Ben Hall

Name: Ben Hall
Born: 16 January 1997, Enniskillen
Height: 6.01 ft / 1.85 m
Weight:
Position: Defender

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Under-21, Under-19, Under-17, Schools.

Club Career:
Dungannon Swifts ............... Youth
Motherwell .. 15/16 ..... c/s-13 Youth 16(2)/0 1(0)/0
Brighton & HA 16/17- date Jun-16 Undis
Notts County. 17/18 ..... Jan-18 .Loan
Notts County. 18/19 ..... Jul-18 .Loan

Biography:
To follow.

Soccerbase
Wikipedia

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
still active

Oliver Norwood

Name: Oliver James Norwood Born: 12 April 1991, Burnley (England) Height: 5.11 ft Weight: 12.00 st Position: Midfielder Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full (2010-date), 1 B Cap (2009), Under-21 (2009-date), Youth; England: Youth. Club Honours: (with Brighton) EFL Championship Runner-up 2016/17 (promoted); (with Fulham) EFL Championship Play-Off Winner (promoted) 2017/18.

Club Career:
Teams.........--Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Manchester U. ............. 2007 Youth .0(0)/ 0
Carlisle U... 10/11 ..... Sep-10 .Loan .4(2)/ 0 ............. 1(0)/0

Scunthorpe U. 11/12 ..... Aug-11 .Loan 14(1)/ 1 0(1)/0 1(0)/0 1(0)/0
Coventry City 11/12 ..... Jan-12 .Loan 17(1)/ 2
Huddersfield. 12/13-13/14 Jun-12 ..... 75(5)/ 8 4(2)/1 4(0)/0
Reading ..... 14/15-15/16 Aug-14 £1.2m 75(6)/ 4 8(1)/1 2(0)/0
Brighton & HA 16/17- date Aug-16 Undis 16(17)/0 1(0)/0 3(0)/0 
Fulham ...... 17/18 ..... Jul-17 .Loan 22(14)/5 1(0)/0 1(0)/0 0(3)/0
Sheffield U.. 18/19 ..... Aug-18 .Loan

Biography:
A product of the same Manchester United youth set-up that has produced the likes of the Evans brothers and Craig Cathcart in recent seasons, Ollie Norwood signed his first professional contract in July 2009.

Already capped at Youth level by England, Norwood switched allegiances to Northern Ireland. He initially played for Northern Ireland in friendlies and minor tournaments, including an Elite success in the 2009 Milk Cup, while awaiting clearance. He made his competitive début in a 1-1 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier against Germany in November 2009, scoring the equaliser with a stoppage time free kick. In May 2010 he starred for Northern Ireland in the Elite Round of the UEFA Under-19 Championship, scoring twice (including another free-kick) in a 2-2 draw with Russia and a penalty to give the Irish a 1-0 lead against Italy prior to an eventual 3-2 defeat.

Norwood received his first senior call-up for the August 2010 friendly against Montenegro. He made his debut as a 64th minute substitute for Sammy Clingan, though by then Northern Ireland were already trailing 2-0 which turned out to be the final score.

Yet to make his United début, Norwood had a loan spell at Carlisle cut short by injury early in the 2010/11 season. In August 2011 he joined Scunthorpe on loan through to the following January. It was during his time at the Iron that Norwood scored his first senior goal, a trademark "belter" in a 2-2 draw with Huddersfield. Another loan spell that season with Coventry saw him play alongside Sammy Clingan but suffer relegation from the Championship.

In the summer of 2012 Norwood announced that he would be seeking a move away from Manchester United, despite the offer of a new contract, as he sought regular firstteam football. He drew interest from several clubs before eventually signing for Huddersfield.

In 2014 he moved to Reading in a reported £1.2 million deal.

More to follow.

ManU Profile

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
11-08-2010 Montenegro.... A L 0-1 FR. sub

09-02-2011 Scotland...... N L 0-3 CNC sub

24-05-2011 Rep. Ireland.. A L 0-5 CNC sub

27-05-2011 Wales......... N L 0-2 CNC
still active

Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
06-05-2009 Scotland...... A L 0-3 FR sub

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

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
12-08-2009 Portugal...... A L 1-2 FR. sub
13-11-2009 Germany....... H D 1-1 ECQ 1 goal
17-11-2009 Czech Republic H L 1-2 ECQ 1 goal
02-03-2010 San Marino.... A W 3-0 ECQ 2 goals
03-09-2010 San Marino.... H W 4-0 ECQ
07-09-2010 Germany....... A L 0-3 ECQ

31-05-2011 Faroe Islands. A D 0-0 ECQ

10-08-2011 Faroe Islands. H W 4-0 ECQ
still active

Pictures kindly supplied by Roy Cathcart.

Jimmy Magill

Name: Edward James Magill
Born: 7 May 1939, Lurgan
Height: 5.10 ft
Weight: 12.00 st
Position: Right-Back

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 26 Full Caps (1961-1966), 1 Under-23 Cap (1962).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Portadown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arsenal	59/60-64/65	May-59	£5k	116/0	11/0	-	4/0	-
Brighton & H.A.	65/66-67/68	Oct-65	£6k	50/1	4/0	2/0	-	-
TOTALS	-	£11k		166/1	15/0	2/0	4/0	-

Coaching Career:
Boldklubben 1909, Denmark (coach)
Frederikshavn, Denmark (manager)

Biography:
To follow.

Gunnermania
Wikipedia

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
07-10-1961 Scotland.... H L 1-6 BC
17-10-1961 Greece...... H W 2-0 WCQ
22-11-1961 England..... A D 1-1 BC
10-10-1962 Poland...... A W 2-0 ENC
20-10-1962 England..... H L 1-3 BC
07-11-1962 Scotland.... A L 1-5 BC
28-11-1962 Poland...... H W 2-0 ENC
03-04-1963 Wales....... H L 1-4 BC
30-05-1963 Spain....... A D 1-1 ENC
12-10-1963 Scotland.... H W 2-1 BC
30-10-1963 Spain....... H L 0-1 ENC
20-11-1963 England..... A L 3-8 BC
15-04-1964 Wales....... A W 3-2 BC
29-04-1964 Uruguay..... H W 3-0 FR
03-10-1964 England..... H L 3-4 BC
14-10-1964 Switzerland. H W 1-0 WCQ
14-11-1964 Switzerland. A L 1-2 WCQ
25-11-1964 Scotland.... A L 2-3 BC
07-04-1965 Netherlands. A D 0-0 WCQ
07-05-1965 Albania..... H W 4-1 WCQ
02-10-1965 Scotland.... H W 3-2 BC
10-11-1965 England..... A L 1-2 BC
24-11-1965 Albania..... A D 1-1 WCQ
30-03-1966 Wales....... A W 4-1 BC
07-05-1966 West Germany H L 0-2 FR
22-06-1966 Mexico...... H W 4-1 FR

Summary: 26/0. Won 11, Drew 4, Lost 11.

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
07-02-1962 Wales....... H D 0-0 FR

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

John Napier

Name: Robert John Napier
Born: 23 September 1946, Lurgan
Height: 6.02 ft
Weight: 12.12 st
Position: Centre-Half

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1966), 2 Under-23 Caps (1967-1968), Youth, 3 School Caps (1962).
Club Honours: (with Brighton) Football League Division Three Runner-Up 1971/72 (promoted).

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Other
Bolton Wand'rs	64/65-66/67	Sep-63	Youth	69(0)/ 2	3(0)/0	2(0)/0	-
Brighton.&.H.A.	67/68-72/73	Aug-67	-	218(1)/ 5	16(0)/0	12(0)/0	-
Bradford City	72/73-74/75	Oct-72	-	106(0)/ 3	9(0)/0	2(0)/0	-
Baltimore Comets	1975	Apr-75	-	22(-)/ 1	(NASL)	-	-
Mossley	75/76	-	Free	24(-)/ 1	(Northern Premier League)
San Diego Jaws	1976	Mar-76	-	22(-)/ 1	(NASL)	-	-
Bradford City	76/77	Aug-76	-	0(1)/ 0	-	-	-
TOTALS		-		461(2)/13	28(0)/0	16(0)/0	-

Biography:
John Napier was a strapping centre-half who starred at Youth international level alongside the likes of Jennings, Best and Clements. He starred in Northern Ireland's march to the European Youth Championship (Little World Cup) Final in 1963, only to have the misfortune to head an own goal in a 4-0 defeat by England at Wembley.

Still, Napier went on to represent Northern Ireland at Full international while still a teenager, given a chance due to the unavailability of Jim Nicholson for a pre-World Cup match against Germany in 1966. He came in at centre-half, with Terry Neill switching to Nicholson’s left-half position. The match, at Windsor Park, resulted in a 2-0 win for the eventual World Cup finalists, and proved Napier’s only outing in a senior international. Over the following two seasons he did twice play in Under-23 matches against Wales, but his international career ended at the age of 21.

At club level Napier signed apprentice forms with Bolton Wanderers in September 1963. He made his Football League debut at the tail-end of the 1964/65 season, as the Trotters’ pushed, ultimately unsuccessfully, for promotion back to the top-flight at the first attempt. Established in the Bolton line-up from the start of the following campaign, a season in which he was named as the club’s Player of the Year, Napier never got to play in Division One as Bolton continued to disappoint over the following seasons.

Transferred to Division Three Brighton & Hove Albion in August 1967, Napier was seen as the rock on which a promotion push could be built. Named Brighton Player of the Year in 1969, at the Goldstone Ground Napier briefly played in the same side as other Northern Ireland internationals, Willie Irvine and Bertie Lutton. The Irish trio were regulars in the Brighton side which clinched promotion to Division Two in 1972 as runners-up to Aston Villa. Still regarded as a Brighton legend, Napier lasted only a few months in Division Two before being allowed to sign with Bradford City in Division Four.

Napier and the Bantams never finished above mid-table in the Fourth Division. After almost three seasons as a regular he decided to try his luck in the NASL with Baltimore Comets in the summer of 1975. He spent the winter with non-league Mossley before returning to US. He re-joined the same “franchise”, which had left Baltimore to become the San Diego Jaws.

In August 1976 Napier returned to Bradford as player-coach, playing his final professional match in a 2-1 defeat by Aldershot in the opening match of the season. In February 1978 he was appointed Bradford manager in succession to Bobby Kennedy. Kennedy had been harshly sacked as the team struggled to come to terms with life in Division Three after promotion the previous season. Napier couldn’t stop the rot and following relegation and continued struggles back in Division Four, he too was sacked in October 1978.

Napier returned to the USA in 1979 to take a coaching position at Pepperdine University in California. He has remained actively involved in US soccer at various levels for almost thirty years now.

Coaching Career
Career Pictures

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
07-05-1966 West Germany H L 0-2 FR

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

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
22-02-1967 Wales ...... H W 2-1 FR
20-03-1968 Wales ...... A W 1-0 FR

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

Pat McCourt

Name: Patrick James McCourt
Born: 16 December 1983, Londonderry
Height: 5.10 ft
Weight: 11.00 st
Position: Winger

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full Caps (2002-date), 1 B Cap (2009) 9 Under-21 Caps (2002-2005).
Club Honours: (with Derry) FAI Cup Winner 2006; FAI League Cup Winner 2005, 2006, 2007; (with Celtic) Scottish Premier League Champion 2011/12, 2012/13; Scottish Cup Winner 2010/11, 2012/13; (with Glenavon) ; NIFL Charity Shield Winner 2016.
Awards: PFAI Young Player of the Year 2005; Sky Sports SPL Goal of the Season 2009/10.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Others
Foyle Harps			Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Rochdale	01/02-04/05	Aug-01	Youth	31(48)/ 8	2(4)/1	0(3)/0	-	1(5)/0
Norwich City	-	Sep-03	Trial	0 (0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Crewe.Alexandra	-	-	Trial	0 (0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Motherwell	-	Dec-04	Trial	0 (0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Shamrock Rovers	2005	Jan-05	Free	17 (-)/ 7	-	-	-	-
Derry City	2005 - 2008	Jul-05	£60k	48 (-)/ 5	-	-	4(1)/0	-
Celtic	07/08-12/13	Jun-08	£200k	15(51)/ 9	2(6)/0	1(6)/1	2(6)/0	-
Barnsley	13/14	Aug-13	Free	15 (8)/ 2	-	-	-	-
Brighton & H.A.	14/15	Aug-14	Free	0(10)/ 0	-	2(1)/0	-	-
Notts County	14/15	Feb-15	Loan	11 (1)/ 1	-	-	-	-
Luton Town	15/16	Jul-15	Free	15 (9)/ 1	1(0)/0	-	-	-
Glenavon Finn Harps	16/17 2017- 2018	Jul-16 Feb-17	Free Free	10 (2)/ 1 0	- -	- -	- -	3(0)/1 -
TOTALS	-	£260k		-	-	-	-	-

Biography:
Paddy McCourt, the "Derry Pele", emerged as an incredibly exciting talent with Rochdale. He was just seventeen when he made his debut in a 2-0 win over Torquay in October 2001. The following February he made his Northern Ireland Under-21 debut in a 1-0 defeat by Germany at Windsor Park. Such was his early form that Manchester City reportedly had a £1.5 million bid rej-ected.

Just two months after his first Under-21 appearance, McCourt made his Full debut against Spain. The friendly game, organised to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of that “night in Valencia” proved a disaster. The Northern Ireland squad had been decimated by withdrawals and Sammy McIlroy’s hand had been forced into calling up a number of Under-21 players, including the Rochdale duo of Lee McEvilly and McCourt. By the time of their emergence from the bench as second-half substitutes the match was already lost and the 5-0 final score seemed almost inevitable.

From there on McCourt continued to prove himself as an exciting prospect, but one beset by inconsistencies and ill-discipline. Mid-way through the 2004/05 season he was made available by Rochdale, and after a trial at Motherwell signed for Shamrock Rovers in January 2005. The following July he moved on to his hometown club, Derry City. With the Candystripes McCourt proved himself as one of the best footballers in Ireland with spectacular goals a regular feature of his game.

McCourt was expected to complete a move to English Premier League new-boys West Brom in June 2008 for a fee reported to be between £90,000 and £150,000. However, although Norwich City also showed an interest it was his boyhood idols Celtic that stepped in to clinch a last-minute deal for a fee believed to be close to £200,000. In February 2009 he returned to the Northern Ireland squad after a near seven year absence. He won his second cap as a substitute against San Marino. 

Fitness worries and managerial instability saw McCourt make only sporadic appearances at Celtic, even still he was a real favourite and his goal against Falkirk was named SPL Goal of the Season 2009/10. A bright start to the 2010/11 season saw McCourt recalled to the Northern Ireland squad and his performance in the centre of midfield in a friendly against Morocco earned a great deal of praise, showing not only his customary skills on the ball, but also a previously unrecognised steel to his game. On a rainy-Windsor night in August 2011 he scored two goals that George Best would have been proud of against a stubborn Faroe Islands.

A resurgent Celtic won the Scottish Cup in 2011 and the SPL in 2012 with McCourt only a peripheral member of the squad. He was again merely a squad player as they claimed the Double in 2013. His appearance from the bench in the Scottish Cup final win over Hibernian, during which he wore the captain's armband, was to be his last for the Hoops as his contract expired that summer.

After trial spells with Hibs and Peterborough, McCourt signed with Barnsley early in the 2013/14 season. He showed glimpses of his talent with a wonder goal against Middlesbrough, but as the team struggled so did McCourt. He was released after relegation from the Championship was confirmed. He remained in the Championship however, signing for Brighton in the opening weeks of the following season.

Over the following few seasons McCourt remained on the periphery of the Northern Ireland squad as they qualified for Euro 2016. He had spells with Notts County and Luton but he secured a return to Northern Ireland at the end of the 2015/16 season, rejecting any chance of traveling to the Euro finals as his wife had fallen seriously ill. With his wife on the road to recovery he agreed to sign for Glenavon, however he struggled to adapt to part-time football and departed before Christmas.

After leaving Glenavon McCourt was unveiled as an Irish FA County Coach. In January he was reported to be signing for Dundalk but the move never materialised and he instead joined Finn Harps.

Celtic Site
Wikipedia
Irish FA
Soccerbase

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
17-04-2002 Spain........ H L 0-5 FR. sub 
11-02-2009 San Marino... A W 3-0 WCQ sub 
14-11-2009 Serbia....... H L 0-1 FR. sub 
17-11-2010 Morocco...... H D 1-1 FR 
09-02-2011 Scotland..... N L 0-3 CNC

25-03-2011 Serbia....... A L 1-2 ECQ sub

29-03-2011 Slovenia..... H D 0-0 ECQ sub

10-08-2011 Faroe Islands H W 4-0 ECQ 2 goals
07-10-2011 Estonia...... H L 1-2 ECQ
29-02-2012 Norway....... H L 0-3 FR. sub
14-11-2012 Azerbaijan... H D 1-1 WCQ sub
06-02-2013 Malta........ A D 0-0 FR. sub
26-03-2013 Israel....... H L 0-2 WCQ sub
05-03-2013 Cyprus....... A D 0-0 FR. sub
11-10-2014 Faroe Islands H W 2-0 ECQ sub
26-03-2015 Scotland..... A L 0-1 FR. sub
31-05-2015 Qatar........ N D 1-1 FR. sub

still active...

Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
06-05-2009 Scotland..... A L 0-3 FR

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

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
12-02-2002 Germany ...... H L 0-1 FR 
06-09-2002 Scotland ..... A W 1-0 FR sub 
11-10-2002 Spain ........ A L 0-1 EC 
15-10-2002 Ukraine ...... H D 1-1 EC 
11-02-2003 Finland ...... H W 3-1 FR sub 
28-03-2003 Armenia ...... A L 0-2 EC sub 
01-04-2003 Greece ....... H L 2-6 EC sub 
18-08-2004 Switzerland .. H D 0-0 FR 
16-08-2005 Rep of Ireland H D 2-2 FR

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

Pat McCourt's elder brother, Harry McCourt, was a striker with Limavady United (3 spells), Portadown, Cliftonville (twice), Tobermore United, Omagh Town (twice), Ards (twice) and Derry City. In a playing career spanning the late-1980s to early-2000s he scored 65 Irish League and League of Ireland goals in 218 games.

Picture courtesy of OJM from OWC. Corrections by Karl Reilly of League of Ireland History.