Paddy Sloan

Infobox Football biography
playername= Paddy Sloan


fullname = Joshua Walter Sloan
dateofbirth = April 30, 1920
cityofbirth = Lurgan, County Armagh
countryofbirth = Ireland
position= Right Half / Inside Right
youthyears = 193x-1937
youthclubs = Glenavon
years = 1937-1938
1939-1946
1940-1941
1942-1943
1943-1945
1944-1945
1944-1945
1945-1946
1946-1948
1947-1948
1948-1949
1949-1950
1950-1951
1951
1951-1952
1952-1954
1954-1955
1955-1956
1956
1956-19xx
clubs= Manchester United
Tranmere Rovers
→ New Brighton "(guest)"
→ Millwall "(guest)"
→ Manchester United "(guest)"
→ Fulham "(guest)"
→ Bath City "(guest)"
→ Brentford "(guest)"
Arsenal
Sheffield United
AC Milan
Torino
Udinese Calcio
Brescia
Norwich City
Peterborough United
Rabat F.C.
Hastings United
Lockheed Leamington
Bath City
caps(goals) = 0 (0)
6 (4)
33 (1)
12 (2)
(x) (9)
6 (0)
nationalyears = 1945-1947
1946
nationalteam = Ireland (IFA)
Ireland (FAI)
nationalcaps(goals) = 3 (1)
2 (1)
manageryears = 1954-1955
1956
1956-19xx
1964
1965
196x
managerclubs = Rabat F.C.
Lockheed Leamington
Bath City
South Melbourne Hellas
Juventus
Port Melbourne Slavia
pcupdate = May 1 2007
ntupdate = May 1 2007 |

Joshua Walter Sloan (born April 30, 1920, Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland; died January 1993), commonly referred to as Paddy Sloan, is a former Irish footballer and manager. His widely travelled career took Sloan to twenty different clubs in five different countries, including Northern Ireland, England, Italy, Malta and Australia. As a player his clubs included among others Manchester United, Arsenal and AC Milan. As an international, he also played for both Ireland teams - the IFA XI and the FAI XI. Sloan pioneered the way for the likes of Liam Brady and Robbie Keane by becoming the first Irishman to play in Serie A.

Club career

Manchester United

After initially playing for his local Lurgan team, Glenavon as a youth, Sloan signed for Manchester United in September 1937. However he failed to break into the United first team and on May 24 1939, at the age of 19, he was transferred to Tranmere Rovers for a fee of £500. During the Second World War, Sloan would return to United as a guest player. Between 1943 and 1945 he made 3 wartime league appearances and scored 1 goal for United. In May 1945 Sloan also played for United in both legs of the League North Cup final against Bolton Wanderers. However United lost the final 3-2 on aggregate."Soccer at War – 1939 - 45" (2005): Jack Rollin ISBN 075531431X]

econd World War

After signing for Tranmere Rovers, Sloan made his debut for the club against Rotherham United on August 26 1939. However, shortly afterwards the Second World War broke out and Sloan joined the RAF. He was subsequently stationed in Canada where he became a sergeant-pilot. Throughout the war, Sloan remained a Tranmere Rovers player and between 1939 and 1946 he made 22 wartime league appearances and scored 15 goals for the club.

However Sloan’s RAF duties took him all over the country and during the course of the war, he made frequent guest appearances for other clubs. He made 1 league appearance for Millwall during the 1942-43 season before then guesting for Manchester United. The 1944-45 season saw him make 11 league appearances and score 6 goals for Fulham. During the same season he also played regularly for Bath City and his 18 goals helped them win the League West Cup in 1945. During the 1945-46 season he made 6 league appearances and scored 4 goals for Brentford in the Football League South and then went to Germany on tour with the club. This had been without the consent of his parent club, Tranmere Rovers.

Arsenal

At the end of the Second World War, Tranmere Rovers were expecting Sloan to return to them. However his wartime guest appearances had attracted the interest of several clubs including Manchester United, his former club, and Arsenal. Sloan eventually walked out on Tranmere and in May 1946 signed for the latter club. He made his league debut for Arsenal on August 31 in a 6-1 defeat against Wolves. During the subsequent 1946-47 season he made 27 league appearances and scored 1 goal, establishing himself as a regular in the Arsenal team. He also played a further three games for the club in the FA Cup. However the following season, 1947-48, Sloan lost his place to Archie Macaulay and he only made 3 league appearances. He played his last game for Arsenal on October 4 1947 in a league game against Portsmouth. In February 1948 Sloan left Arsenal and signed for Sheffield United [ [http://jkarlsson.netfirms.com/players/s/sloan_jw/ Arsenal stats] ] .

Italy

After only a brief spell with Sheffield United, Sloan joined AC Milan for the 1948-49 season and as a result he became the first Irish footballer to play in Serie A. Playing in a team that also included Gunnar Nordahl and Albert Gudmundsson, Sloan went onto score 9 goals during the season. The first of these came on October 24 1948 when he scored the third goal in 3-1 home win against Triestina. On June 5 1949, in the final game of season he scored twice in a 3-2 win against Sampdoria. His goals helped AC Milan finish the season in third place behind Torino and Inter Milan. During subsequent seasons he played for Torino, Udinese and Brescia before returning to England and signing for Norwich City in December 1951. [ [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ital49.html Serie A 1948-49] ]

Irish international

When Sloan began his international career in 1945 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland - based IFA and the Republic of Ireland - based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era, including Sloan, played for both teams.

IFA XI

Between 1945 and 1947 Sloan made 3 appearances and scored 1 goal for the IFA XI. These include two Victory internationals played in 1945 and 1946. On September 15 1945 at Windsor Park he made his debut for the IFA XI in a 1-0 defeat against England. Then on May 4 1946 he scored the only goal of the game as the IFA XI defeated Wales 1-0 at Ninian Park. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI in a 2-1 win against Wales on April 16 1947. Sloan was a Tranmere Rovers player when he played the first two games for the IFA XI, but had transferred to Arsenal by the time he made his last appearance.

FAI XI

In 1946, while at Arsenal, Sloan also made 2 appearances and scored 1 goal for the FAI XI. He was one of several players born in Northern Ireland who benefited from the FAI’s attempts to establish their all-Ireland influence. In June 1946 when the FAI organised an Iberian tour, Sloan, together with Jackie Vernon, Billy McMillan and Jimmy McAlinden, was one of four Northern Irish players called up. Sloan subsequently played in both the 3-1 defeat to Portugal on June 16 and then scored the winner as he helped the FAI XI gain a surprise 1-0 victory against Spain on June 23 [ [http://www.soccerscene.ie/sssenior/player.php?id=406 Ireland (FAI) stats] ] ["The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story" (1997): Sean Ryan [http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1851589392] ] .

Coaching career

Sloan continued to play football into the mid-1950s with, among others, Peterborough United, before joining Rabat F.C. of Malta as a player/coach in 1954. He also had spells as player/coach with both Lockheed Leamington and Bath City before emigrating to Australia as a coach in the Victorian Premier League, first with South Melbourne Hellas and then with Juventus. In 1964 he guided Hellas to the league title.

Honours

"Player"

Bath City

*League West Cup
**"Winners" 1945: 1

Manchester United

*League North Cup
**"Runners Up" 1945: 1

"Manager"

South Melbourne Hellas

*Victorian Premier League
**"Winners" 1964: 1

Port Melbourne Slavia

*Dockerty Cup
**"Winners" 1967: 1

References

External links

* [http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2007/04/josiah-paddy-sloan.html Northern Ireland Footballing Greats]