| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Murphy | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Waterford, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Waterford Bohemians | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2003 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Swansea City | 13 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Bohemians | 97 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Ipswich Town | 20 | (0) |
| 2011- | Queens Park Rangers | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2009- | Republic of Ireland | 0 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Brian Murphy (born 7 May 1983 in Waterford, County Waterford) is an Irish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers. Murphy previously played for Bohemians, Swansea City, Manchester City and Ipswich Town.
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Murphy played football and hurling with one of his primary schools, Killea BNS in Dunmore East. As a teenager, Murphy did not harbour ambitions to be a professional football player. He was involved in many sports as a child including Gaelic Football, Hurling and Rugby Union. It was rugby that Murphy wished to pursue as a career, playing as an outside half for his school and club. He was also the kicker for his teams, and once confessed to being able to "boom a ball a long way from about 14 years old". This is now something that he has developed a reputation for as a professional goalkeeper. At 15 years of age, Murphy had rugby trials with Ireland but ultimately decided not to pursue when Manchester City offered him a place in their youth set-up.
Murphy spent four seasons with Manchester City where the competition for the No. 1 jersey included David Seaman, Nicky Weaver and Carlo Nash, but made the 1st team bench on a number of occasions in the old 1st Division and the Premier Division. Loaned out to Oldham Athletic in 2002–03, he made his senior début during a loan period with Peterborough United that same season away to Brentford in League One in May 2003.
Brian Flynn signed him for Swansea City on a free transfer two months later, and he made 13 appearances for them during the 2003–04 season. He was frozen out the following two seasons by the form of Frenchman Willy Gueret.
Murphy was one of the first players signed by Bohemians manager Sean Connor. He made an instant impression in pre-season friendlies, giving him the edge over on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper Lee Boyle. Murphy kept 19 clean sheets in his 29 league games during the 2007 season to help Bohs to the best defensive record in the league.
Murphy ended rumours linking him to Bristol City by signing an improved contract at Bohemians in November 2007.[1]
On 11 January 2008, he was voted "Goalkeeper of the Year" for the 2007 season by the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland.
Murphy was voted (by the supporters) Eircom League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Season for 2008 receiving 54% of the votes on eircomloi.ie, the league's official website [2] after keeping 20 clean sheets in 33 league games. He added a FAI Cup winners medal to his League winning one when saving two penalties in a penalty shoot-out win over Derry City on 23 November. And the honours kept coming for Murphy as he was announced as the SWAI Player of the Month for November.[3]
On 4 December 2008, he regained the "Goalkeeper of the Year" award as voted by the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland and his great season was further recognised on 8 February 2009 when he became the first goalkeeper to be awarded League of Ireland Player of the Year for the 2008 season.[4]
Murphy continued his outstanding form through the start of the 2009 season and excelled in Bohs UEFA Champions League qualifying tie against Red Bull Salzburg, saving a penalty kick from Austrian international Marc Janko at the Red Bull Arena.[5] However Murphy and Bohs would depart that competition, cruelly losing 2–1 on aggregate.
Back in domestic action, 17 August 2009 Murphy scored and saved twice in a penalty shoot-out against Dundalk in the fourth round of the FAI Cup to help Bohs through to the next round. He then added to his collection of medals in September as Bohs beat Waterford United in the final of the League of Ireland Cup. And he wasn't done yet as a great run of form towards the end of the season helped Murphy and Bohs to their second League of Ireland Premier Division title in a row, winning by 4 points from closest rivals Shamrock Rovers.
The game against Bray Wanderers on 6 November 2009 would be Murphy's 97th and last league appearance for Bohs before his move to Ipswich Town. In those 97 games, Murphy kept an outstanding 63 clean sheets.[6]
In late 2009 Murphy agreed to join Ipswich Town during the January 2010 transfer window. This was announced on the same day that Bohemians won their second successive League of Ireland title, and Murphy received his first call into the Irish senior squad.[7] At the start of the January transfer window, Murphy formalised his transfer to Portman Road.
His first appearance in the Town squad came on 10 January 2010 against Leicester City. Arran Lee-Barrett was to start in goal after showing impressive form late in 2009, with Murphy covering on the bench. However, Murphy was injured in the warm up at Leicester and was subsequently unable to fulfil his place on the bench for Town. The injury was knee ligaments and kept Murphy out until February, when he made a reserves appearance in a 1–0 win at Norwich. Lee-Barrett was, by this time, beginning to lose the form he had previously shown – something that was highlighted in a humiliating defeat away to table propping Peterborough. The following game Murphy was handed his debut against Sheffield Wednesday and kept a clean sheet on February 20, 2010.
Murphy impressed in that game, especially when he denied the Owls with a close range, reflex save in the first half. He retained his place in goal for the next game with Scunthorpe only conceding one goal. His home debut came against Bristol City on 27 January 2010, making one extremely memorable and spectacular save from David Clarkson. Indeed, it turned out to be a game for the goalkeepers, because for all Ipswich dominated, it was Murphy's opposite number, Dean Gerken who stole the headlines with a spectacular performance that included five world class saves.
On 7th May 2011 it was confirmed that Murphy had rejected a new contract and would be leaving the club.
After impressing on trial it had been confirmed Murphy signed a two-year deal with Queens Park Rangers.[8] He made his first start for the club in a 0–2 loss to Rochdale in the League Cup.[9]
Murphy was a regular in the Ireland under-19 squad under Brian Kerr and was preferred to Aston Villa goalkeeper Wayne Henderson for the European under-19 Championships qualifiers and finals in 2002 until a shoulder injury allowed Henderson to reclaim his place. He has been capped since at under-20 and under-21 levels.
On Friday 6 November 2009, Murphy was called up to the Ireland squad for the World Cup Play-Offs against France following the withdrawal of Coventry City’s Keiren Westwood.[10]
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