Ivan Sproule

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Sproule
Personal information
Full name Ivan Sproule
Date of birth February 18, 1981 (1981-02-18) (age 27)
Place of birth    County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Playing position Midfielder/Striker
Club information
Current club Bristol City
Number 29
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*


2005-2007
2007-		 Omagh Town
Institute
Hibernian
Bristol City

071 0(12)
040 00(2)   
National team2
2005- Northern Ireland 011 00(1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 18, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 18, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Ivan Sproule or just 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.

Contents

[edit] 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 job[1]. 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 Park[2]. 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 Stadium[3]. 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 Ibrox[4].

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.

[edit] 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. [5].

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.

[edit] 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 Park[6].

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 played[7]. 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sproule joins Scottish club Hibs", BBC Sport website, 28 January, 2005. 
  2. ^ "Celtic 1-3 Hibernian", BBC Sport website, 30 April, 2005. 
  3. ^ "Rangers 0-3 Hibernian", BBC Sport website, 27 August 2005. 
  4. ^ "Rangers 0-3 Hibernian", BBC Sport website, 4 February 2006. 
  5. ^ "Bristol City sign Hibs' Sproule", BBC Sport website, 28 June 2007. 
  6. ^ "Northern Ireland 1-0 England", BBC Sport website, 7 September 2005. 
  7. ^ "Sproule hungry for more NI goals", BBC Sport website, 1 March 2006. 

[edit] External links

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Bristol City F.C. – current squad

1 Basso • 2 Orr • 3 McAllister • 4 Fontaine • 5 McCombe • 6 Carey • 7 Murray • 8 Noble • 9 Brooker • 10 Carle • 11 McIndoe • 12 Myrie-Williams • 14 Skuse • 16 Keogh • 18 B. Wilson • 20 Betsy • 21 Artus • 22 Weale • 23 Trundle • 24 Ribeiro • 25 Elliott • 26 J. Wilson • 27 Walker • 29 Sproule • 30 Plummer • 32 Henderson • 33 L. Johnson • 35 Adebola • Manager: G. Johnson
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