Player Transfers January 2016

2014/15 - 2015/16 -2016/17

- Club Appearances - Transfers (summer 2015 - January 2016) - Cups, Ups & Downs -

Northern Ireland players on the move...

Permanent Transfers
Rory Patterson (FC United to Derry City) BBC
Jonny Steele (ex-Minnesota United to Ottawa Fury) FuryFC
Philip Lowry (Derry City to Portadown) BBC
Shane Ferguson (Newcastle United to Millwall) BBC
Michael McLellan (H&W Welders to Linfield) BBC
Chris Johns (Bangor to Coleraine) CFC
Colin Nixon (Bangor to Larne) LFC
Ryan Brobbel (Whitby to TNS) Shropshire Star 

Loan Deals
Jeff Hughes (Cambridge to Tranmere) BBC
Ivan Sproule (Linfield to Ballinamallard) BBC
Robbie McDaid (Leeds to Lincoln) IrishFA
Luke Conlan (Burnley to Morecambe) Lancashire Evening Post
Chris Hegarty (Linfield to Dungannon) LFC
Lee Hodson (MK Dons to Kilmarnock) BBC

Pre-Contracts
Michael Gault (Portadown to Crusaders) BBC

Released
Jamie Sendles-White (Hamilton Academical) AcciesFC

Tommy Wright

Preceded by	Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year	Succeeded by
Gerry Taggart	1993	Jimmy Quinn
Steve Lomas	1997	Steve Lomas

The ‘Ballyclare Barman’ went a long way. From under-appreciated reserve at Linfield to international acclaim, it was a bumpy road…


Name: Thomas James Wright
Born: 28 September 1963, Ballyclare
Height:  6.01 ft / 1.85 m
Weight: 13.05 st / 85 kg
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 31 Full Caps (1989-1999), 1 Junior Cap (1986); Irish League ‘B’ Division Representative; Football League: 1 Cap (1992).
Club Honours: (with Linfield Swifts) Irish League ‘B’ Division Champion; George Wilson Cup Winner; (with Newcastle) Football League Division One Champion 1992/93; (with Forest) Football League Division One Runner-Up 1993/94.

Awards: NI International Player of the Year 1993, 1997.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Others
Brantwood	-	-	-	(Irish League 'B' Division)
Linfield	83/84-87/88	Dec-83	-	7(0)/0	2(0)/0	-	-	1(0)/0
Newcastle U.	87/88-93/94	Jan-88	£30,000	72(1)/0	4(0)/0	6(0)/0	-	1(0)/0
Hull City	90/91	Feb-91	Loan	6(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Nott’m Forest	93/94-96/97	Sep-93	£450,000	11(0)/0	-	2(0)/0	-	-
Reading	96/97	Oct-96	Loan	17(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Man. City	96/97-00/01	Mar-97	£450,000	24(0)/0	2(0)/0	1(0)/0	-	1(0)/0
Wrexham	98/99	Feb-99	Loan	16(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Newcastle U.	99/00	Sep-99	Loan	3(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Bolton Wdrs	00/01	Jan-01	Free	3(1)/0	-	-	-	-
Ballymena U.	01/02	Aug-01	Free	6(0)/0	-	1(0)/0	-	-
Linfield	02/03	Aug-02	Free	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS			£930,000	175(1)/0	8(0)/0	10(0)/0	0(0)/0	3(0)/0

Coaching Career:
Northern Ireland ............... Goalkeeping Coach
Irish FA/Ballyclare Comrades.... Youth Development Officer
Linfield........................ Goalkeeping Coach
Limavady United... Nov/03-May/05 Manager
Ballymena United.. May/05-Apr/08 Manager
Norwich City...... May/08-Feb/09 Goalkeeping Coach
Shamrock Rovers... Feb/09-Nov/09 Goalkeeping Coach

Lisburn Distillery Sep/09-Nov/11 Manager

..... Irish League Cup Winner 2010/11
St Johnstone ..... Nov/11-Jun/13 Assistant Manager
Northern Ireland ..Feb/12-Jun/13 Goalkeeping Coach
St Johnstone ..... Jun/13- date. Manager
..... Scottish Cup Winner 2013/14
..... Ladbrokes Premiership Manager of the Season 2015/16

Biography:
For a player who’s career in the Irish League was limited almost exclusively to Linfield Swifts and who’s experiences in England were severely blighted by injury, Tommy Wright ranks amongst the most popular ever Northern Ireland ‘keepers.

Wright will forever be remembered for his performance in Nuremburg in 1996 as Northern Ireland claimed a famous 1-1 draw against reigning European Champions, Germany. The circumstances surrounding it make that performance even more astounding. Wright hadn’t played an international match in almost two-and-a-half years to that point and had just returned to club action on loan at Reading after a prolonged injury nightmare. Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann would later decry the wall built in front of Wright’s net, but truly this was the match of the ‘keeper’s life.

Thirty-one caps was scant reward for a player of Wright’s ability, but he remained much sought after until the end of his career in England. He returned to the Irish League in August 2001, rejecting an offer from Bolton, to join Ballymena. Injuries struck again and he played just seven times for the Sky Blues before hanging-up his gloves and joining the coaching staff at Linfield. At Windsor Park he briefly re-registered as a player during an injury crisis but was not called-upon for firstteam action.

Manager of Limavady United from 2003-2005 and Ballymena from May 2005 to April 2008, Wright has also worked for the Irish FA in Youth Development and was Northern Ireland goalkeeping-coach for a time under Sammy McIlroy. In May 2008 he took the job of goalkeeping coach at Norwich City having previously turned the position down. He left Carrow Road in February 2009 shortly after the departure of the manager that had hired him, Glenn Roeder. Linked with the management job at Glenavon, he instead joined ex-international teammate Michael O'Neill at Shamrock Rovers as goalkeeping coach.

In September 2009 Wright returned to Irish League management with struggling Lisburn Distillery. He combined his roles at New Grosvenor and Shamrock Rovers until the end of the 2009 League of Ireland season before taking the Whites to safety and on to a Co-Operative Insurance Cup final win the following season. He left Distillery in November 2011 to become assistant-manager to ex-Northern Ireland and Manchester City colleague Steve Lomas at St Johnstone.

In February 2012 Wright was announced as part of Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland coaching staff. When Lomas left St Johnstone to manage Millwall in June 2013, Wright was promoted to the top job. He left his Northern Ireland post shortly thereafter. In his first season he led the Perth club to their first ever Scottish Cup final in which they defeated Dundee United. In 2016 he was named Scottish Premiership Manager of the Season having led the Saints to fourth place for a second consecutive campaign.

More to follow.


Northern Ireland Cap Details: 

1	26-04-1989	Malta	-A-	W 2-0	WCQ
2	26-05-1989	Chile	-H-	L 0-1	FR
3	06-09-1989	Hungary	-H-	L 1-2	WCQ
4	18-05-1990	Uruguay	-H-	W 1-0	FR
5	11-09-1991	Faroe Islands	-A-	W 5-0	ECQ
6	16-10-1991	Austria	-H-	W 2-1	ECQ
7	19-02-1992	Scotland	-A-	L 0-1	FR
8	02-06-1992	Germany	-A-	D 1-1	FR
9	09-09-1992	Albania	-H-	W 3-0	WCQ
10	14-10-1992	Spain	-H-	D 0-0	WCQ
11	17-02-1993	Albania	-A-	W 2-1	WCQ
12	31-03-1993	Republic of Ireland	-A-	L 0-3	WCQ
13	28-04-1993	Spain	-A-	L 1-3	WCQ
14	25-05-1993	Lithuania	-A-	W 1-0	WCQ
15	02-06-1993	Latvia	-A-	W 2-1	WCQ
16	08-09-1993	Latvia	-H-	W 2-0	WCQ
17	13-10-1993	Denmark	-A-	L 0-1	WCQ
18	17-11-1993	Republic of Ireland	-H-	D 1-1	WCQ
19	23-03-1994	Romania	-H-	W 2-0	FR
20	20-04-1994	Liechtenstein	-H-	W 4-1	ECQ
21	03-06-1994	Colombia	-N-	L 0-2	FR
22	11-06-1994	Mexico	-N-	L 0-3	FR	sub
23	09-11-1996	Germany	-A-	D 1-1	WCQ
24	14-12-1996	Albania	-H-	W 2-0	WCQ
25	22-01-1997	Italy	-A-	L 0-2	FR
26	11-02-1997	Belgium	-H-	W 3-0	FR
27	29-03-1997	Portugal	-H-	D 0-0	WCQ
28	02-04-1997	Ukraine	-A-	L 1-2	WCQ	capt
29	10-09-1997	Albania	-A-	L 1-2	WCQ
30	27-04-1999	Canada	-H-	D 1-1	FR	sub
31	18-08-1999	France	-H-	L 0-1	FR	sub

Summary: 28(3)/0. Won 13, Drew 6, Lost 12.

Picture by Roy Cathcart.

John Cowan

Name: John Cowan
Born: 8 January 1949, Belfast
Height: 5.09 ft
Weight: 9.08 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1970).

Club Career:
Teams............. --Seasons-- Signed -League- FA Cup FL Cup
Crusaders
Newcastle United.. 69/70-72/73 Feb-67 .6(3)/ 0 ...... 0(1)/0
Drogheda United
Darlington........ 75/76 ..... Aug-75 10(0)/ 0
Scarborough

Biography:
John Cowan began his career as a wing-half with Crusaders before joining Newcastle United for £300 in February 1967. He was one of a number of Northern Ireland players to feature at St. James’ Park through the late-sixties and early-seventies, including Iam McFaul, Tommy Cassidy and Dave Craig – with whom he shared ‘digs’. Cowan’s chances were few-and-far-between, and it was two years before he made his Football League debut.

Almost immediately on his Newcastle debut Cowan was called into the Northern Ireland set-up. He was denied an Under-23 cap when a game against Wales was snowed-off early in 1970. He did however gain a place in Billy Bingham’s Full squad for the 1970 Home Nations Championship, making his only international appearance as a substitute against England at Wembley.

Despite his ability to play either in defence or midfield, Cowan had to wait until the 1972/73 season before making the Newcastle first eleven again, coming in for the injured Tommy Gibb early in the season. After a total of just ten appearances in six years at Newcastle, Cowan was released in the summer of 1973.

He returned to Ireland, taking the position of player-manager at Drogheda United while in his mid-20s. In two seasons at Lourdes Stadium he stabilised an oft rock-bottom club, and he could take much credit for putting in place the beginnings of Jimmy McAlinden’s successful squad of the late-seventies.

Cowan returned to the north-east of England with Darlington in 1975, but lasted just a season back in League football before joining non-League Scarborough.

With his footballing career behind him, John Cowan formed successful a sports trophy business in Newcastle.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
21-04-1970 England A BC L 1-3 sub


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

Trend Setting Awards

Tommy Cassidy

One of the few players to survive the era of Best and Dougan through to the successes of the early 1980s, but for injuries Cassidy may have earned more that his 24 caps…

Name: Thomas A. Cassidy
Born: 18 November 1950, Belfast
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 12.05 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 24 Full Caps / 1 Goal (1971-1982), Youth Caps.
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) City Cup Winner 1969/70; (with Newcastle) FA Cup Runner-Up 1973/74; League Cup Runner-Up 1975/76; Texaco Cup Winner 1973/74, 1974/75; Anglo-Italian Cup Winner 1972/73; (with Burnley) Football League Division Three Champion 1981/82; (with APOEL) Cyprus Cup 1984.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Ards Voys	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Glentoran	68/69-70/71	-	-	*12 (1)/ 8	-	-	1(0)/0	-
Newcastle Utd	70/71-79/80	Oct-70	£15,000	170(10)/22	22(1)/1	17(2)/3	3(0)/0	13(1)/2
Burnley	80/81-82/83	Jul-80	£30,000	70 (2)/ 4	8(1)/1	8(2)/2	-	-
APOEL Nicosia	-	-	-	(Cyprus)	-	-	-	-
TOTALS		£45,000		252(13)/24	30(2)/2	25(4)/5	4(0)/0	13(1)/2

Biography:
As a teenage striker Tommy Cassidy made an impressive impact on the Irish League. In 1969, after just a handful of senior appearances, he scored a hat-trick in the City Cup Final, as Glentoran saw off Bangor 7-1. Early the following season, having found the net four times in just six appearances, Newcastle United came calling with a £15,000 bid. In October 1970 Cassidy found himself at an English First Division club after just fourteen senior outings for Glentoran.

Although Cassidy’s Football League début didn't take long to arrive, he made his first appearance in a 2-0 defeat at Southampton on 7th November 1970, he had to wait three seasons to establish himself in the Newcastle first eleven. Prior to establishing himself, a rare senior outing was made in the 2-1 1973 Anglo-Italian Cup Final defeat of Fiorentina. By that time he was playing more normally as an attacking midfielder, and in his first season as a regular (1973/74) he helped Newcastle to a Texaco (British Isles) Cup Final victory over Burnley and an FA Cup Final appearance against Liverpool. The following season Cassidy was troubled by injury and made just nine League appearances, though he did play in the first leg of the Texaco Cup Final as Newcastle retained the trophy 3-1 on aggregate against Southampton. The following season Newcastle were back at Wembley for another final, losing out 2-1 in the League Cup to Manchester City.

Cassidy’s Northern Ireland career had begun at the end of his first season in English football, coming on as a substitute for Eric McMordie in a 1-0 Home Nations defeat by England. The following season he made a further substitute appearance in a 1-1 European Championship Qualification match against the Soviet Union. As with his club career he had to bide his time before establishing himself in the international set-up. The real breakthrough with Northern Ireland came in 1973/74 as well, he marked his fourth cap, his first as a starter, with the only goal in a 1-0 win over Scotland. It was to be his only international goal, and the last time he was on a victorious Northern Ireland team until 1979.

Through the mid-1970s, injuries permitting, Cassidy was a regular in the Northern Ireland team, until a falling out with Danny Blanchflower saw him banished from the set-up for two years. He did however return to favour for Blanchflower’s last few matches, starting in a 5-1 defeat by England at Wembley, and coming off the bench during a 1-0 victory over the Republic at Windsor Park.

Groin, knee and ankle injuries had taken their toll on Cassidy’s pace, and by the time Billy Bingham was appointed Northern Ireland manager in 1980, Cassidy was more at home as a defensive midfielder. Bingham used Cassidy in this role for each of his first nine games in charge, thus allowing the likes of McIlroy, Brotherston, Finney and O’Neill to make a suitable attacking impact. He played an important role in Northern Ireland’s 1980 Home Nation Championship success, helping bring the old trophy back to Belfast for the first time in 66 years.

A £30,000 move to Burnley, freshly relegated to Division Three, in the summer of 1980, did not initially harm Cassidy’s international career, but over the following few seasons it became clear that Bingham was favouring players featuring regularly at a higher level. A few moments of glory in green remained however. In November 1981 he was called-up to replace Martin O’Neill for the final World Cup Qualifier against Israel, a must win game to insure a place in Spain. Sure enough, Northern Ireland won 1-0, and Cassidy travelled with the squad to the Finals. In Spain he made a single appearance, coming off the bench for the injured Sammy McIlroy, and helping to steady ten-man Northern Ireland, during the historic 1-0 win over the hosts. Spain brought the curtain down on Cassidy’s, somewhat up-and-down, international career in the most glorious of fashions.

Having helped Burnley to the Third Division title before travelling to Spain, Cassidy brought his Football League career to a close in 1983, before moving to play for APOEL in Cyprus. He later managed the club, leading them to the Cypriot League Championship, but left when he blew the whistle on high-level corruption in the game. He returned to the north-east of England to manage Gateshead, and was linked with the Newcastle job in 1992 prior to the arrival of Kevin Keegan. In 1994 he returned to the Oval as manager of a demoralised Glentoran, and helped them to an early success in the Gold Cup. The rest of his time with the Glens proved difficult, with high-profile cup final failures and expensive transfer flops such as Liam Coyle being tempered only slightly by an Irish Cup Final win over Glenavon in 1996. Under pressure from the fans, Cassidy left Glentoran in December 1997.

In 1998 Cassidy was appointed manager of Ards, but was sacked in October 1999 when the board weren't satisfied with their prospects of promotion from the First Division – they were second at the time. Less than a month later Cassidy took charge of League of Ireland Sligo Rovers, but couldn't save them from relegation from the Premier Division at the end of his first season. Sligo just missed out on promotion the following year when they lost the final match of the campaign 4-1 to Home Farm, and Cassidy left the club that summer. He briefly scouted Irish League players for then Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy, before returning to management with Northern Premier League Division One club, Workington. He guided the Reds to promotion to the Premier League in 2004, and runners-up spot the following season saw the club promoted to the Football Conference Northern Division. He left Workington in 2007 and briefly managed Newcastle Blue Star. In October 2010 he was appointed boss at Northern Premier League side, Whitby Town. He left Whitby twelve months later, but wasn't out of work for long as he joined Conference North side Blyth Spartans in December 2011. He was sacked the following October.

Northern Ireland Caps Details:
15-05-1971 England....... H L 0-1 BIC sub
13-10-1971 USSR.......... H D 1-1 ECQ sub
26-09-1973 Bulgaria...... H D 0-0 WCQ sub
11-05-1974 Scotland...... H W 1-0 BIC 1 goal
15-05-1974 England....... A L 0-1 BIC
18-05-1974 Wales......... A L 0-1 BIC
04-09-1974 Norway........ A L 1-2 ECQ
08-05-1976 Scotland...... H L 0-3 BIC
11-05-1976 England....... A L 0-4 BIC
14-05-1976 Wales......... A L 0-1 BIC
27-04-1977 West Germany.. A L 0-5 FR. sub
17-10-1979 England....... H L 1-5 ECQ
21-11-1979 Rep of Ireland H W 1-0 ECQ sub
26-03-1980 Israel........ A D 0-0 WCQ
16-05-1980 Scotland...... H W 1-0 BIC
20-05-1980 England....... A D 1-1 BIC
23-05-1980 Wales......... A W 1-0 BIC
11-06-1980 Australia..... A W 2-1 FR
15-06-1980 Australia..... A D 1-1 FR
18-06-1980 Australia..... A W 2-1 FR
15-10-1980 Sweden........ H W 3-0 WCQ
19-11-1980 Portugal...... A L 0-1 WCQ
18-11-1981 Israel........ H W 1-0 WCQ
25-06-1982 Spain......... N W 1-0 WCF sub

Summary: 18(6)/1. Won 9, Drew 5, Lost 10.