Kevin Horlock

Kevin Horlock
Personal information
Full nameKevin Horlock
Date of birth1 November 1972
Place of birthErith, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Needham Market
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1991–1992West Ham United0(0)
1992–1997Swindon Town164(22)
1997–2003Manchester City206(39)
2003–2004West Ham United27(1)
2004–2006Ipswich Town58(0)
2006→ Doncaster Rovers (loan)13(0)
2006–2008Doncaster Rovers2(1)
2008Scunthorpe United0(0)
2008→ Mansfield Town (loan)5(0)
2008–Needham Market16(1)
National team‡
1995–2002Northern Ireland32(0)
Teams managed
2008–Needham Market (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:11, 4 December 2008 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 07:38, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Kevin Horlock (born 1 November 1972 in Erith, South East London) is an English born Northern Irish football player. He is a player and reserve team manager of Needham Market and assistant manager of the Northern Ireland under 21 team.[2] Horlock is a former Northern Ireland international and is most associated with Manchester City, for whom he played in three different divisions including the Premier League. He also played for Swindon Town, West Ham United, Ipswich Town, Doncaster Rovers and Mansfield Town. Horlock was well known for his accurate set pieces and is particularly skilled at taking free kicks.

Career

Swindon Town

Horlock started his career as a trainee with West Ham United in 1989 but did not graduate to the first team and moved to Swindon Town in August 1992 where he spent a single season in the Premier League in 1993–94.[3] Over the next few seasons he made his name as a versatile midfielder capable of playing on the left or in the centre, or at left-back. He also scored goals regularly, with 16 in the 1995–96 season.[4] He made 200 appearances in all competitions, scoring 26 goals, in five seasons at Swindon before joining Manchester City in January 1997.[5]

Manchester City

Horlock was Frank Clark's first signing for Manchester City for a transfer fee reported as being between £1.25 million and £1.5 million.[6] He made his debut in a 4–1 Division One win against Oxford United and scored his first goal for Manchester City three weeks later against his former club Swindon. The following season he was a regular in the first team until suffering an injury which sidelined him for four months.[7] During Horlock's absence, Clark was sacked and chairman Francis Lee later observed that Horlock was one of only two good purchases Clark made.[8] City were struggling at the foot of the table, and were relegated on the final day of the season despite a 5–2 win at Stoke City, in which Horlock scored the fifth goal.[9] Horlock became Manchester City's primary penalty taker in the 1998–99 season, a role in which he continued for the next three seasons. Later that season Horlock was sent off in a match against Bournemouth in unusual circumstances, receiving a second yellow card for "walking towards the referee in an aggressive manner while asking a question". Horlock's best season was probably the 2001–2002 season where he was deployed in the holding midfield role and helped Manchester City earn promotion in stylish manner, the team scoring 108 goals.[10] One of the most notable moments of his career was the 1999 season play-off final against Gillingham when he scored the first goal of the comeback when Manchester City won on penalties after being 2–0 down until the last five minutes of the game. Horlock wore the number 6 shirt[11] Horlock made 232 league and cup appearances, scoring 44 goals, in seven years at Manchester City.[12]

Other clubs

Horlock was signed by Glenn Roeder for West Ham United for a fee of £300,000 in August 2003.[13] He made 27 league appearances for West Ham in the 2003–04 season[14] and scored once against Wigan[15] but fell out of favour with manager Alan Pardew and missed the play-offs games at the end of the season.[3] He was given a free transfer to Ipswich Town in July 2004,[14] where he made 58 league appearances[12] before joining Doncaster Rovers on loan in February 2006[16] and being allowed to leave Ipswich at the end of the 2005–06 season.[17] He joined Doncaster on a permanent two-year contract in May 2006[18] but missed the majority of the 2006–07 season due to a serious knee injury sustained in Doncaster's 3–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra in August 2006,[19] a game in which he also scored his first goal for the club.[20] A dislocated shoulder further restricted his opportunities, and in January 2008 his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[21] The next day, Horlock was signed by Scunthorpe United on a contract until the end of the season.[22] However, he did not feature in the first team and joined Mansfield Town in March 2008 on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season.[23] Horlock signed for Eastern Counties League Premier Division side Needham Market as player/assistant manager on a twelve-month contract on 8 August 2008.[24]

International footbal

Horlock was first capped in April 1995 versus Latvia and went on to make 32 appearances for Northern Ireland,[3] before retiring from international football in 2003 for personal reasons.[25] In August 2013 Horlock was appointed assistant manager of the Northern Ireland under 21 team.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J. (ed) (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
  2. ↑ http://www.needhammarketfc.co.uk/itweb.php?page=committee
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. London: Profile Media. p. 101. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  4. ↑ Baskcomb, Julian (ed.) (1997). Manchester City F.C. Official Handbook 1997–98. Leicester: Polar. p. 23.
  5. ↑ "Kevin Horlock". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  6. ↑ James, Gary (2006). Manchester City – The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. p. 201. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
  7. ↑ "Games played by Kevin Horlock in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Buckley, Andy; Burgess, Richard (2000). Blue Moon Rising: The Fall and Rise of Manchester City. Bury: Milo. p. 154. ISBN 0-9530847-4-4.
  9. ↑ "Stoke 2 – 5 Man. City". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  10. ↑ "Final 2001/2002 Football League Championship Table". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Gillingham 2 – 2 Man City". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Kevin Horlock". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  13. ↑ "West Ham sign Horlock". BBC Sport. 15 August 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Ipswich seal Horlock deal". BBC Sport. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  15. ↑ "West Ham 4–0 Wigan". BBC. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "Rovers extend duo's loan spells". BBC Sport. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  17. ↑ "Ipswich clear way to Horlock exit". BBC Sport. 10 January 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  18. ↑ "Doncaster swoop to sign Horlock". BBC Sport. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  19. ↑ "Horlock faces lengthy spell out". BBC Sport. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  20. ↑ "Doncaster 3–1 Crewe". BBC. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  21. ↑ "Veteran Horlock leaves Doncaster". BBC Sport. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  22. ↑ "Scunthorpe bag midfielder Horlock". BBC Sport. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  23. ↑ "Stags bag Horlock and Wainwright". BBC Sport. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  24. ↑ "HORLOCK COUP FOR NEEDHAM". NonLeagueDaily.com. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  25. ↑ "Horlock quits international scene". BBC Sport. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  26. ↑ "Kevin Horlock handed Northern Ireland U21 post". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2013.

External links