Ivan Sproule

Football player infobox
playername = Ivan Sproule


fullname = Ivan Sproule
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|2|18
cityofbirth = County Tyrone
countryofbirth = Northern Ireland
currentclub = Bristol City
clubnumber = 29
position = Midfielder/Striker
years =

2005-2007
2007-
clubs = Omagh Town
Institute
Hibernian
Bristol City
caps(goals) =

071 0(12)
047 00(3)
nationalyears = 2005-
nationalteam = Northern Ireland
nationalcaps(goals) = 011 00(1)
pcupdate = September 20 2008
ntupdate = September 20 2008

Ivan Sproule (born February 18, 1981 in Castlederg, County Tyrone) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who is famed for his fast feet and pace and currently plays for Bristol City in the Championship.

Sproule, a winger, only turned professional after he signed for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian in January 2005, just a month before his 24th birthday. His early career had been spent at Omagh Town and Institute, semi-professional clubs in the Irish Football League. He combined playing football with his full time career as an engineer.

Hibernian

Scottish Premier League club Hibernian invited him for a trial in January 2005, in which he impressed manager Tony Mowbray and signed as a full-time professional until the end of the season, which meant that he had to give up his day jobcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/4217061.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Sproule joins Scottish club Hibs|date=28 January, 2005] . Hibs paid Institute a transfer fee of just £5,000.

The gamble of signing a player from outside professional football paid off for both Sproule and Hibs. Although he had a slow start with Hibs and it was rumoured that he would return to Northern Ireland, he scored one of the goals in a 3-1 win over Celtic at Celtic Parkcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/4495875.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Celtic 1-3 Hibernian|date=30 April, 2005] . Sproule was offered an extended contract which he accepted.

In August 2005, Sproule hit the headlines by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 defeat of defending champions Rangers at Ibrox Stadiumcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/4187314.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Rangers 0-3 Hibernian|date=27 August 2005] . Sproule caused further damage to Rangers by helping Hibs eliminate them from the 2006 Scottish Cup. Sproule scored one goal and assisted with another, as Hibs again won 3-0 at Ibroxcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/4676068.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Rangers 0-3 Hibernian|date=4 February 2006] .

Sproule's name was often sung by the Hibs fans with "He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where", a reference to his speed. He was part of the team that won the 2007 Scottish League Cup Final. He made a total of 94 appearances for Hibs (40 of which were as a substitute), scoring 18 goals.

Bristol City

Sproule joined Bristol City on a three-year contract on 27 June 2007 for an undisclosed fee believed to be about £500,000. cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/6769397.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Bristol City sign Hibs' Sproule|date=28 June 2007] .

He made his debut for the west-country club on 29 August 2007 against Manchester City in the Carling Cup. He was made to sit out the first four games of the season due to a suspension which he received while playing for Hibernian. He scored his first goal for Bristol City on 24 October 2007 in their 2-1 victory over Southampton with a thrilling 50 yard run around several players followed by a low left footed shot.

Sproule was part of the Bristol City squad who were beaten in the Championship play-off final against Hull City, played at Wembley Stadium on May 24 2008.

Northern Ireland

Sproule was called into the Northern Ireland squad for the first time in September 2005, and came on as a substitute in the famous 1-0 win over England at Windsor Parkcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4212920.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Northern Ireland 1-0 England|date=7 September 2005] .

Sproule scored on his first start for Northern Ireland against Estonia on 1 March 2006. His goal was the only goal of the game and was scored with his first touch, with only 2 minutes of the game playedcite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4761878.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Sproule hungry for more NI goals|date=1 March 2006] . During this match, the Northern Ireland fans sang "And I can't - help - falling in love - with - Sproule", after his maiden international goal.

He was left out of the initial Northern Ireland squad for the matches in October 2006 with Denmark and Latvia, but was later added for the Latvia match due to call-offs by other players.

References

External links

* [http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10327~33263,00.html Ivan Sproule profile] at bcfc.co.uk
*soccerbase|40935
* [http://www.irishfa.com/squad-profiles/377/senior/ivan-sproule-forward/ Profile on Irish FA official site]