Luke O'Brien

Luke O'Brien
Personal information
Full name Luke O'Brien
Date of birth 11 September 1988 (1988-09-11) (age 23)
Place of birth Halifax, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Left Back
Club information
Current club Bradford City
Number 3
Youth career
2005–2007 Bradford City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007– Bradford City 131 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:45, 20th November 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Luke O'Brien (born 11 September 1988) is a professional footballer for Bradford City, as a left back.

Contents

Career

Born in Halifax, England,[1] on 11 September 1988, O'Brien attended Holy Trinity Senior School in the town. His younger brother, Adam O'Brien, is a rugby league player with Bradford Bulls.[2]

O'Brien grew up as a Bradford City fan and joined the club's Centre Of Excellence when he was eight-years-old,[1][3] and signed professional terms at the age of 18. He was twice awarded The David Bairstow Trophy which is given to a young player at the club (Under 8's to Under 16's) who have excelled themselves. He was also awarded the Youth Players Player of the Year aged 17. He travelled with the first team squad for the first time aged only 16. He made his debut for Bradford City as a second half subtitute against Doncaster Rovers on 4 September 2007 in the Football League Trophy.[4] His first start came in a 3–0 FA Cup defeat to Tranmere Rovers at Valley Parade on 1 December 2007.[4][5] He made his league debut towards the end of the first season when he deputised for Paul Heckingbottom in a 2–2 with Brentford on 12 April 2008.[6] He was one of three junior players to be offered a new deal by manager Stuart McCall on 29 April 2008,[7] and was the first of the three to sign his new deal.[8]

He played his first game of the 2008–09 season as a second-half substitute against Luton Town, following fellow left-back Paul Heckingbottom's red card.[9] He kept his place in the side and went on to score his first senior goal when he opened the scoring in a 2–0 victory over Rotherham United at the Don Valley Stadium on 22 November 2008.[10] His form also helped him to win the PFA Fans' League Two player of the month in December.[11] O'Brien said: "It is great to win an award like this, especially so early in my career, and the fact that it is voted for by supporters makes it that little bit more special."[2] He followed it up with consecutive nominations in the following two months.[12]

Former Bradford City player John Hendrie said O'Brien should win the club's player of the season award because of his consistency to win a regular first-team place. Hendrie said: "He defends well and has also got the energy and desire to overlap going forward and get crosses in the box."[13] O'Brien was voted Bradford City Player of the Year, Supporters Club Player of the Year, Under 25's Player of the Year and the Alan Hannah Trophy (Players Player of the Year) for the 2008/2009 season.

In May 2009 O'Brien's fine individual effort at Rotherham United was voted Goal of the Season 2008/2009 by Bradford City supporters in a recent online poll. The left back's stunning strike back in November at the Don Valley Stadium beat off 7 other contenders to win the award and this adds to his growing list of honours collected for the 2008/2009 season.

O'Brien's contract was due to expire at the end of the 2008/2009 season, he signed a 1 year deal in June 2009 to take his contract to the end of June 2010.

The second goal of his career came against Barnet on 17 April 2010 at Valley Parade. He came on with 15 minutes remaining, scored within 4 minutes then set up Michael Flynn for the winner to give Bradford City the 2-1 result. He said "It was so special to see it go in. Ive always wanted to score like that in front of the kop.".

O'Brien appeared in 49 of the club's 2009-10 season,starting 45 and coming off the bench 4 times. In June 2010, he signed a new two-year deal,the deal also includes the option for the football club to extend his contract into a third year if they wish.

O'Brien made the most appearances in the club's 2010-11 season with a total of 46, starting 41 and coming off the bench 5 times. He also had the club's most assists in all competitions with 6.

At the start of the 2011 season, Luke did not feature under Peter Jackson. His first appearance of the season came against Sheffield Wednesday on 30th August 2011 coming on for the last 5 minutes of the game,replacing Jack Compton.

Honours

Individual honours

Career statistics

As of 20th November 2011[14]
Club Division Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bradford City League Two 2007–08 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
2008–09 35 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 37 1
2009–10 43 1 1 0 1 0 4 0 49 1
2010–11 42 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 46 0
2011–12 9 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 13 0
Total 131 2 6 0 3 0 9 0 149 2

A. ^ Other matches are for games in the Football League Trophy.

Personal life

O'Brien became a father for the first time on 28 February 2011, when his girlfriend gave birth to daughter Madison.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Wobschall, Leon (2008-11-09). "Bradford City: Rookie Luke can't afford to ease up". Yorkshire Evening Post. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/yorkshire-soccer/BRADFORD-CITY-Rookie-Luke-can39t.4675210.jp. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  2. ^ a b Clarkson, Ian (2009-01-20). "Luke O’Brien – Bradford City: Exclusive PFA Interview". Professional Footballers' Association. http://www.givemefootball.com/league-two/luke-obrien-bradford-city-exclusive-pfa. Retrieved 2009-01-20. 
  3. ^ Parker, Simon (2008-04-15). "Hecky's helping hand for O'Brien". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/search/display.var.2198856.0.heckys_helping_hand_for_obrien.php. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
  4. ^ a b Parker, Simon (2007-11-29). "McCall backs O'Brien to take it in his stride". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/search/display.var.1869490.0.mccall_backs_obrien_to_take_it_in_his_stride.php. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
  5. ^ Parker, Simon (2007-12-02). "Rovers in a different league". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/search/display.var.1874993.0.rovers_in_a_different_league.php. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
  6. ^ Parker, Simon (2008-04-12). "Brentford 2 City 2". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/sportbcfcheadlines/display.var.2192759.0.brentford_2_city_2.php. Retrieved 2008-04-12. 
  7. ^ Parker, Simon (2008-04-29). "Johnson one of 13 axed by City". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.telegraphandargus.co.uk/display.var.2234555.0..php. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
  8. ^ "Bradford City duo sign new deals". BBC Sport. 2008-05-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bradford_city/7387493.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-07. 
  9. ^ "Bradford 1-1 Luton". BBC Sport. 2008-10-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/7639320.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
  10. ^ Parker, Simon (2008-11-22). "Rotherham 0 City 2". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sportbcfc/sportbcfcheadlines/3869870.ROTHERHAM_0_CITY_2/. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  11. ^ Parker, Simon (2009-01-06). "Law gets all clear for rest of season". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/4023304.Law_gets_all_clear_for_rest_of_season/. Retrieved 2009-01-06. 
  12. ^ "Luke O'Brien nominated again for Player of Month Award". Bradford City A.F.C.. 2009-02-24. http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~1568033,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
  13. ^ Hendrie, John (2009-03-30). "O'Brien gets my full backing". Telegraph & Argus. http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sportbcfc/sportbcfcheadlines/4245501.O_Brien_gets_my_full_backing/. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  14. ^ Luke O'Brien career stats at Soccerbase
  15. ^ "Luke's the daddy!". Bradford City A.F.C. official website. 28 February 2011. http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~2304153,00.html. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 

External links
Bradford City A.F.C. – current squad