Bill Irwin

(NASL Jerseys)

Another goalkeeper who might have made it at international level if not for Pat Jennings, Billy Irwin had to make do with two amateur caps as a teenager...

Name: William Irwin
Born: 23 July 1951, Newtownards
Height: 6.03 ft
Weight: 13.08½ st
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 2 Amateur Caps (1971), Youth.
Club Honours: (with Bangor) City Cup Winner 1970/71; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1969/70; (with Cardiff) Welsh Cup Winner 1972/73, 1973/74; Runner-Up 1971/72, 1974/75; Football League Division Three Runner-Up 1975/76.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL.Cup	Europe	Other
Bangor	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Cardiff City	71/72-77/78	Oct-71	-	180/0	15/0	9/0	6/0	-
Washington Diplomats	1978 - 1980	-	-	73/0	(NASL)	-	-	-
Ards	78/79	-	Loan	-	-	-	-	-
Dallas Tornado	1981	-	-	28/0	(NASL)	-	-	-
Portland Timbers	1982	-	-	25/0	(NASL)	-	-	-
Golden.Bay.Earthquakes	1982 - 1983	-	-	50/0	(NASL)	-	-	-
Minnesota Strikers	1985 - 1986	-	-	-	(MISL)	-	-	-
Wichita Wings	1986 - 1987	-	-	-	(MISL)	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		356/0	15/0	9/0	6/0	-

Biography:
As a teenager with Bangor Billy Irwin played under Charlie Tully and was part of the team that claimed the club's first major honours - the Co. Antrim Shield and City Cup in successive seasons. Indeed one of Tully's final acts prior to his premature death was to recommend Irwin to Celtic. Although that move never materialised, Irwin was soon to join Cardiff City.

Irwin was pitched straight into Division Two by the Bluebirds in October 1971 and his early performances drew considerable plaudits. In 1972 he was awarded the BBC Save of the Season for for an outstanding save in an FA Cup match against Leeds. Irwin also had the unenviable distinction of being the first Cardiff goalkeeper to be sent-off when he received his marching orders during the 1972/73 Welsh Cup Final against Bangor City.

In four seasons as Cardiff's regular number one, Irwin established himself as one of the club's all-time favourites. He was displaced by Ron Healy during the 1975/76 season when Cardiff claimed an instant promotion from Division Three. Irwin left Ninian Park in 1978 when he moved to the North American Soccer League with Washington Diplomats. Aside from a brief spell on loan at Ards, where his tremendous form almost helped bring the Gibson Cup to Castlereagh Park, Irwin spent the remainder of his playing career in the USA. After retiring as a player in 1987 he joined the coaching staff at the University of Portland.

As well as becoming Director of Soccer and Head Coach at the University of Portland, Irwin has also worked with the US international set-up and as a youth coach with FC Portland.

Soccer Camp
NASL Jerseys

Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
19-02-1971 Scotland H D 1-1
17-04-1971 Wales... A L 0-1

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

Bobby Irvine

Name: Robert James Irvine
Born: 18 June 1942, Carrickfergus
Height: 5.10 ft
Weight: 12.00 st
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 8 Full Caps (1962-1965), 1 Under-23 Cap (1963), 2 Schoolboy Caps (1957-1958); Irish League: 5 Caps (1962-1963).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion; Irish Cup Winner 1959/60, 1961/92, 1962/63, Runner-Up 1960/61; City Cup Winner; Gold Cup Winner; Ulster Cup Winner; Co. Antrim Shield Winner; North-South Cup Winner 1961/62; (with Stoke) Football League Cup Runner-Up 1963/64; (with Telford) FA Trophy Winner 1970/71, Runner-Up 1969/70.


Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe
Carrick Tech	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-
Linfield	57/58-62/63	1957	Youth	*243/0	-	-	5/0
Stoke City	63/64-65/66	Jun-63	£6,000	25/0	1/0	5/0	-
Altrincham	-	c/s-66	-	(Cheshire County League)
Wellington Town	-	-	-	(Southern League)
Telford United	-	1969	-	(Southern League)
TOTALS	-	£6,000		-	-	-	5/0

* all games
Note: Wellington Town renamed Telford United in 1969

Biography:

Signed by Linfield in 1957 from Carrick Tech, Bobby Irvine was later joined at Windsor Park by younger brother and future international colleague, Willie. Established in the Linfield firstteam at sixteen, he also served his time as an apprentice engineer. Goalkeeper in Linfield’s earliest European adventures, in September 1959 he finished on the end of a 7-3 aggregate defeat to Gothenburg in the European Champions Cup. Although Irvine found disfavour with the Linfield selection committee during the 1960/61 season, at one stage it seemed he would be released, he survived and was a virtual ever-present in the 1961/62 “clean-sweep” campaign winning Irish League, Irish Cup, City Cup, Gold Cup, Ulster Cup, Co. Antrim Shield and North-South Cup winner’s medals.



1962 also brought Irvine his first senior representative honours. He kept goal twice for the Irish League in the closing months of the season in a 6-2 win over the Italian Semi-Pro League and in a 3-1 victory against the League of Ireland. In May 1962 he made the first of seven consecutive appearances for Northern Ireland - replacing the perennially injured Harry Gregg - as they suffered a shock 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Rotterdam. Through the 1962/63 campaign, Irvine added further Irish Cup and Co. Antrim Shield winner’s medals and three further Irish League caps to his collection. In February he played in the same side as younger brother Willie for the first time since their schooldays, Northern Ireland Under-23s suffering a 5-1 defeat by their Welsh counterparts. A little over a month later the pair lined-up together again for a Full international, Wales again running out comfortable winners in a Home Nations tie.

In June 1963 Bobby Irvine was transferred to Stoke City for £6,000. He made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 2-1 First Division defeat of Spurs, but lost his place after seven games to another new arrival at the Potteries, Lawrie Leslie. He remained out of the side for most of the season, only returning to the first eleven in April, taking his total League appearances for the season to eleven, and picking up a League Cup runners-up medal with an appearance in a 3-2 defeat by Leicester in the Second Leg of the Final. 1964/65 brought Irvine a single League appearance, and his eighth and final international cap – unhappily on the end of a 5-0 stuffing by Wales in Belfast.

Back in the Stoke team mid-way through the 1965/66 season, Irvine was given the honour of captaining the team in a League Cup tie against Burnley, with the Lancashire team led out by brother Willie as the two clubs agreed to take part in something of a publicity stunt. Bobby came out on-top in the first match, a 0-0 draw, but Willie had the last laugh, scoring in a 2-1 replay victory. Irvine’s career at the Victoria Ground was brought to a premature end by a rush of blood in the FA Cup Third Round. Facing Walsall at home, Irvine was guilty of giving away a penalty which helped the Third Division side to a 2-0 win. Furious with Irvine’s antics, Potters’ manager, Tony Waddington never picked him again, and come the summer he was released to sign for non-League Altrincham.

Having had his Football League career ended at just 24, Irvine would return to the limelight in the early-1970s. With the newly-named Telford United he played in consecutive FA Trophy Finals at Wembley Stadium. In 1970 28,000 watched Macclesfield triumph 2-0 over the Bucks in the FA Trophy but the following a year a slightly larger crowd saw Irvine concede twice but still come out a winner as Telford defeated Hillingdon 3-2.

LinfieldFC.com Article

Northern Ireland Cap Details: 
09-05-1962 Netherlands A L 0-4 FR
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
31-03-1965 Wales...... H L 0-5 BC

Summary: 8/0. Won 2, Drew 1, Lost 5.

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
27-02-1963 Wales...... A L 1-5 FR

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

Bobby Irvine

Name: Robert William Irvine
Born: 29 April 1900, Lisburn
Died: 1979, Leicester (England)
Position: Centre/Inside-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 15 Full Caps/3 Goals (1922-1931); Irish League: 2 Caps (1932).
Club Honours: (with Derry) North-West Senior Cup Winner 1931/32.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Dumurry	-	-	-	(Irish Intermediate League)
Everton	21/22-27/28	Sep-21	£500	199/54	15/3	-
Portsmouth	27/28-29/30	Mar-28	-	35/10	4/1	-
Chester	-	-	-	(Cheshire County League)
Connah's Quay & Shotton	29/30-30/31	Aug-29	-	(Cheshire County League)
Derry City	31/32-32/33	Aug-31	-	-	-	-
Watford	33/34-34/35	May-33	-	22/ 2	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		256/66	19/4	-

Biography:
A sublime dribbler and a master of ball control, Bobby Irvine was amongst the most gifted attacking players of his generation. Signed by Everton for £500 in September 1921, he made his Football League debut in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in November 1921 at Anfield. He quickly became a crowd favourite at Goodison, his bravery and determination coupled with his thrilling skills entertained the fans for six seasons. More of a creator than a scorer, Irvine normally played at inside-right, but when deployed at centre-forward he proved an effective goal-getter, best illustrated by a hat-trick against Aston Villa in January 1922.

First selected for Ireland in March 1922, Irvine played at centre-forward in a 2-1 defeat by Scotland, indeed five of his first six caps were won leading the attack. An early personal best performance came with two goals in a 3-0 win over Wales in Wrexham, but he will be best remembered for his role in 2-1 and 2-0 defeats of England at Windsor Park in 1923 and 1927, and for his goal that gave Ireland a 3-2 lead at Anfield in 1926, only for the game to finish 3-3.

Troubled by injuries through a number of spells of his career, Irvine left Everton in March 1928 having made just nine appearances in what was a title winning campaign for the Toffees. Snapped up by Portsmouth, he made his Fratton Park debut in a 1-0 win over Manchester United on 17th March. He helped his new-club to the FA Cup Final in 1929, but injury robbed him of a place in the final line-up as they lost 2-0 to Bolton. In August 1929 Irvine joined Welsh club, Connah’s Quay, where he became the only player from that club to be capped for Ireland.

With Connah’s Quay suffering severe financial difficulties, Irvine returned to Ireland, signing for Derry City. He marked his Brandywell debut with a goal in a 1-0 Gold Cup quarter-final win over Larne on 3rd September 1931. With Derry, Irvine took his caps total to 15, and in October 1932 he also played twice for the Irish League, in 5-2 and 4-1 defeats by the English and Scottish Leagues respectively.

Irvine returned to the England in May 1933 with Division Three (South) club, Watford. He played his last Football League match in spring 1934. In November 1934 he was one of five Waterford players reportedly suspended "sine die" after refusing to return on the bus following a match in Sligo. Other later clubs were Brideville (February 1936) and Leicester Post Office Engineers (November 1936). With his playing days on the wane, it was written of him: “There is no man who takes harder knocks and squeal less than Irvine.”

Ireland Cap Details:
04-03-1922 Scotland A L 1-2 BC
21-10-1922 England. A L 0-2 BC
14-04-1923 Wales... A W 3-0 BC 2 Goals
20-10-1923 England. H W 2-1 BC
01-03-1924 Scotland A L 0-2 BC
22-10-1924 England. A L 1-3 BC
24-10-1925 England. H D 0-0 BC
20-10-1926 England. A D 3-3 BC 1 Goal
09-04-1927 Wales... A D 2-2 BC
22-10-1927 England. H W 2-0 BC
25-02-1928 Scotland A W 1-0 BC
22-10-1928 England. A L 1-2 BC
22-02-1930 Scotland A L 1-3 BC
20-10-1930 England. A L 1-5 BC
05-12-1931 Wales... H W 4-0 BC

Summary: 15/3. Won 5, Drew 3, Lost 7.

Michael Ingham

Regular goalkeeping back-up to Maik Taylor and Roy Carroll for several seasons, Michael Ingham's career has been limited to the lower-leagues...

Name: Michael Gerard Ingham

Born: 9 July 1980, Preston (England)

Height: 6.04 ft

Weight: 13.12 st

Position: Goalkeeper

.

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 3 Full Caps (2005-2007), 4 Under-21 Caps (2001), Under-18 Caps.

Club Honours: (with Cliftonville) Irish FA Charity Shield Winner 1998; Co. Antrim Shield Runner-Up 1998/99; (with Wrexham) FAW Premier Cup Winner 2003/04; (with York) Football Conference Play-Off Winner 2011/12; FA Trophy Winner 2011/12, Runner-Up 2008/09.
Awards: York City Clubman of the Year 2009/10.

.

Club Career:

Clubs........... --Seasons-- Fee- -League- -FACup- LgeCup -Other-

Newington YC..................... (Northern Amateur League)

Malachians....................... (Northern Amateur League)

Cliftonville.... 98/99........... .18(0)/0 .5(0)/0 3(0)/0 .9(0)/0

Sunderland...... 99/00-04/05 £30k ..1(1)/0 ....... 2(0)/0

Carlisle United. 99/00.......Loan ..7(0)/0
Cliftonville.... 00/01.......Loan .20(0)/0 ...... ....... .2(0)/0
Stoke City...... 01/02.......Loan ..0(0)/0
Stockport County 02/03.......Loan ..0(0)/0 ....... 1(0)/0
Darlington...... 02/03.......Loan ..3(0)/0
York City....... 02/03.......Loan .17(0)/0
Wrexham......... 03/04.......Loan .11(0)/0
Doncaster Rovers 04/05.......Loan ..1(0)/0 ...... ....... .1(0)/0

Wrexham......... 05/06-06/07 Free .71(0)/0 .4(0)/0 3(0)/0 .2(0)/0

Hereford United. 07/08 ......Free ..0(0)/0 ............... 1(0)/0

York City ...... 08/09-15/16.Free 256(2)/0 12(0)/0 2(0)/0 13(0)/0
Tadcaster Albion 16/17- date.Free (Northern Premier League)

.

(theGAWA)

Biography:

First called into the Northern Ireland squad in 2002, Michael Ingham was set for his debut during the 2004 Caribbean Tour only to be ruled out through injury. He had to wait another year for his first cap against Germany in the Irish FA's 125th Anniversary gala match, thus bringing a windfall to Cliftonville due to an add-on clause in the deal that took him to Sunderland six years earlier.

..

Further caps were added to Ingham's collection during the US Tour in 2006 and in a friendly with Wales in February 2007, but he fell out of the international reckoning as he struggled for regular firstteam action in the lower leagues. He was in good form with York City as they reached the 2009/10 Blue Square Premier play-off final and indicated his disappointment at not being considered by Nigel Worthington for an international recall.

In 2012 York finally returned to the Football League, adding the FA Trophy for good measure. Ingham remained in goal as they retained their league status thanks to a late-season push under the stewardship of Nigel Worthington who was a late-season appointment following a poor run of results.

York were eventually relegated from the Football League in 2016. Although Ingham had been offered a new contract with the club he decided to move on. He joined Tadcaster Albion and took a role as goalkeeping coach with the club's owners, i2i Sports.

..

More to follow.

.

Irish FA Bio

Wikipedia Article

Wrexham Bio

football.co.uk

.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:

04-06-2005 Germany H L 1-4 FR sub

21-05-2006 Uruguay N L 0-1 FR

06-02-2007 Wales.. H D 0-0 FR sub
..

Summary: 1(2)/0. Goals Conceded: 2. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Willie Irvine

Name: William John Irvine

Born: 18 June 1943, Carrickfergus

Height: 5.10 ft

Weight: 11.04 st

Position: Centre-Forward

.

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 23 Full Caps/8 Goals (1963-1972), 3 Under-23 Caps/3 Goals (1963-1965); 1 Schoolboy Cap (1958).

Club Honours: (with Brighton) Football League Division Three Runner-Up 1971/72 (promoted).

.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Linfield	-	1958	Youth	0 (0)/  0	-	-	-	-
Barn United	-	-	-	(Irish Amateur League)
Burnley	62/63-67/68	Jun-60	Youth	124 (2)/ 78	9(1)/ 9	11(1)/ 8	3(0)/2	-
Preston North End	67/68-70/71	Mar-68	£45,000	77 (4)/ 27	2(0)/ 2	7(0)/ 4	-	-
Brighton & Hove A.	70/71-72/73	Mar-71	£7,000	66 (3)/ 27	3(0)/ 1	4(0)/ 1	-	-
Halifax Town	72/73	Dec-72	-	9 (1)/  1	-	-	-	-
Great Harwood	-	-	Free	(Northern League)
TOTALS		£52,000		276(10)/133	14(1)/12	22(1)/13	3(0)/2	-

.

Biography:

To follow.

.

Official Burnley Site

Clarets Mad

Wikipedia Article

Charles Buchan Monthly

.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:

03-04-1963 Wales...... H L 1-4 BC

30-05-1963 Spain...... A D 1-1 ENC 1 Goal

14-11-1964 Switzerland A L 1-2 WCQ

25-11-1964 Scotland... A L 2-3 BC. 1 Goal

17-03-1965 Netherlands H W 2-1 WCQ

31-03-1965 Wales...... H L 0-5 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. 1 Goal

10-11-1965 England.... A L 1-2 BC. 1 Goal

24-11-1965 Albania.... A D 1-1 WCQ 1 Goal

30-03-1966 Wales...... A W 4-1 BC. 1 Goal

22-06-1966 Mexico..... H W 4-1 FR

22-10-1966 England.... H L 0-2 ECQ

16-11-1966 Scotland... A L 1-2 ECQ

22-11-1967 England.... A L 0-2 ECQ

28-02-1968 Wales...... A L 0-2 ECQ

10-09-1968 Israel..... A W 3-2 FR. 2 Goals

23-10-1968 Turkey..... H W 4-1 WCQ

03-05-1969 England.... H L 1-3 BC

20-05-1972 Scotland... H L 0-2 BC

23-05-1972 England.... A W 1-0 BC

27-05-1972 Wales...... A D 0-0 BC

.
Summary: 23/8. Won 8, Drew 4, Lost 11.

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:

27-02-1963 Wales...... A L 1-5 FR
05-02-1964 Wales...... H D 3-3 FR 2 Goals

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