John Kennedy (Scottish footballer)

Football player infobox
playername = John Kennedy


fullname = John Kennedy
nickname =
height = height|ft=6|in=2
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1983|8|18
cityofbirth = Bellshill
countryofbirth = Scotland
currentclub = Norwich City
(on loan from Celtic)
clubnumber = 5
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1999-
2008
clubs = Celtic
→ Norwich City (loan)
caps(goals) = 45 (1)
05 (0)
nationalyears = 2002-2004
2004
nationalteam = Scotland U-21s
Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 15 (1)
01 (0)
pcupdate = 13 September 2008
ntupdate = 3 December 2007

John Kennedy (born 18 August 1983 in Bellshill) is a Scottish professional football player currently playing for Norwich City in the Football League Championship on loan from Celtic. He is a defender and is also a Scotland international. Kennedy is the grandson of Celtic and Manchester United player, Jimmy Delaney, but he is not related to John Kennedy, a midfielder who played for Celtic in the 1960s. Kennedy is currently Celtic's joint longest serving player along with captain Stephen McManus, with 8 years at the club.

Career

Celtic

Kennedy came through Celtic's youth system and signed a professional contract on the same day as fellow defender Stephen McManus. He made his first-team debut during the 1999/00 season but it wasn't until the 2003/04 season that he really made his name.

He suffered a serious knee ligament injury on his international debut against Romania in March 2004, when Romanian striker Ionel Ganea made a disgusting challenge on him, which kept him out of the first team for three years, effectively ruining the promising young players career in professional football. The SFA agreed to compensate the club with respect to the player's wages following his injury. In late 2006 Kennedy resumed training and was named as a substitute for Celtic's Champions League match against A.C. Milan on 20 February, 2007.

He started his comeback against Kilmarnock on 22 April 2007, helping Celtic clinch the title. He played the full 90 minutes, but Shunsuke Nakamura stole the headlines, scoring in the final minute with a free-kick. Four days later, on April 26, he signed a new three-year contract with the club. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/6595011.stm Kennedy signs new Celtic contract] - BBC Sport]

On 28 November the same year, however, playing in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, he was stretchered off after twisting his knee landing after an aerial challenge. The initial diagnosis was that he sustained damage to his lateral meniscus and the posterior lateral complex of the same knee he'd previously injured, ruling him out for up to 3 months. [ [http://www.celticfc.net/news/stories/news_291107154411.aspx John Kennedy Injury update] - Celtic FC]

On July 14 2008, it was rumoured that Kennedy had joined Motherwell on a six month loan deal ending in December [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/7505492.stm Celtic duo poised for Well switch ] ] , though this was quashed by Celtic later the same day [ [http://celticfc.net/news/stories/news_140708213248.aspx No loan agreement for Kennedy] Celtic FC] . He did, however, meet up with the Motherwell squad in Austria, on trial. However it was rumoured that Kennedy was in talks with Norwich City and Preston North End over a possible loan move.

Norwich City (loan)

On July 27 2008, it was confirmed that Kennedy would be joining Norwich City on loan until January. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7505492.stm Norwich win loan race for Kennedy] - BBC Sport] He made his Norwich debut in a 2-0 defeat to Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena on August 9 2008.

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=20067|name=John Kennedy
* [http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/61619.html "Kennedy is one step nearer to Celtic return"] by Martin Greig, "The Herald", May 9, 2006, retrieved June 3, 2006