James Gray

Name: James Phillip Gray
Born: 26 June 1992, Yarm (England)
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 12.03 st
Position: Midfielder / Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 11 Under-21 Caps / 2 Goals (2012-2014), Under-20, 17 Under-19 caps / 8 goals, 5 Under-17 caps / 1 goal, 5 Under-16 caps / 1 goal.

Club Career:
Teams ....... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League-- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Middlesbrough ............. 2007 Youth .0 (0)/ 0
Darlington ...11/12 ..... Aug-11 .Free .3 (8)/ 0 (Conference National)
Kettering ....11/12 ..... Mar-12 .Free .8 (1)/ 0 (Conference National)
Accrington S. 12/13-14/15 Aug-12 .Free 39(29)/13 2(2)/0 1(1)/1 2(0)/0
Vauxhall Mtrs 12/13...... Sep-12 .Loan .1 (-)/ 0 (Conference North) 
Southport ... 14/15...... Feb-15 .Loan .0 (0)/ 0 (Conference National) 
Northampton T 14/15...... Mar-15 .Loan .7 (1)/ 3 
Wrexham ..... 15/16 ..... Jul-15 .Free 15(12)/ 7 (National League) 
Southport ... 16/17 ..... May-16 .Free 16 (-)/ 2 (National League) 
Glenavon .... 16/17 ..... Dec-16 .Free .6 (7)/ 6*
Torquay Utd . 17/18 ..... Jul-17 .Free
York City ... 17/18 ..... Oct-17 .Loan
* all games

Biography:
Son of Phil.

A member of the Northern Ireland side that reached the final of the 2010 Milk Cup Elite Section.

A regular at various youth levels, he scored on his Under-21 début, in battling 3-2 defeat by Hungary.

Accompanied the senior Northern Ireland squad on their 2014 summer tour to South America.

Has since drifted away from league football. In October 2015 he was caught driving while over the legal alcohol limit and subsequently served a driving ban.

Gray joined Glenavon in mid-way through the 2016/17 season on a short term deal with a view to earning a deal back in the English Football League.

More to follow.

Soccerbase
IrishFA
Accrington Stanley

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
15-08-2012 Hungary...... A L 2-3 FR. 1 goal
07-09-2012 FYR Macedonia H L 1-3 ECQ sub
10-09-2012 Denmark...... A L 0-3 ECQ
31-05-2013 Cyprus....... A L 0-3 ECQ
14-08-2013 Denmark...... H L 1-4 FR
09-09-2013 Belgium...... A L 0-1 ECQ
11-10-2013 Belgium...... H L 0-1 ECQ
15-10-2013 Serbia....... A L 1-3 ECQ 1 goal
14-11-2013 Italy........ A L 0-3 ECQ
05-03-2014 Italy........ H L 0-2 ECQ sub
09-09-2014 Serbia....... H L 1-4 ECQ

Summary: 9(2)/2. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 11.

Billy McKay

Name: William McKay
Born: 22 October 1988, Corby (England)
Height: 5.09 ft / 1.75 m
Weight:
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full (2013-date), 7 Under-21 Caps (2008-2010), Under-20, Under-18.
Honours: (with Inverness) Scottish League Cup Runner-Up 2013/14.
Awards: SPL Player of the Month November 2012; SPFL Player of the Month September 2013.

Club Career:
Teams .......... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- --League-- -FACup- FL Cup Other
Leicester City.. 07/08-08/09 ..2005 Youth ..0 (0)/ 0
Hinckley United. 07/08 ..... Jan-08 .Loan (Conference North)
Northampton Town 09/10-10/11 Jul-09 .Free .53(21)/13 .2(1)/1 5(0)/2 0(2)/0

Inverness C.T. . 11/12-14/15 Jul-11 .Free 110(11)/54 11(0)/6 9(0)/2
Wigan Athletic . 14/15- date Jan-15 £150k
Dundee United .. 15/16 ..... Aug-15 .Loan .28 (1)/12 .4(0)/1 2(0)/0
Oldham Athletic. 16/17 ..... Jul-16 .Loan
Inverness C.T. . 16/17 ..... Jan-17 .Loan
Ross County .... 17/18- date Jul-17 Undis

Seasonal Record:

Season	Club	TOTAL			League			FA Cup			League Cup			Other			Div
		St	Sb	Gl	St	Sb	Gl	St	Sb	Gl	St	Sb	Gl	St	Sb	Gl
09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 14/15 15/16 15/16 16/17	Northampton Northampton Inverness Inverness Inverness Inverness Wigan Ath. Wigan Ath. Dundee Utd Oldham Ath.	30 30 19 40 46 25 1 0 34 -	(13) (11) (5) (5) (0) (1) (8) (2) (1) -	8 8 3 27 22 10 0 0 13 -	29 24 17 33 38 22 1 0 28 -	(11) (10) (5) (5) (0) (1) (8) (1) (1) -	8 5 3 23 18 10 0 0 12 -	0 2 2 3 4 2 - - 4 -	(1) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) - - (0) -	0 1 0 3 3 0 - - 1 -	1 4 - 4 4 1 - 0 2 -	(0) (0) - (0) (0) (0) - (1) (0) -	0 2 - 1 1 0 - 0 0 -	0 0 - - - - - - - -	(1) (1) - - - - - - - -	0 0 - - - - - - - -	FL2 FL2 SPL SPL SPFLP SPFLP FLC FL1 SPFLP EFL1
TOTAL		225	(46)	91	192	(42)	79	17	(1)	8	16	(1)	4	0	(2)	0	-

Biography:
Young striker who came through the ranks at Leicester, impressing for their academy and reserve teams. Promoted to the Foxes' firstteam squad in April 2008 he never made a senior appearance and was released at the end of the 2008/09 season. He joined Northampton that summer after a successful trial and made his league debut on the opening day of the season, starting in a 0-0 home draw against Macclesfield. He scored his first goal in a 3-0 win after coming on as a substitute at Accrington Stanley on 18th August and became a regular starter and goalscorer from Christmas onwards. On 22nd September 2010 he scored against Liverpool at Anfield as Northampton won a Carling Cup tie on penalties. On his release by Northampton in the summer of 2011 he joined SPL side, Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Capped seven times at Under-21 level, he made his debut during a mini tournament in Ukraine in August 2008.

A rich vein of form early in the 2012/13 season saw McKay called up to the senior squad for the first time against Azerbaijan in November 2012, though he remained an unused sub. His goals for Inverness, including a winner against Celtic, earned him the SPL Player of the Month award for November. He earned his first cap as a substitute in a low-key friendly draw with Malta in February 2013. By mid-March he had become the first Northern Ireland player to score twenty goals in an SPL season.

McKay continued his good form into the 2013/14 season, claiming the September SPFL Player of the Month award. That season he aided Caley to their first major final, only to suffer the disappointment of seeing his penalty saved in a shoot-out defeat by Aberdeen in the League Cup. Mid-way through 2014/15, with his contract set to expire at the end of the campaign, Caley cashed in on McKay, selling him to Wigan for a fee of around £150,000.

Soccerbase

(Roy Cathcart)

Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
06-02-2013 Malta..... A D 0-0 FR. sub
10-09-2013 Luxembourg A L 2-3 WCQ sub
11-10-2013 Azerbaijan A L 0-2 WCQ sub
still active.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
19-08-2008 Poland.... N L 0-1 MT. sub
20-08-2008 Ukraine... A L 1-4 MT
05-09-2008 Germany... A L 0-3 ECQ sub
08-09-2009 Iceland... H L 2-6 ECQ
13-10-2009 Iceland... A L 1-2 ECQ sub
02-03-2010 San Marino A W 3-0 ECQ
07-09-2010 Germany .. A L 0-3 ECQ

Summary: 4(3)/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 6.

Ryan McGivern

Name: Ryan McGivern
Born: 8 January 1990, Damolly, Newry
Height: 6.00 ft
Weight: 13.02 st
Position: Left-Back

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full Caps (2008-), 6 Under-21 Caps / 1 Goal (2009-2012), Under-19, 7 Under-17 Caps / 2 Goals (2006).
Club Honours: (with Man. City) FA Youth Cup Winner 2007/08; (with Hibs) Scottish Cup Runner-Up 2012/13.

Club Career:
Teams.......... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FA Cup FL Cup -Other-
Christian Eneavour ............... Youth (Carnbane League)
Drumcashlone ..................... Youth (Carnbane League)
Manchester City 08/09-12/13....... Youth .0 (1)/0
Morecambe ..... 08/09...... Oct-08 .Loan .5 (0)/1 ............. 1(0)/0
Leicester City. 09/10 ..... Aug-09 .Loan .9 (3)/0 2(0)/0
Walsall ....... 10/11 ..... Jul-10 .Loan 15 (0)/0 1(0)/0

Crystal Palace. 11/12 ..... Aug-11 .Loan .5 (0)/0 

Bristol City .. 11/12 ..... Aug-11 .Loan 26 (5)/0 1(0)/0
Hibernian ..... 12/13 ..... Aug-12 .Loan 25 (2)/1 5(0)/0
Hibernian ..... 13/14 ..... May-13 .Free 31 (2)/0 1(0)/0 1(1)/0 2(0)/0
Port Vale ..... 14/15-15/16 Jun-14 .Free 44 (4)/0 4(0)/0 2(0)/0 1(0)/0
Shrewsbury Town 16/17-17/18 Jun-16 .Free 14 (1)/0 1(0)/0 2(0)/0
Northampton T.. 17/18 ..... Nov-17 .Free .0 (1)/0 1(0)/0 ...... 1(0)/0 
Swindon Town .. 17/18 ..... Mar-18 .Free 
Linfield ...... 18/19- date

Biography:
A star of the Northern Ireland youth set-up, Ryan McGivern was part of the Under-19 side that defeated Chile in the 2008 Milk Cup Final. Just two weeks later he was called into the Northern Ireland squad for a match against Scotland by Nigel Worthington as cover for the injured George McCartney.

Although McGivern has yet to play a senior game for Manchester City he was a member of their 2008 FA Youth Cup winning squad and had just received his first call-up to the Under-21 squad. After the Milk Cup Worthington had said of McGivern: “I was very impressed with (him). I watched him closely — he is a good young professional with the right attitude and he is a very good player."

A surprise starter when he made his Northern Ireland debut against Scotland, McGivern's nerves showed as he received two bookings for clumsy challenges and was sent-off - the first ever Northern Ireland player to receive his marching orders on his debut. Worthington did not lose faith in the youngster and has retained him in the squad thereafter.

In October 2008 McGivern was farmed out on a month loan to Sammy McIlroy's Morecambe in order to gain firstteam experience. He made his League debut in a 2-1 defeat at Port Vale on 25 October and on 1 November he scored in a 2-0 win over Aldershot. McIlroy was disappointed when he was unable to extend McGivern's stay with The Shrimps beyond a month.

Although Manchester City manager Mark Hughes assured McGivern that he would be in his firstteam plans for the 2009/10 season, continued big-spending saw the youngster loaned out to Leicester City prior to the close of the August transfer window. The loan deal, initially set to expire in January, was extended to the end of the season and during his time with the Foxes he appeared at centre-back as well as left-back.

McGivern joined League One Walsall on a seasons loan in July 2010, however the loan deal was cut short in January as he was no longer guaranteed first team football. On 3rd February 2011 he made his Manchester City début as a second-half substitute in a convincing home win over Sunderland.

In August 2011 McGivern joined Crystal Palace on a 28 day loan. At the end of the month he joined Bristol City on loan for the remainder of the season. More impressive was a seasons loan at Hibernian, which culminated with a Scottish Cup final appearance and a permanent two-year deal. However, the following season Hibs suffered a serious mid-season collapse in form that saw them relegated from the Premiership via the play-offs, and McGivern was among those allowed to leave and he joined League One side, Port Vale.

Under Michael O'Neill's management, McGivern's international chances have been limited as initially Daniel Lafferty then Chris Brunt have been preferred for the left-back role. He appeared just twice during the successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, and was often not even included in squads. He also struggled for a a regular place at Port Vale and was released in the summer of 2016.

McGivern wasn't without a club for long as he signed for Shrewsbury Town in June 2016. Good early season form saw him re-called to the Northern Ireland squad, but subsequent injuries and a change of manager saw him on the periphery of the Shrews team. At the start of the 2017/18 season he was not awarded a squad number and before the close of the summer transfer window his contract was terminated by mutual consent. McGivern was without a club until agreeing a short-term deal with Northampton in November, however his contract was not extended beyond January.

Soccerbase


Northern Ireland Cap Details:
.1. 20-08-2008 Scotland...... A D 0-0 FR. sent-off 57
.2. 11-10-2008 Slovenia...... A L 0-2 WCQ sub
.3. 15-10-2008 San Marino.... H W 4-0 WCQ sub
.4. 19-11-2008 Hungary....... H L 0-2 FR
.5. 01-04-2009 Slovenia...... H W 1-0 WCQ sub
.6. 06-06-2009 Italy......... A L 0-3 FR
.7. 12-08-2009 Israel........ H D 1-1 FR. sub
.8. 14-10-2009 Czech Republic A D 0-0 WCQ
.9. 03-03-2010 Albania....... A L 0-1 FR
10. 26-05-2010 Turkey........ N L 0-2 FR
11. 30-05-2010 Chile......... A L 0-1 FR
12. 11-08-2010 Montenegro.... A L 0-2 FR
13. 17-11-2010 Morocco....... H D 1-1 FR
14. 11-10-2011 Italy......... A L 0-3 WCQ
15. 29-02-2012 Norway........ H L 0-3 FR
16. 02-06-2012 Netherlands... A L 0-6 FR. sub
17. 11-09-2012 Luxembourg.... H D 1-1 ECQ
18. 16-10-2012 Portugal...... A D 1-1 ECQ
19. 15-11-2013 Turkey........ A L 0-1 FR. sub
20. 05-03-2014 Cyprus........ A D 0-0 FR
21. 14-10-2014 Greece........ A W 2-0 ECQ sub
22. 14-11-2014 Romania....... A L 0-2 ECQ
23. 15-11-2016 Croatia....... H L 0-3 FR. sub
still active

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
.1. 13-11-2009 Germany....... H D 1-1 ECQ
.2. 17-11-2009 Czech Republic H L 1-2 ECQ
.3. 03-09-2010 San Marino.... H W 4-0 ECQ 1 goal (pen)
.4. 07-09-2010 Germany....... A L 0-3 ECQ
.5. 09-02-2011 Wales......... A L 0-2 FR
.6. 10-05-2012 FYRo Macedonia A L 0-1 ECQ

Summary: 6/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 4.

Picture by Roy Cathcart.

Andy Kirk

Name: Andrew Kirk
Born: 29 May 1979, Belfast
Height: 5.10 ft
Weight: 11.00 st
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 11 Full Caps (2000-2010), 9 Under-21 Caps/2 Goals (1999-2001), Under-18, Under-16, Under-18 Schools.
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1998/99; Irish Cup Winner 1997/98; Gold Cup Winner 1998/99; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1998/99; (with Northampton) Football League Two Runner-Up 2005/06 (promoted); (with Dunfermline) Scottish First Division Champion 2010/11 (promoted).

Awards: Ulster Young Footballer of the Year 1997; Scottish League Player of the Month August 2010, Scottish League Monthly Top Scorer August 2010.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Dungoyne Boys	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Glentoran	95/96-98/99	-	Youth	53 (22)/ 31	*39(13)/31	-	1(3)/0	-
Heart of Mid.	98/99-03/04	Feb-99	£50k	64 (50)/ 30	5 (2)/ 0	5(4)/ 2	1(3)/0	-
Boston United	04/05	Jun-04	Free	25  (0)/ 18	4 (0)/ 2	1(0)/ 0	-	0(1)/0
Northampton T.	04/05-07/08	Mar-05	£125k	82 (24)/ 30	5 (4)/ 2	3(0)/ 3	-	4(1)/1
Yeovil Town	07/08	Jan-08	Free	15  (4)/  4	-	-	-	-
Dunfermline A.	08/09-12/13	Jul-08	Free	106 (50)/ 41	11 (2)/ 6	8(3)/ 7	-	2(1)/1
Alloa Athletic	13/14	Jul-13	Free	27  (5)/  5	3 (0)/ 0	2(0)/ 1	-	1(0)/0
TOTALS	-	£175k		372(155)/159	67(19)/41	19(7)/13	2(6)/0	7(3)/2

* all domestic cup games.

Biography:
Andy Kirk, son of ex-long-serving Distillery manager Paul, has proven a reliable goalscorer throughout his career. A product of the successful Glentoran youth set-up of the late-1990s that also produced Stuart Elliott, Kirk made a £50,000 move to Hearts in February 1999, shortly before his twentieth birthday. Although his firstteam appearances were limited by injuries he proved a success when available, regularly hitting double figures in the goalscoring charts. Hearts parilous financial situation saw him released when his contract expired in 2004.

More to follow.

After four years out of the international reckoning, Kirk was recalled to the Northern Ireland squad for a World Cup Qualifier against the Czech Republic in October 2009. He came on as a late substitute in a 0-0 draw.

Kirk was one of eight players to be made redundant by Dunfermline in March 2013 as the club was on the brink of financial meltdown.

In 2014 Kirk joined the coaching staff at Rangers. He then returned to Hearts, joining the coaching staff in early-2016. In December 2016 he was appointed as joint-caretaker manager along with Jon Daly following the resignation of Robbie Nielson.

Hearts Record (LondonHearts)
Boston Unofficial Profile
Northampton Official Profile
Dunfermline Official Profile
Irish FA Website
Wikipedia
Soccerbase

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
26-04-2000 Hungary....... H L 0-1 FR
28-02-2001 Norway........ H L 0-4 FR. sub
16-10-2002 Ukraine....... H D 0-0 ECQ sub
12-02-2003 Finland....... H L 0-1 FR. sub
02-04-2003 Greece........ H L 0-2 ECQ sub
09-02-2005 Canada........ H L 0-1 FR. sub
26-03-2005 England....... A L 0-4 WCQ sub
04-06-2005 Germany....... H L 1-4 FR. sub
14-10-2009 Czech Republic A D 0-0 WCQ sub
14-11-2009 Serbia........ H L 0-1 FR. sub
03-03-2010 Albania....... A L 0-1 FR. sub

Summary: 1(10)/0. Won 0, Drew 2, Lost 9.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
-