Paul Connolly

Football player infobox
playername = Paul Connolly


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1983|9|29|df=y
cityofbirth = Liverpool
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Derby County
clubnumber = 2
position = Right Back
height= height|ft=6|in=0
years = 2000–2008
2002
2008–
clubs = Plymouth Argyle
→ Bideford (loan)
Derby County
caps(goals) = 154 (1)
00? (?)
000 (0)
nationalcaps(goals) = 0 (0)
ntupdate = May 14 2008
pcupdate = May 14 2008 |

Paul Connolly (born 29 September 1983 in Liverpool) is an English footballer. He is a defender and currently plays for Derby County where he is currently team captain.

Connolly came through the youth ranks at Plymouth Argyle, and made his league debut in the final game of the 2000–01 season. He helped the team to gain promotion to the Second Division in 2001–02 and to the First Division i 2003–04.

Connolly's contract ended at the end of the 2007–08, and on 15 May 2008 he moved to Derby County on a free transfer. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/7400064.stm|title=Derby snap up Plymouth defender |date=2008-05-15 |accessdate=2008-05-15 |publisher=BBC Sport] Derby had just been relegated from the Premiership, and will compete in the Championship in the 2008–09 season. Paul Jewell has described him as "6 ft 1in, athletic and hungry". After making a 10-hour round trip from Plymouth to meet the Rams boss, the 24-year-old right-back opted for a move to Derby. The defender told the Derby Evening Telegraph: "I had about four or five other clubs interested in the Championship and I got a phone call from Paul Jewell, who said: "Can you come up and meet me?"'

"I jumped in the car, drove up on my own and met him. He showed me around the whole club. It was late on, it was getting dark and he showed me the training ground, the stadium and we walked around for two hours.

"We talked about football, life in general - we talked about everything. As soon as the meeting finished, I drove back to Plymouth - about five hours in the car again. Then I phoned my agent and said: 'As long as the contract's OK, I want to cancel talks with the other clubs. I want to sign for Derby."'

Career statistics

"(correct as of 14 May 2008)"

fnb|1"Football League Trophy"

ources

*soccerbase|id=24712|name=Paul Connolly

References

Persondata
NAME = Paul Connolly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH = 29 September 1983
PLACE OF BIRTH = Liverpool, England
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =