Roy O'Donovan

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Roy O'Donovan

O'Donovan playing for Northampton Town in 2013
Personal information
Full nameRoy Simon O'Donovan[1]
Date of birth (1985-08-10) 10 August 1985
Place of birthCork, Ireland
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current clubNorthampton Town
Number10
Youth career
2001–2004Coventry City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2005–2007Cork City74(31)
2007–2010Sunderland17(0)
2008–2009→ Dundee United (loan)11(1)
2009→ Blackpool (loan)12(0)
2009→ Southend United (loan)4(1)
2010→ Hartlepool United (loan)15(9)
2010–2013Coventry City17(0)
2012→ Hibernian (loan)14(1)
2013–Northampton Town30(6)
National team
2004–2006Republic of Ireland U218(1)
2006–2007Republic of Ireland B2(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:32, 2 January 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Roy Simon O'Donovan (born 10 August 1985) is an Irish footballer who plays for Northampton Town. He has been capped by Ireland at Under-19, Under-21 and B level. O'Donovan has previously played for Cork City, Sunderland, Dundee United, Blackpool, Southend United, Hartlepool United, Coventry City and Hibernian.

Club career

O'Donovan played schoolboy football for Leeds A.F.C. Cork.[2] In 2001 he signed for English club Coventry City as a trainee,[3] before being released in December 2004 without making a first team appearance for the club.[4]

Cork City

O'Donovan moved back to Republic of Ireland and joined his hometown club Cork City in early 2005. In his first season at Cork City they captured the League of Ireland championship after a twelve year absence. He played mainly as a wide-right attacking midfielder after joining Cork, but was soon moved up front as a striker, becoming the top goalscorer in the League of Ireland.[5] He scored in a UEFA Cup win in July 2005 . He was named the eircom/Soccer Writers Association of Ireland (SWAI) Player of the Month for November 2005 and won the award again in November 2006 after being switched to centre forward from midfield, he was also a nominee for the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland (SWAI) player of the year the same season.[6]

On 21 November it was reported that Wolverhampton Wanderers were interested in signing O'Donovan, but that they were denied permission to speak to him about a move by Cork City. [7] On 7 July 2007, he scored as Cork City drew 1–1 with Swedish Allsvenskan club Hammarby in the second round of the 2007 Intertoto Cup.[8] He scored a total of 31 league goals in 74 league appearances for the club, as well as 2 goals in European competitions.[9]

Sunderland

In July 2007, Fulham agreed a fee with Cork City to sign O'Donovan,[4] however, Roy Keane signed him for Sunderland on 7 August for an League of Ireland record transfer fee of €500,000, with O'Donovan saying, "I had a choice between Fulham and Sunderland but when I spoke to the gaffer [Roy Keane] my mind was made up."[10] The fee can increase to €1 million depending on appearances for club and country. He signed a three-year contract,[11] reportedly worth €8,000 a week.[12] He made his Premier League debut for Sunderland as a 70th minute substitute in the 2–2 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's on 15 August.[13] His first start of the season came on 21 October in the 3–1 defeat to West Ham United at Upton Park, although he was substituted in the 46th minute.[14] O'Donovan made seventeen appearances for the Black Cats in the 2007–08 season, starting just four times.[15]

His first goal for Sunderland came in a pre-season against Portuguese Liga club Sporting Clube de Portugal on 20 July 2008.[16]

Dundee United

On 8 August 2008, he signed a one-year loan deal with Dundee United.[11][15] He made his debut for the Tangerines on 11 August in a 3–1 defeat to Hamilton Academical at New Douglas Park.[17] He scored his first goal in a 2–0 home win over St Mirren on 25 October, after coming on as a 67th minute substitute: the goal was a memorable one, coming in front of a full stadium of supporters who had turned up to commemorate the passing of the popular club chairman Eddie Thompson.[18] On 1 November, he was sent off in the 57th minute of the 0–0 draw against Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium.[19] However, he failed to win back his place in the side following suspension and in late December he was one of three players along with Michael Chopra and Anthony Stokes recalled by Sunderland who were struggling with injuries.[20][21][22]

Blackpool

On 9 January 2009, he signed for Championship club Blackpool on loan until the end of the season.[3][23] He made his debut for the Seasiders in the 2–1 defeat to Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena on 17 January. He played mainly as a right sided midfielder and wore the famous number 7 shirt. What had been a successful loan spell up to this point took a turn for the worse when[24][25] on 10 March, he was taken to hospital after being taken ill with suspected appendicitis before Blackpool's game against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Two days later he had keyhole surgery to remove his appendix. He returned to action on 11 April in Blackpool's 1–0 West Lancashire Derby win over Preston North End at Deepdale. He retained his place in the side for the following game, a 2–2 draw against Reading.

Southend United

On 16 September 2009, O'Donovan joined Southend United on an one month loan deal. He scored on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion, in the 3–2 win. O'Donovan made a further two league appearances plus one in the Football League Trophy before returning to Sunderland once the loan was completed.

Hartlepool United

On 23 February 2010, he joined Hartlepool United on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season.[26] He made his debut for Hartlepool in their 4–1 home win over Carlisle United on 23 February 2010. On 6 March 2010, he scored his first goals for Hartlepool, a hat-trick against Southend, who he was with at the beginning of the season.[27] O'Donovan went on to make 15 appearance scoring 9 goals before returning to parent club Sunderland at the end of the season.

Coventry City

O'Donovan signed a three–year deal with Coventry City on 25 June 2010 becoming new manager Aidy Boothroyd's third signing of the close season. He officially transferred to Coventry on 1 July 2010, five years after leaving them as an academy youth player. O'Donovan was loaned to Hibernian in January 2012 for the rest of the 2011–12 season.[28][29] O'Donovan returned to Coventry for the 2012–13 season and made some first team appearances under the management of Mark Robins,[30] but he was released from his contract in January 2013.[31]

Northampton Town

O'Donovan signed for Northampton Town on a free transfer in January 2013.[31] He was signed by Aidy Boothroyd, who had previously signed O'Donovan for Coventry.[31] In January 2014, O'Donovan flew to Dubai for talks with Brunei DPMM.[32][33] A move he later turned down.[34]

Career statistics

As of 31 August 2013[35]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cork City 2005–07 League of Ireland74310000007431
Total 74310000007431
Sunderland 2007–08 Premier League170101000190
Dundee United (loan) 2008–09 Scottish Premier League111002000131
Blackpool (loan) 2008–09 Championship120000000120
Southend United (loan) 2009–10 League One4100001051
Hartlepool United (loan) 159000000159
Coventry City 2010–11 Championship2010100040
2011–12 110101100131
Hibernian (loan) 2011–12 Scottish Premier League141210000162
Coventry City 2012–13 League One4020100070
Northampton Town League Two196000000196
2013-14 5100110062
Career totals 1885071721020353
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including substitutes) in the Football League Trophy.

International career

O'Donovan has played for the Republic of Ireland Under-19, Under-21[2] and B teams. He made his debut for the Under-21 team in August 2005 against Northern Ireland.[2] On 18 May, he scored as the Irish Under-21's beat Azerbaijan 3–0 in a 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification preliminary round match,[36][37] He went on to make eight appearances for the under-21's, scoring once.

On 21 November 2007, he played for Republic of Ireland B as they drew 1–1 with Scotland B in a friendly international at the Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie.[38]

In May 2007, O'Donovan expressed his surprise and disappointment at not being part of the Republic of Ireland squad for the end of season international matches against Ecuador and Bolivia, a squad in which his Cork City teammate Joe Gamble was included. O'Donovan said, "I’m surprised to be honest with you. I’ve scored 25 goals in the last 25 or 26 games so I can’t do any more. I would have liked a reason why I’m not in it but that's life."[5]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics". Premier League. Retrieved 12 January 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Under 21 – 2006/2007 Squad Profile". Football Association of Ireland. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Transfer Latest". Blackpool F.C. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alexander, Nick (29 July 2007). "Keane wants O'Donovan deal". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "O’Donovan "surprised" with Irish snub". eleven-a-side.com. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007. 
  6. ↑ "Cork City's Roy O'Donovan is top player in eircom League for November". Football Association of Ireland. 6 December 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  7. ↑ "Wolves are chasing Cork's O'Donovan". RTÉ Sport. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  8. ↑ "Colin Healy stars but Cork City lose first half lead to impressive Swedes". Football Association of Ireland. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Roy O'Donovan football profile". eurosport. yahoo.com. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  10. ↑ Alexander, Nick (9 August 2007). "Keane signs O'Donovan". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Roy O'Donovan". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  12. ↑ "Sunderland sign O'Donovan in €1m deal". Evening Echo. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007. 
  13. ↑ "Birmingham 2–0 Sunderland". Soccerbase. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  14. ↑ "West Ham 3–1 Sunderland". Soccerbase. 21 October 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "O'Donovan joins Dundee United". Sunderland A.F.C. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  16. ↑ Alexander, Nick (23 July 2008). "O'Donovan hopes for Vitoria start". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  17. ↑ "Hamilton 3–1 Dundee United". Soccerbase. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  18. ↑ "Dundee United 2–0 St Mirren". Soccerbase. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  19. ↑ "Falkirk 0–0 Dundee United". Soccerbase. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  20. ↑ "Chopra struggling to make cup clash". eurosport. yahoo.com. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  21. ↑ "Sbragia: I'll stay friendly with stars". eurosport. yahoo.com. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  22. ↑ "O'Donovan and Carson are recalled". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  23. ↑ "O'Donovan joins Blackpool". Sunderland A.F.C. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  24. ↑ "Coventry 2–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009. 
  25. ↑ "Coventry City vs Blackpool match report". Blackpool F.C. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009. 
  26. ↑ "Pools pick up O'Donovan". Sky Sports. 23 February 2010. 
  27. ↑ "Report: Irish Masterclass As Pools Thump Southend". 
  28. ↑ "O'Donovan Signs". Hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian F.C. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012. 
  29. ↑ "Coventry's O'Donovan and Wolves' Doherty loaned to Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013. 
  30. ↑ "O’Donovan hunts a goal for Sky Blues". Cork Evening Echo. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 "Roy O'Donovan joins Northampton following Coventry exit". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013. 
  32. ↑ "Cobblers striker O’Donovan flies to Dubai for talks with Brunei DPMM". http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/. Retrieved 8 January 2014. 
  33. ↑ "Former Sunderland forward Roy O'Donovan in DPMM talks". http://www.goal.com/en-sg/. Retrieved 8 January 2014. 
  34. ↑ "O'Donovan's Brunei snub opens door for Zayed move". http://www.independent.ie/. Retrieved 21 January 2014. 
  35. ↑ Roy O'Donovan career stats at Soccerbase
  36. ↑ "U21 men 2005/'06 Results". Football Association of Ireland. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  37. ↑ "Ireland cruise to comfortable win in Kilkenny". Football Association of Ireland. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 
  38. ↑ "Scotland B v Republic of Ireland B Match Report". Football Association of Ireland. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009. 

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