- David Connolly
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This article is about the footballer. For the Australian politician, see David Connolly (Australian politician). For the skeleton racer, see David Connolly (skeleton racer).
David Connolly Personal information Full name David James Connolly Date of birth 6 June 1977 Place of birth Willesden, London, England Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Playing position Striker Club information Current club Southampton Number 22 Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1994–1997 Watford 26 (10) 1997–2001 Feyenoord 25 (7) 1998–1999 → Wolves (loan) 32 (6) 1999–2001 → Excelsior (loan) 48 (42) 2001–2003 Wimbledon 63 (42) 2003–2004 West Ham United 39 (10) 2004–2005 Leicester City 49 (17) 2005–2006 Wigan Athletic 19 (1) 2006–2009 Sunderland 39 (13) 2009– Southampton 48 (13) National team‡ 1996–2004 Republic of Ireland 41 (9) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:03, 29 October 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:50, 16 December 2006 (UTC)David James Connolly (born 6 June 1977) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton. He has previously played for various clubs including Feyenoord and Excelsior in the Netherlands as well as Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the Premier League.
Although born in England, Connolly has represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. He was a member of Ireland's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad that lost to Spain in the knockout stage where his penalty kick was saved by Iker Casillas during the shootout.
Contents
Early life
Connolly was born in England to Irish parents and attended St Joan of Arc School, Rickmansworth. He is married to Joanna Martin.[citation needed]
Career
Connolly started his career with Watford where he scored 15 goals in 34 games. That impressive record earned him a move to Dutch team Feyenoord Rotterdam. He was at one point the highest paid player in Dutch football, and had loan spells at Excelsior Rotterdam and Wolverhampton Wanderers (where he scored four goals in one game against Bristol City)[1] before joining Wimbledon in 2001 on a free transfer where he scored 42 goals in two seasons.
Manager Glenn Roeder signed Connolly for West Ham United for £285,000 in August 2003.[2] Connolly scored on his West Ham debut in a 2-1 away win at Preston North End on 9 August 2003.[3] He scored 14 goals in 48 games in all competitions for West Ham; his final game coming in the 2004 play-off final defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2004.[4][5]
Connolly signed for Leicester City in 2004 for £500,000, finishing as the club's top scorer in his first season. He managed a hat-trick against Stoke City in August 2005, prior to signing for Wigan.[6]
On 31 August 2005, he joined newly promoted Premiership club Wigan Athletic for £2 million (with the possibility of rising to £3 million if Wigan stayed in the Premiership, which they did).[7] He scored on his debut for Wigan in a 2–1 win at West Bromwich Albion,[8] but was hit by injuries for much of the rest of the 2005–06 season. His only other goals for Wigan came against Newcastle in the League Cup[9] and Leeds in the FA Cup.[10]
In 2006, also on 31 August, Connolly linked up with his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Roy Keane at Sunderland. His first goal came against Colchester United on 18 November, when he came on as a sub and smashed the ball in off the post from about 18 yards out. Connolly ended up Sunderland's top scorer and was an integral part of their promotion in the 2006–07 season, scoring 13 goals in the campaign and scoring the final goal of the season for Sunderland against Luton Town on 6 May 2007, in the match that made Sunderland champions of the Coca-Cola Championship.
In the 2007–08 season, Connolly played just five games, three of them in the league. In the 2008–09 season, Connolly did not make a single appearance. He was released on 28 May 2009.[11]
After being released by Sunderland in the summer of 2009 he became a free agent. On 8 October 2009, Connolly signed a deal with League One side Southampton, lasting until the end of the 2009–10 season but capable of being extended by a further year if he hits an undisclosed number of appearances.[12] He scored on his debut on 17 October 2009 against Oldham Athletic, and grabbed another in the next game against Milton Keynes Dons, once again off the bench. He scored two in the FA Cup first round tie against Bristol Rovers, in a 3–2 victory, his first start. Connolly's contract was then extended for the 2010–11 season.
He struggled with injury in the 2010–2011 season, but scored in an F.A. Cup match against Shrewsbury Town, and then scored a crucial goal in a 2–1 victory away at champions Brighton. He followed that up with a goal in a 3–0 win at Brentford and then on the final day of the season in a 3–1 win over Walsall to end the season with four goals from 18 appearances in a injury-hit season. It was Connolly's late season form that helped Southampton clinch promotion.[citation needed]
Following Southampton's promotion to the Championship, Connolly continued his goal scoring form into the 2011–12 season by scoring the final goal in Southampton's 3–1 victory over Leeds United in the first game of the season. He then netted the only goal in a 1–0 victory at Barnsley a week later. On 16 August, he scored against Ipswich Town at Portman Road as Saints won 5–2, with the third of the night making the score 3–0 to Southampton at half time. This result firmly planted Southampton on top of the Championship table with three wins from their first three matches. Connolly scored again for Southampton against Leicester City on 27 August, but this was not enough to prevent the Saints from slipping to their first defeat of the season, losing 3–2.[citation needed]
International
Connolly has also been a regular member of the Republic of Ireland national team, since making his debut on 29 May 1996 against Portugal. He was sent off in 1997 after coming on as a substitute against Belgium in the play-off for a place at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, with Ireland losing by an aggregate score of 3–2.[13]
Connolly was part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad that lost to Spain in the knockout stage, where his penalty kick was saved by Iker Casillas during the shootout. He has scored nine goals for Ireland in 41 caps and also scored once for Ireland in Niall Quinn's benefit match on 14 May 2002, against his former club, Sunderland as well as once in Mick McCarthy's testimonial on 26 May 1996 against Celtic.
In the 2007–08 season Connolly failed to feature in any of Steve Staunton's squads, despite being Sunderland's top goalscorer, although he was called in to Giovanni Trapattoni's first 40-man squad in 2008 despite being injured at the time.
International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1[14] 9 June 1996 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 
United States1–2 Defeat U.S. Cup 2[15] 12 June 1996 New Jersey, U.S. 
Mexico2–2 Draw U.S. Cup 3[16] 21 May 1997 Dublin 
Liechtenstein5–0 Win World Cup Qualifier 4[17] 21 May 1997 Dublin Liechtenstein5–0 Win World Cup Qualifier 5[18] 21 May 1997 Dublin Liechtenstein5–0 Win World Cup Qualifier 6[19] 6 September 1997 Reykjavík, Iceland 
Iceland4–2 Win World Cup Qualifier 7[20] 10 February 1999 Dublin 
Paraguay2–0 Win Friendly 8[21] 6 October 2001 Dublin 
Cyprus4–0 Win World Cup Qualifier 9[22] 9 September 2003 Dublin 
Turkey2–2 Draw Friendly Career statistics
Club[23][24]
Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Europe FLT Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 1994–95 Watford Division 1 2 0 1995–96 11 8 1996–97 Division 2 13 2 2 4 1 0 - - 16 6 Watford Total 26 10 1997–98 Feyenoord Eredivisie 10 2 1 0 1998–99 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Loan) Division 1 32 6 1 0 2 0 - - 35 6 1999–00 Excelsior (Loan) Eerste Divisie 32 29 2000–01 16 13 Excelsior Total 48 42 2000–01 Feyenoord Eredivisie 15 5 Feyenoord Total 25 7 2001–02 Wimbledon Division 1 35 18 2 0 1 0 - - 38 18 2002–03 28 24 2 0 - - - 30 24 Wimbledon Total 63 42 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 68 42 2003–04 West Ham United Division 1 42* 10 4 2 2 2 - - 48 14 West Ham United Total 42 10 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 48 14 2004–05 Leicester City Championship 44 13 5 0 - - - 49 13 2005–06 5 4 - - - - 5 4 Leicester City Total 49 17 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54 17 2005–06 Wigan Athletic Premier League 17 1 1 1 3 1 - - 21 3 2006–07 2 0 - - - - 2 0 Wigan Athletic Total 19 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 23 3 2006–07 Sunderland Championship 36 13 1 0 - - - 37 13 2007–08 Premier League 3 0 1 0 1 0 - - 5 0 2008–09 - - - - - - Sunderland Total 39 13 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 42 13 2009–10 Southampton League One 20 5 1 2 - - 2 0 23 7 2010–11 15 3 1 1 1 0 - 1 0 18 4 Southampton Total 35 8 2 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 41 11 Holland Total 73 49 1 0 England Total 301 105 21 10 11 3 0 0 3 0 332 117 Career total 370 153 21 10 11 3 1 0 3 0 406 166 Stats accurate as of 8 May 2011 (UTC).
( * ) Include 3 Play-Off Appearances.
Honours
- Football League Trophy: 2010
References
- ^ "Bristol City 1 Wolves 6". Sporting Life. 7 November 1998. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/wolves/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/98/11/07/SOCCER_Bristol_City_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=wolves&DIV=prem&TEAM=WOLVES&RH=Wolves&PREV_SEASON=1997. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
- ^ "Connolly joins West Ham". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/3115673.stm. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Preston 1-2 West Ham". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3113053.stm. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics". www.westhamstats.info. http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=775&united=David_Connolly. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Crystal Palace 1 West Ham 0". www.sportinglife.com. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cc_championship/westham/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/04/05/29/SOCCER_First.html&TEAMHD=westham&DIV=nat1&TEAM=WEST--HAM&RH=West--Ham&PREV_SEASON=2002. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ Leicester 4–2 Stoke, BBC Sport 2005-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-09-05
- ^ Wigan secure signing of Connolly, BBC Sport 2005-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-09-05
- ^ "West Brom 1–2 Wigan". BBC. 10 September 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4210904.stm. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Wigan 1–0 Newcastle". BBC. 30 November 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/4472982.stm. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Wigan 1–1 Leeds". BBC. 7 January 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4565040.stm. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Sunderland announce major clear-out". Setanta Sports. 28 May 2009. http://www.setanta.com//uk/Articles/Football/2009/05/28/Prem-Sunderland-release-seven-players/gnid-54867/. Retrieved 28 May 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Striker Arrives". Southampton F.C.. 8 October 2009. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1820509,00.html. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ Leahy, Ed (10 November 2011). "Ireland's chequered play-off history". RTÉ Sport. http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2011/1110/ireland_playoff.html. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ "Man City Info Via The Alps #201". http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/01.html?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ "Man City Info Via The Alps #202". http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/02.html?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ Jackson, Lyle (15 November 2006). "BBC SPORT". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/6147468.stm?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ Jackson, Lyle (15 November 2006). "BBC SPORT". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/6147468.stm?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ Jackson, Lyle (15 November 2006). "BBC SPORT". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/6147468.stm?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ "SPURS-LIST Digest – 7 Sep 1997 to 8 Sep 1997". http://www.clubi.ie/grizmond/spurs-list/archives/1997/9709Sep/970908.txt?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.[dead link]
- ^ "Irish Sport News, 11 February 1999". http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/02/11/shead.htm?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ "BreakingNews.ie – 2003/09/09: Connolly and Dunne on target". http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/09/09/story112810.asp?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ "Ireland Step Up A Gear". http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s63/st32681.htm?rss=yes/. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ "David Connolly Career Stats". Soccerbase. 1 December 2010. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=10516. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ "David Connolly Career Stats (2)". national-football-teams.com. 1 December 2010. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=3347. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
External links
- David Connolly career stats at Soccerbase
- Career Details at National Football Teams
- Official Sunderland FC Profile
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Paul Dickov
Les FerdinandLeicester City Top Goalscorer
2004–05Succeeded by
Mark de Vries
Iain Hume
Joey GuðjónssonSouthampton F.C. – current squad 1 Davis · 2 Richardson · 3 Harding · 4 Schneiderlin · 6 Fonte · 7 Lambert · 8 Cork · 9 Barnard · 10 Do Prado · 12 Butterfield · 13 Fox · 14 Hammond · 15 Jaïdi · 16 Martin · 18 Chaplow · 20 Lallana · 21 Białkowski · 22 Connolly · 23 Dickson · 24 Holmes · 25 Seaborne · 26 Hooiveld · 28 Reeves · 29 Doble · 30 Ward-Prowse · 32 Stephens · 33 De Ridder · 34 Shaw · 35 Moore · 36 Dovey · 39 Dean · Manager: Adkins
Republic of Ireland squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Given • 2 Finnan • 3 Harte • 4 Cunningham • 5 Staunton (c) • 6 Roy Keane • 7 McAteer • 8 Holland • 9 Duff • 10 Robbie Keane • 11 Kilbane • 12 Kinsella • 13 Connolly • 14 Breen • 15 Dunne • 16 Kiely • 17 Quinn • 18 G. Kelly • 19 Morrison • 20 O'Brien • 21 Reid • 22 Carsley • 23 A. Kelly • Coach: McCarthy
1980: Houtman / Hazelhekke • 1981: Tol • 1982: Den Boer • 1983: Rontberg • 1984: Boere • 1985: Van Velzen • 1986: Boere / Van Velzen • 1987: Grim • 1988: Van de Wiel • 1989: Velten • 1990: Van Velzen • 1991: Cornelissen • 1992: Tammer • 1993: Graef • 1994: Breetveld • 1995: Mutsaers • 1996: Van Oostrum • 1997: Van Oostrum • 1998: Van der Laan • 1999: Van der Laan • 2000: Connolly • 2001: Jansen • 2002: Tsvetkov • 2003: De Groot • 2004: Huntelaar • 2005: Koevermans • 2006: Kolk / Powel • 2007: Powel • 2008: Tuyp • 2009: Calabro • 2010: De Leeuw • 2011: Voskamp •
Categories:- 1977 births
- Living people
- Republic of Ireland association footballers
- Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers
- Watford F.C. players
- Feyenoord players
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- Excelsior Rotterdam players
- Wimbledon F.C. players
- West Ham United F.C. players
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Wigan Athletic F.C. players
- Sunderland A.F.C. players
- Southampton F.C. players
- Premier League players
- Eredivisie players
- Republic of Ireland international footballers
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers
- Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
- British people of Irish descent
- People from Willesden
- Sportspeople from London
- The Football League players
- People educated at Burnham Grammar School
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