Joe Mason

Joe Mason

Mason playing for Cardiff City during a pre-season friendly against Celtic.
Personal information
Full name Joseph Mason[1]
Date of birth 13 May 1991 (1991-05-13) (age 20)
Place of birth Plymouth, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Cardiff City
Number 20
Youth career
2000–2009 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2009–2011 Plymouth Argyle 53 (10)
2011– Cardiff City 20 (4)
National team‡
2009–2010 Republic of Ireland U19 6 (2)
2010– Republic of Ireland U21 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:14, 2 January 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:06, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Joseph "Joe" Mason (born 13 May 1991) is an Irish footballer who plays for Football League Championship club Cardiff City as a striker, having previously played for Plymouth Argyle. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth international level.

Contents

Club career

Plymouth Argyle

Mason began his career as a youth player with home-town club Plymouth Argyle at the age of 10. He was a regular scorer for the youth team and made the step up to reserve team football with similar ease, playing his part as the club won the Totesport.com Combination in 2009, with Mason as the club's top goalscorer.[3] He signed his first professional contract with the club in May 2009,[4] and immediately set about breaking into the club's first team, describing becoming a professional as a very proud moment.[5]

He began the 2009–10 season training with the first-team squad and again featured regularly for the club's reserves. He made his competitive debut, and his first start, for the club against Sheffield United at Home Park on 5 December 2009, playing for 65 minutes before being replaced by Craig Noone to a standing ovation.[6] He signed an extension to his contract with the club in January 2010 until the summer of 2012, with Paul Mariner commenting that the youngster has a very bright future.[7][8] He scored his first senior goal in the return fixture against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on 27 February 2010.[9]

Cardiff City

On 8 July 2011, Championship side Cardiff City agreed a £250,000 transfer fee for Mason.[10] Two days later the deal was completed and he signed a three year deal with the Welsh club.[11] Mason made his debut for Cardiff in a 1–0 win at West Ham United on 7 August 2011, replacing Craig Conway as a second half substitute. He scored his first goal for Cardiff City against Barnsley on 22 October.[12] He made his first start on 17 August in a home match against Brighton & Hove Albion,[13] which Cardiff lost 3–1.[14] Mason scored his first goal for the club on 22 October, in a 5-3 victory over Barnsley.[15] His next goal came three days later in the League Cup, the goal against Burnley meant that Cardiff reached their first League Cup quarter final since 1965.[16] Mason scored his third goal for Cardiff in a Championship fixture against Leeds United. His fourth came nearly a month later against Nottingham Fores with another month gap before scoring a 5th against Reading.

International career

Despite being born and bred in England, Mason qualifies to represent the Republic of Ireland because his mother comes from County Mayo. He represented his country at Under-18 level before being called up to the Under-19 squad for the Four-Nation tournament and their qualifying games in the UEFA Under-19 European Championships.[17][18] He played in their 2–0 win against Turkey,[19] and their 1–0 defeat to Portugal as the Irish finished second, behind Netherlands.[20] He scored twice for the Republic in their 5–0 win against San Marino, and played a crucial role in their 2–0 win against Albania.[21][22] The Irish finished second in Group 1, behind Italy, who both qualify for the Elite round which takes place in May 2010.[23][24]

Mason received his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad in July 2010.[25] He made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut on 3 September 2010 against Switzerland.[26]

Personal life

Mason attended St Boniface's Catholic College. His older brother, Anthony, also progressed through the youth system at Plymouth Argyle before being released in July 2008.[5]

Career statistics

As of 31 December 2011.
Club Performance League Domestic Cup League Cup Other Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
2009–10 Plymouth Argyle Championship 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 3
2010–11 League One 34 7 1 0 0 0 1 0 36 7
2011–12 Cardiff City Championship 19 3 0 0 2 1 0 0 21 4
Total 72 13 1 0 2 1 1 0 76 14

References

  1. ^ "Joseph Mason". UEFA. http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=1909931/profile/index.html. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  2. ^ "Squad profiles; Joe Mason". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/bsp/hi/football/statistics/players/m/mason_430422.stm. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  3. ^ "Player profile" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Pilgrims part with Smith & add three" The West Briton. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Argyle's Mason looks to thrive" The West Briton. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Joe's in the pink" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Deal done" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.]
  8. ^ "Mason signs up" BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Mason: I want to push on now" Western Morning News. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Cardiff target Plymouth striker Joe Mason". BBC Sport. 8 July 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14073785.stm. Retrieved 8 July 2011. 
  11. ^ "Mason completes Bluebirds switch". Cardiff City Football Club. 10 July 2011. http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10335~2389150,00.html. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 
  12. ^ Da Silva, Michael (7 August 2011). "West Ham 0–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14356630.stm. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  13. ^ "Joe earns first Bluebirds start". Cardiff City. 17 August 2011. http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10335~2423777,00.html. Retrieved 5 September 2011. 
  14. ^ "Cardiff 1–3 Brighton". BBC Sport. 17 August 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/14471754.stm. Retrieved 5 September 2011. 
  15. ^ "Cardiff 5 - 3 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 22 October 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/15319693.stm. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
  16. ^ "Cardiff 1 - 0 Burnley". BBC Sport. 25 October 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/15346240.stm. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
  17. ^ "Called up" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  18. ^ "Trio called up" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  19. ^ "Clifford at the double" Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  20. ^ "Disappointment for Ireland" Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  21. ^ "Mase the ace" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  22. ^ "Euro Joe" Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  23. ^ "Italy edge Ireland" UEFA. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  24. ^ "Under-19's in 2009" Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  25. ^ "Step up for Mason". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  26. ^ "Young U21s lose narrowly in Switzerland". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 3 September 2010.

External links

Cardiff City F.C. – current squad