Ryan Gilligan

Ryan Gilligan
Personal information
Full nameRyan James Gilligan
Date of birth18 January 1987
Place of birthSwindon, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing positionAttacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Dalkurd FF
Youth career
2003–2005Watford
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2005–2012Northampton Town201(20)
2011Torquay United (loan)5(0)
2011Newport County (loan)6(1)
2012–2013Östersunds FK31(9)
2013IK Brage5(1)
2014-2015Dalkurd FF
2015-Umeå FC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 September 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).

Ryan James Gilligan (born 18 January 1987) is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Swedish side Dalkurd FF.

Personal life

Gilligan's father, Jimmy Gilligan, was also a professional footballer and is the current head coach of the Nike Football Academy. He started his career at Watford just like Ryan and played most notably for the Welsh clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City.

Career

Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Gilligan joined the Watford Academy at the age of 16 before Northampton Town took over the third year of his scholarship in August 2005 after being tracked by then manager Colin Calderwood.[1] In his first professional season, Gilligan was used mostly as a striker from the bench. He did however score four goals in part of the promotion side that finished second in League Two. The next season was a poor one as he couldn't score in twenty-five appearances.

For the 2007–08 season, Gilligan moved into midfield where he has looked to have found his natural position, here he played regularly in the first-team scoring four goals in 28 starts. At the end of the season, he signed a new contract keeping him at Northampton until the end of the 2009–10 season.[2] Things went well for Gilligan in the 2008–09 season even though he only had a return of three goals in 31 games, he was described as an "integral part of the team".

Gillgan was later involved in Northampton Town's relegation to League Two. He then had much more productive season during 2009–10, scoring 11 goals and eight assists from midfield as Northampton narrowly missed a spot in the League Two playoffs, he was made captain for the last five games of the season and signed a new two-year contract in May 2010.[3]

On 10 February 2010, Gilligan was loaned out to Torquay United,[4] on a one-month loan as they chased promotion from League Two. He spent a month at the club, making six appearances and had an impact with back to back wins later leading to Torquay finishing seventh ensuring their place in the League Two Playoffs

Gilligan signed on loan for Newport County on 18 August 2011,[5] with a view to a permanent move. His father also had a brief spell on loan at Newport County. However, Ryan returned to the Northampton after his loan spell was completed.

Upon expiry of his contract at Northampton Town in 2012, Ryan joined Swedish club Östersunds FK, managed by ex English Footballer Graham Potter . Within his first season at the club had their highest ever finish in history as they won promotion to the Superettan. Upon conclusion of the season in December 2012, Ryan extended his stay at ÖFK by signing a 6-month contract extension.

After spending 12 months at ÖFK and upon expiry of his contract, Ryan opted to leave the club signing for Borlänge based club IK Brage for a period of up to 2.5 years.


Career statistics

Statistics correct as of 23:10, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Club Division Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Northampton Town League Two 2005–06 23 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 25 4
League One 2006–07 23 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 26 0
League One 2007–08 38 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 43 4
League One 2008–09 31 3 2 0 3 0 0 0 36 3
League Two 2009–10 42 8 2 1 1 0 3 2 48 11
League Two 2010–11 21 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 25 1
Career totals 184 20 9 1 11 0 5 2 209 23

References

  1. Fudge, Simon (12 August 2005) Cobblers snap up Hornet Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  2. Gilligan stays with Cobblers Sky Sports. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  3. Northampton midfielder Ryan Gilligan agrees contract BBC Sport. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  4. BBC Football (10 February 2005) Torquay Sign Northampton Town's Ryan Gilligan.
  5. Northampton Town midfielder Ryan Gilligan joins Newport. BBC News (18 August 2011). Retrieved on 2 July 2013.

External links