterfield..06/07-08/09 Jan-07 Undi. .58 (9)/29 4(0)/0 2(0)/0 1(0)/0
Sheffield Utd 08/09-10/11 Jan-09 £333k .45(18)/ 9 2(2)/2 0(1)/0 1(2)/0
Derby County .10/11 ..... Feb-11 .Loan .12 (0)/ 4
Derby County .11/12-14/15 May-11 £350k 110(15)/29 5(2)/0 1(0)/0 3(0)/0
Nott'm Forest 15/16- date Jul-15 .Free
Burton Albion 16/17 ..... Aug-16 .Loan .15 (3)/ 4 0(1)/0
Cardiff City. 17/18 ..... Jan-18 .Loan

Biography:
A free-scoring attacking player in lower-league football, Birmingham-born Jamie Ward played in the FA Youth Cup final with Aston Villa and captained their reserves but was released in 2006.

Qualifying for Northern Ireland through his grandfather, Ward has played at Youth and Under-21 level and was long touted for Full international recognition.

In January 2008 Barnsley had a £400,000 bid for Ward accepted by Chesterfield. A move seemed likely as he was to become a free agent in the summer but personal terms could not be agreed. Derby County also showed an interest, but it was Sheffield United that claimed his signature.

After initial good form with the Blades Ward's goals dried up and mid-way through the 2010/11 season he joined Derby County on loan in a deal that became permanent at the end of the season.

Ward was awarded his first call-up to the senior Northern Ireland squad in March 2009. Despite good club form he was overlooked for two years, sparking rumours of a falling out with Nigel Worthington. He was re-called to the squad in August 2011, making his long-awaited international début as a late sub against the Faroe Islands.

Since the appointment of Michael O'Neill, Ward has been a regular in the Northern Ireland squad when not injured. He bundled home his first international goal from close range to give Northern Ireland the lead against Portugal in a pulsating World Cup Qualifier in September 2013, though sadly a Ronaldo hattrick saw the Portuguese leave Windsor Park victorious.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
10-08-2011 Faroe Islands H W 4-0 ECQ sub
15-08-2012 Finland ..... H D 3-3 FR. sub
07-09-2012 Russia ...... A L 0-2 WCQ 
11-09-2012 Luxembourg .. H D 1-1 WCQ sub
14-08-2013 Russia ...... H W 1-0 WCQ 
06-09-2013 Portugal .... H L 2-4 WCQ 1 goal
10-09-2013 Luxembourg .. A L 2-3 WCQ 
11-10-2013 Azerbaijan .. A L 0-2 WCQ
15-10-2013 Israel ...... A D 1-1 WCQ sub
05-03-2014 Cyprus ...... A D 0-0 FR
07-09-2014 Hungary ..... A W 2-1 ECQ
11-10-2014 Faroe Islands H W 2-0 ECQ

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
08-02-2006 Israel....... A W 1-0 FR
12-04-2006 Leichtenstein A W 4-1 ECQ sub
10-05-2006 Leichtenstein H W 4-0 ECQ sub
06-02-2007 Wales........ H L 0-4 FR. sub
16-11-2007 Luxembourg... H W 5-0 ECQ 1 goal
20-11-2007 Moldova...... H W 3-0 ECQ 1 goal
06-02-2008 Israel....... A L 1-2 ECQ

Summary: 4(3)/2. Won 5, Drew 0, Lost 2.

"Pepper" Renneville

Name: William Thomas James Renneville
Born: 16 April 1884, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
Died: 1948*, Dublin
Height: 5.06 ft
Weight: 
Position: Outside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 4 Full Caps (1910-1911); London Colleges.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Harrow Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
GER Mechanics	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Leytonstone	-	c.1904	-	-	-	-	-
Leyton	-	c.1907	-	-	-	-	(Southern League)
Aston Villa	10/11	May-10	-	2/1	-	-	(Football League)
Worcester City	14/15	Oct-14	-	0/0	-	-	(Birmingham & District)
Walsall	19/20	Oct-19	-	3/1	-	1/0	(Birmingham & District)
Hinckley United	-	Sep-20	-	-	-	-	-
Wolseley.Athletic	-	Sep-21	-	-	-	-	(Birmingham.Combination)
TOTALS			£-	5/2	-	1/0	-

Biography:
“Pepper” Renneville played only schoolboy football before leaving Ireland for London. He then played College football and eventually joined Southern League side Leyton. It was while with the London-club that Renneville won his first three caps, all at outside-right, as Ireland made a rare challenge in the 1910 Home Nations Championship. A draw with England and a win over Scotland left the Irish needing to beat Wales to claim the title, even a draw would see the trophy shared. Wales won 4-1 and Ireland slumped to third.

Finally, in May 1910, Renneville made it into the Football League with Aston Villa. He played just twice for Villa as a battling centre-forward, who, despite his diminutive stature, made an impact on the toughest of opposition defenders. While at Villa he did win a fourth and final cap, against Wales at Windsor Park in January 1911, though it proved a sad end to his international as he left the field injured after 55 minutes, with the Welsh defeating the ten-man Irish 2-1. Renneville's Villa career was ended due to an injury collected in a reserve team game and his retirement was announced in April 1912.

That was not the end however, as Renneville returned with non-League Worcester. Despite further injuries he played in Walsall's first post-Great War season. He was one of ten players tried at outside-right, and although his accurate corner-kicking was commended, his general play was slow. Through October and November 1919 he played in a total of four Birmingham & District League and Staffordshire Cup matches for the club, scoring once.

Ireland Cap Details:
12-02-1910 England. H D 1-1 BC
19-03-1910 Scotland H W 1-0 BC
11-04-1910 Wales... A L 1-4 BC
28-01-1911 Wales... H L 1-2 BC

Summary: 4/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Notes:
* Some sources list his date of death as 19 April 1943.

With thanks to Jim Murphy, Cris Freddi and Martin O'Connor for their inputs.

Steven Davis

Preceded by	Northern Ireland Captain	Succeeded by
Aaron Hughes	2012 - date	incumbent
Preceded by	Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year	Succeeded by
David Healy	2006	David Healy
Jonny Evans Roy Carroll	2010 2014	Gareth McAuley Kyle Lafferty

Dynamic young midfielder who has already captained his country and starred in some historic victories - Steve Davis surely has many a masterful performance ahead...

Name: Steven Davis MBE
Born: 1 January 1985, Ballymena
Height: 5.07 ft
Weight: 9.07 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full Caps (2005-date), 1 Under-23 Cap (2004), 3 Under-21 Caps (2003-2004), Under-19, Under-17.
Club Honours: (with Aston Villa) FA Youth Cup Winner 2001/02; (with Rangers) Scottish League Champion 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11; Scottish Cup Winner 2007/08, 2008/09; Scottish League Cup Winner 2007/08, 2009/10, 2010/11, Runner-Up 2008/09; UEFA Cup Runner-Up 2007/08; (with Southampton) EFL Cup Runner-Up 2016/17.
Awards: NI International Personality of the Year 2006, 2010, 2014; SPFA Players' Player of the Year 2009/10; Euro 2016 Qualifiers All-Star XI; Belfast Telegraph/Malcolm Brodie Player of the Year 2015; Vauxhall Northern Ireland Fans' Player of the Year 2015.

Club Career:
Clubs...... --Seasons-- Signed ----Fee--- --League-- -FACup- -FLCup- Europe
Aston Villa 04/05-06/07 Jan-02 ...Trainee .70(21)/ 5 .4(1)/2 .6(0)/2
Fulham..... 07/08...... Jul-07 £4,000,000 .22 (0)/ 0 .0(1)/0 .2(0)/0
Rangers.... 07/08.......Jan-08 ......Loan .11 (1)/ 0 .2(2)/0 .1(0)/0 .9(0)/1
Rangers ... 08/09-11/12 Aug-08 £3,000,000 140 (0)/18 13(1)/1 11(0)/2 19(0)/0
Southampton 12/13- date Jul-12 ..Undiscl.

Biography:

In July 2007 former Aston Villa Player of the Year, Steve Davis joined his ex-international boss, Lawrie Sanchez, at Fulham for a fee of £4 million. Following Sanchez' sacking Davis was allowed to join Rangers on loan and was an integral part of their run to the UEFA Cup Final and their challenge for a domestic "treble". In the end he finished with winner's gongs from the Scottish Cup and CIS Insurance Cup and a runners-up medal in the UEFA Cup.

Davis' move to Rangers was made permanent in August 2008 in a £3,000,000 deal. He aided the Gers to the "Double" in 2009, scoring a crucial winner in a late-season win over Celtic. His performances earned him a place on the short-list for the SPL's Player of the Year. The following season he improved further, helping Rangers retain their SPL crown and becoming the first Northern Irishman to lift the SPFA Player of the Year Award.

Davis became captain of both club and country in the 2011/12 season, the same year as he was short-listed for the SPFA Player of the Year.

After Rangers' financial meltdown Davis joined Southampton in July 2012. Initially it was thought he was a free agent but Rangers then blocked the move until an undisclosed fee was agreed. Davis marked his Premier League return when he scored  after coming off the bench to give the newly promoted Saints a 2-1 lead against champions, Manchester City. City however came back to win the game 3-2.

Keep up-to-date with Steve Davis at the following links:

Irish FA Website
Soccerbase

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
09-02-2005 Canada.. H L 0-1 FR
still active

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
27-04-2004 Serbia & Montenegro H D 0-0 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:

Pictures courtesy of larne_mano2 from the ILS forum and Chopper1 from the OWC forum.