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.

Robbie Garrett

Name: Robert Garrett
Born: 5 May 1988, Belfast
Height: 5.07 ft
Weight: 10.04 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 5 Full Caps (2009-2011), 1 B Cap (2009), 3 Under-23 Caps (2008-2010), 14 Under-21 Caps (2007-2009), 3 Under-20 Caps, 14 Under-19 Caps, 2 Under-18 Caps, 11 Under-17 Caps.
Club Honours: (with Linfield) IFA Premiership Champion 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12; Irish Cup Winner 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12; (with Portadown) Irish Cup Runner-Up 2014/15.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Others
Stoke City	06/07-07/08	Aug-06	Youth	0 (2)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Wrexham	06/07	Jan-07	Loan	10 (0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Wrexham	07/08	Sep-07	Free	9 (3)/ 0	1(0)/0	-	-	-
Linfield	08/09-13/14	Jul-08	Free	120(29)/16	14(2)/2	8(4)/1	10(0)/0	13(5)/4
FC.Edmonton	2013	Mar-13	Loan	19 (-)/ 1	(NASL)	-	-	-
Portadown Linfield	14/15-16/17 17/18-date	May-14 May-17	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
TOTALS	-	£0		-	-	-	-	-

Biography:
A promising midfielder with Stoke, a spell with Wrexham ended with relegation from the Football League in 2008. He then joined Linfield, where his great uncle Billy Ferguson was formerly a player, and his performances earned him a call-up for Northern Ireland at the end of the 2008/09 season. He was called-up for a second time the following summer having aided Linfield to "the Double", earning the Man of the Match award in the 2-1 Irish Cup final win over Portadown.

In April 2013 Garrett joined up with ex-Linfield teammates Daryl Fordyce and Albert Watson at Edmonton on a season long loan deal.

More to follow.

LinfieldFC.com
IrishFA.com

Linfield Career Summary

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
06-06-2009 Italy....... A L 0-3 FR sub
26-05-2010 Turkey...... N L 0-2 FR
30-05-2010 Chile....... A L 0-1 FR
24-05-2011 Rep. Ireland A L 0-5 CNC sub
27-05-2011 Wales....... N L 0-2 CNC

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

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-23 Cap Details:

18-11-2008 Slovakia.... A L 0-1 ICT

24-11-2009 Wales....... H D 2-2 ICT

12-10-2010 Portugal.... A L 0-2 ICT

Summary: 3/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:

01-01-2007 Moldova ...... A W 1-0 ECQ
21-08-2007 Finland ...... H W 2-1 FR
07-09-2007 Germany ...... H L 0-3 ECQ
12-09-2007 Luxembourg ... A W 2-1 ECQ
16-11-2007 Luxembourg ... H W 5-0 ECQ
20-11-2007 Moldova ...... H W 3-0 ECQ
06-02-2008 Israel ....... A L 1-2 ECQ
26-03-2008 Romania ...... H L 1-3 FR 
...
11-08-2009 Portugal ..... A L 1-2 FR
04-09-2009 Czech Republic A L 0-2 ECQ
08-09-2009 Iceland ...... H L 2-6 ECQ

Summary: 14(0)/0.

Pictures by Roy Cathcart.

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.