Tony Cousins
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Cousins | ||
| Date of birth | 25 August 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Longford Town (Manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Belvedere | |||
| 1985–1987 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Dundalk | ? | (20) |
| 1990–1993 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Hereford United | 3 | (0) |
| 1993–1996 | Bohemians | 82 | (21) |
| 1996–2002 | Shamrock Rovers | 145 | (46) |
| 2002–2003 | Bray Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1988 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 1989–1992 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 6 | (4) |
| 1997–1999 | League of Ireland XI | 2 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2006–2008 | Galway United | ||
| 2008 | Kildare County | ||
| 2009– | Longford Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Tony Cousins (born 25 August 1969 in The Liberties) is a former Irish footballer and the current manager of League of Ireland club, Longford Town. He is the first cousin of Tommy Dunne.
Cousins has been involved in full-time football since the age of sixteen when he joined English club Chelsea, where he spent two years. Throughout his career he played for Dundalk, Liverpool, Hereford United, Middlesbrough, Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Bray Wanderers.
Playing career
He made his League of Ireland debut for Dundalk at Waterford on 25 September 1988. After two years at Oriel Park, during which he shared the PFAI Young Player of the Year Award in 1989/90, he signed for Liverpool. Due to injury he failed to make a single first team appearance before getting a free transfer to Middlesbrough at the end of the 1992/93 season. After 3 appearances for Hereford he came home to sign for Bohemians where he scored 22 goals in 83 league games over three seasons.
He signed for Shamrock Rovers in the summer of 1996, making his debut in a preseason friendly against Heart of Midlothian. His first of many goals for the Hoops came in a friendly win against Crewe Alexandra. Three weeks later, he scored his first competitive goal in a 2–2 draw against Shelbourne in the League Cup. His first league goal came against Bray Wanderers on 13 September 1996.
In his first season with Shamrock Rovers he was the joint top goalscorer in the League of Ireland,[1] winning Player of the Month in February 1997. The following season, he was the team's top goalscorer with 15 league goals. During the six years he played with Rovers he scored 46 goals in 145 league appearances and a total of 65 goals in 190 appearances, including one goal in two appearances in European competition.[2]
Having completed his time with Shamrock Rovers, he spent one season with Bray Wanderers before retiring. Cousins was capped six times by the Irish Under 21 team at the start of his career, scoring four goals.
Coaching career
Tony Cousins was appointed U-21 coach at Shamrock Rovers before becoming assistant to Liam Buckley in 2003. In February 2005, he was appointed assistant coach at Drogheda United. He became coach of Galway United in 2006, where he stayed for two seasons. He was removed from his position in March 2008, following a home defeat to Shamrock Rovers.[3] He replaced John Ryan as coach of Kildare County on 24 October 2008 for the remainder of the 2008 season.[4]
Tony Cousins was appointed Longford Town manager in December 2009. As of 2014, Cousins is the longest serving manager at a single club in the League of Ireland.
Honours
- League of Ireland Cup
- Dundalk F.C. – 1989/90
- FAI Super Cup
- Shamrock Rovers – 1998
- Leinster Senior Cup (football)
- Shamrock Rovers – 1997
- PFAI Young Player of the Year
- Dundalk F.C. – 1989/90
- SRFC Player of the Year:
- Shamrock Rovers – 1996/97
References
- ↑ "Ireland – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
- ↑ "European Results 1957 – date". Shamrock Rovers Football Club. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ↑ "Galway sack manager Cousins". RTÉ. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- ↑ "Cousins replaces Ryan as Kildare County manager". Irish Independent. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.