David Forde (footballer)
 David Forde (2013) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Forde | ||
| Date of birth | 20 December 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Galway, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Millwall | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Galway Hibernians | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | Galway United | 38 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Barry Town | 16 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Derry City (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Barnet (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2004 | Galway United | 22 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Derry City | 63 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Cardiff City | 7 | (0) |
| 2007 | → Luton Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2008– | Millwall | 284 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011– | Republic of Ireland | 23 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 March 2015. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
David Forde (born 20 December 1979) is an Irish professional footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Football League Championship side Millwall and the Republic of Ireland national side.
Club career
Early career
Forde made his League of Ireland debut for his hometown side Galway United at Terryland Park on 3 September 1999. His form led to a move to Welsh side Barry Town. Here, he continued to show his potential as an excellent shot stopper and in February 2002, he turned down an offer from Portsmouth to join West Ham United for a fee of £75,000.[1] Forde initially had a trial at Upton Park before earning a professional contract. He was recommended to the 'Hammers' by Barry Town boss Kenny Brown, a former West Ham player.[2]
Initially, Forde had ambitions of "looking to make the first team" at a time when David James was firmly established as England's World Cup number one, however, the signing of Raimond van der Gouw in the summer of 2002 pushed him further down the pecking order.
At the start of the 2002/2003 season, manager Glenn Roeder made Forde available for loan and it was then when Forde first joined Derry City. After spending the season on loan at The Brandywell, Forde moved back to his hometown and signed for League of Ireland First Division side Galway United.[3]
It was at Galway that Forde built a fine reputation in Irish football circles and his form earned him a permanent move back to Derry City for the 2005 season. During this season and the next, he was ever present for 'City', consistently producing excellent performances and helping them to a second-place finish in the League of Ireland Premier Division on both occasions. .
Forde also played in all six games (and registered three clean sheets) during the Candystripes' run to the First Round proper of the UEFA Cup, and helped the club win the FAI Cup in 2006. .
Cardiff City
On 5 December 2006, it was announced that Forde had signed a 2 and a half-year contract with Football League Championship side Cardiff City[4] following the expiry of his contract with Derry City. He stated that the move back to Wales, where he began his cross-channel career, was "a dream come true". He joined the club and hoped to challenge Neil Alexander for the number one spot immediately, with an international spot surely not too far away. Even after he left Derry City for Cardiff City his contributions during the 2006 season were recognised by eircom and the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland who, together, nominated him for their 'Goalkeeper of the Year' award on 13 December. Forde made several appearances for Cardiff at the end of the 2006/07 season after first choice Neil Alexander was dropped due to a contract dispute with the club. With Alexander leaving the club he was expected to battle for the number 1 shirt with Michael Oakes and Ross Turnbull.
In August 2007 Forde signed a one-month loan deal at Luton Town[5] and returned to Cardiff having made six first team appearances, five in the league and one in the League Cup, for the club. He found himself to be third choice goalkeeper at Cardiff during the 2007/08 season behind Michael Oakes and loanees Ross Turnbull, Kasper Schmeichel and Peter Enckelman. On 22 January he was due to sign on an emergency loan deal at Bournemouth but was told on his way to his first match that Bournemouth had been placed under a transfer block after attempting to enter administration and the deal had been cancelled. He drove back to Cardiff and instead played in their 1–0 win over Welshpool Town in the FAW Premier Cup.
On 31 January he was set to join Scottish Premier League side Dundee United on loan but the move was blocked by the Scottish Football Association because players are not allowed to play in three countries in one season, Forde having played for Luton and in the FAW Premier Cup, but the decision was appealed by Dundee United[6] but was eventually denied by FIFA. He eventually signed for Bournemouth on a one-week emergency loan after the club were granted permission to sign him, making his debut on 8 March against Leeds United and playing against Oldham Athletic three days later, both matches ending in a 2–0 defeat. His loan spell was extended by another week before the clubs eventually agreed for it to run until the end of the season on 27 March.[7] He made a total of 11 appearances for the club before returning to Cardiff, where he was released on his return.[8]
Millwall
On 5 June 2008, he signed a two-year deal at League One side Millwall,[9] making his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 4–3 defeat to Oldham Athletic. On 30 August 2008, in his fifth game for the club, Forde saved a dramatic last-minute penalty which saw Millwall pick up their first home win of the campaign as they beat Huddersfield Town 2–1. Forde saved a penalty from Jermaine Beckford in the semi-final of the League one play off, which guided his team through to the final. When asked was it extra sweet after he had been assaulted by Beckford in Millwall's previous meeting at Elland Road, in typical sportsmanlike fashion he said "This is football, that's water under the bridge". He played at Wembley Stadium in successive years in the 2009 Football League One play-off Final and the 2010 Football League One play-off Final being successful in the latter.
Following his Millwall League debut he played all 49 league games for the club in the 2008–09 season (46 regular games, two play-off Semi-finals and the Final). Uniquely, he did exactly the same thing the following season—and made his 100th Millwall league appearance on 14 August 2010—two years and five days after his first.
Forde was involved in an unusual incident when Millwall played Preston North End in December 2010. The referee thought that Forde's light grey jersey clashed with Preston's white shorts. He was forced to change into a red Preston training jersey.[10]
International career
Contrary to certain stories, Forde is not a former Welsh under-21 international. Forde stated, "I'm not sure where that came from, but it's wrong," and continued: "That story started a long time ago when I played for Barry Town and seems to have stuck. I even read that I have a Welsh grandmother, but that's not right. Don't get me wrong because I love it here in Wales, but I am only qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland."[11]
Forde was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the first time on 13 March 2011, after impressing manager Giovanni Trapattoni by playing 20 games without letting in any goals in Millwall's first season back in the Football League Championship. Ireland played Macedonia and Uruguay although he remained on the bench for both games.[12]
On 24 May 2011, Forde made his Republic of Ireland debut against Northern Ireland, coming on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes of the game which Ireland won 5–0.[13]
He played his debut for Ireland on 7 June 2011 in a friendly international against Italy, conceding no goals.[14] He played in another friendly international against Greece on 14 November 2012 and conceded the only goal of the match.[15]
He was selected by Ireland for the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, alongside Kieren Westwood and Shay Given, however it was the latter who played all the matches. With Given's retirement after the tournament, Westwood briefly took over. But when Westwood stopped being played by his club, Giovanni Trappatoni decided to give Forde a chance in a friendly against Poland.[16] On 6 February 2013, based on Forde's performance in this match which was won 2–0 by Ireland, Trappatoni announced Forde would be Ireland's first choice goalkeeper.
On 22 March 2013, aged 33, Forde became the oldest player to make his competitive debut for Ireland against Sweden in a World Cup qualifier. Ireland kept a clean sheet with Forde's impressive performance helping Ireland to an away point.[17][18] Forde started Ireland's next match against Austria the following week and despite conceding two goals he put in a solid performance.[19] On 7 June 2013, Forde made his ninth appearance for Ireland in a 3–0 over the Faroe Islands at the Aviva Stadium. In a surprising turn of events, Forde made his return to the Irish squad, against Sweden, in a 2014 World Cup Qualifier, on 6 September 2013, at the Aviva Stadium in a 1–2 defeat, having been an injury doubt.
Forde has continued as number one under the new management of Martin O'Neill and assistant Roy Keane despite Shay Given returning to the fold starting Ireland's first UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying game against Georgia. Ireland won 2-1 thanks to a superb late goal by Aiden McGeady.[20] On 14 October 2014, Forde started in the memorable 1-1 draw with Germany. Forde made an important save from Mario Gotze to keep the game at 1-0 which proved crucial as Ireland equalized late on thanks to John O'Shea to earn an excellent point in Gelsenkirchen.[21]
Honours
- Derry City
- Millwall
- Football League One play-offs: 2010
- Player of the year, 2013–14 season
References
- ↑ "Hammers sign Barry keeper" BBC Sport Retrieved on 5 October 2007
- ↑ Forde roars into West Ham
- ↑ Galway man David Forde a Wembley hero for Trap's Boys in Green
- ↑ "Forde completes Bluebirds switch BBC Sport Retrieved on 5 October 2007
- ↑ "Cardiff's Forde loaned to Luton" BBC Sport Retrieved on 5 October 2007
- ↑ "SFA put brakes on Forde's move" South Wales Echo Retrieved on 3 February 2008
- ↑ "Forde continues Bournemouth stay" BBC Sport Retrieved on 27 march 2008
- ↑ "Hasselbaink and Fowler could go" BBC Sport Retrieved on 21 May 2008
- ↑ "Keeper Forde makes Millwall move" BBC Sport Retrieved on 5 June 2008
- ↑ "Getting Shirty". http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com''. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ↑ "Forde is focused on club and country". South Wales Echo. 16 December 2006.
- ↑ "Well Done Fordey". Millwall FC. 13 March 2011.
- ↑ "As It happened: Rep Ireland 5–0 Nth Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ↑ "Forde to make most of full debut". Irish Independent. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ↑ Ireland 0–1 Greece RTÉ Sport, 2012-11-14.
- ↑ "Ireland v Poland: David Forde set for number 1 shot".
- ↑ "Rating Rep. of Ireland's Players in World Cup Qualifier vs. Sweden". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "David Forde bolsters Ireland's chances by keeping Sweden out". Guardian. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ↑ http://thescore.thejournal.ie/ireland-v-austria-heres-how-the-players-rated-846445-Mar2013/
- ↑ "Euro qualifiers: Aiden McGeady earns Republic of Ireland 2-1 win in Georgia". Sky Sports. 7 September 2014.
- ↑ "Germany 1-1 Rep of Ireland". Goal.com. 14 October 2014.
External links
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