Wes Hoolahan

Wes Hoolahan

Hoolahan with the Republic of Ireland, 2013
Personal information
Full name Wesley Hoolahan[1]
Date of birth (1982-05-20) 20 May 1982
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland [1]
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Norwich City
Number 14
Youth career
Belvedere
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2005 Shelbourne
2005–2006 Livingston 16 (0)
2006–2007 →Blackpool (loan) 42 (8)
2007–2008 Blackpool 45 (5)
2008– Norwich City 295 (46)
National team‡
2002–2003 Republic of Ireland U21 9 (1)
2007 Republic of Ireland B 1 (0)
2008– Republic of Ireland 40 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:16, 9 May 2017 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2017 (UTC)

Wesley "Wes" Hoolahan (born 20 May 1982) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Norwich City and the Republic of Ireland national team. Hoolahan began his playing career with Shelbourne and has previously played for Livingston and Blackpool. He was the subject of a contested transfer between these two clubs in 2007, eventually requiring mediation by FIFA before he was able to sign for Blackpool. Hoolahan has played more than 250 games for Norwich, where he earned nicknames like The Irish Messi or Wessi.[2][3]

Club career

Early career

Hoolahan played as a schoolboy for Belvedere. He also played futsal with Belvedere.[4] He started his senior career at Shelbourne where he won three League of Ireland Premier Division championships and excelled during their run in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. He was the PFAI Young Player of the Year in the 2002–03 season. He then had a brief spell at Livingston.

Blackpool

On 21 July 2006, Hoolahan joined Blackpool on a season-long loan.[5] He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2006, a penalty in a 3–0 win over Leyton Orient at Bloomfield Road.[6] On 15 December 2006, he scored a goal and was sent off in a 3–1 win at Scunthorpe United.[7]

In June 2007, Hoolahan signed a two-year contract with Blackpool. Livingston, however, refused to sign the documentation sanctioning the move, stating that Blackpool had repeatedly breached the terms of the loan agreement. Blackpool denied any such default and referred the matter to the Football Association. With Livingston being backed by the Scottish Football Association the matter was passed to FIFA for a decision to be made on the player's future.[8] On 10 August 2007, FIFA ruled in Blackpool's favour, thus confirming Hoolahan as a Blackpool player.[9][10]

Norwich City

Hoolahan at Carrow Road, August 2011

On 26 June 2008, Norwich City confirmed the deal to bring Hoolahan on a three-year player-plus-cash deal. Norwich reserve team keeper, Matthew Gilks, moved in the opposite direction along with an undisclosed amount of money.[11] Hoolahan was handed squad number 14, which he has kept in his time at Norwich. His first goal for the club finally came when he opened the scoring in a 4–0 win over Barnsley at Carrow Road on 17 January 2009.[12] An injury sustained on 14 March, whilst playing against Plymouth Argyle, kept him out for the rest of the season as Norwich were ultimately relegated to League One.[13]

In 2009–10, under new manager Paul Lambert, Hoolahan was utilised in a role behind the strikers in a midfield diamond formation as opposed to on the wing. This saw a higher personal goal return for Hoolahan as he scored 13 times (including four penalties) in all competitions before the new year.[14]

In the 2010–11 season, Hoolahan scored his first two goals of the season against Leicester City, scoring a penalty and a 30-yard half-volley shot. Like the previous season, Hoolahan was utilised at the tip of the diamond formation. Hoolahan continued his good form, with a goal against Bristol City, making it three goals in two matches for him. On 28 December 2010, Hoolahan scored his first hat-trick for Norwich City in a 4–2 win over Sheffield United after coming on as a substitute.[15]

Hoolahan signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with the club in January 2011, committing his future to Norwich until 2014.[16]

During pre-season before the 2011–12 Premier League campaign, Hoolahan was given the captain's armband when club captain Grant Holt and vice-captain Russell Martin were not playing. He led out the Canaries for the first time in the friendly fixture against Southend United at Roots Hall. He scored his first Premier League goal in Norwich City's opening day 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic on 13 August 2011.[17] Hoolahan led the Norwich team out as captain for their first Premier League win of the season, a 2–1 away victory against Bolton Wanderers on 17 September 2011, being given the armband ahead of the previous season's regular vice-captain Russell Martin who was also in the team.[18] He was inducted into Norwich City's Hall of Fame on 20 March 2012.[19]

On 15 December 2012, it was announced Hoolahan had signed a new deal with Norwich City worth a reported £40,000 per week, keeping him at the club until 2015.[20]

In January 2014, Hoolahan was the subject of transfer speculation from Aston Villa who reportedly had a bid of £1 million rejected. A few days after this reported bid, Hoolahan put in a transfer request which was turned down by the club.[21][22][23] On 7 March, Hoolahan scored the opening goal against Villa in a 4–1 defeat, and executed a muted celebration.[24]

In August 2014, Hoolahan signed a new contract to keep him at the club until the end of the 2016–17 season.[25][26][27]

On 19 April 2015, Hoolahan was selected in the Football Manager Team of the Decade at the Football League Awards.[28]

On 1 August 2016, Hoolahan agreed a new contract to keep him at Norwich City until 2018.

On 7 May 2017, Hoolahan was announced as Norwich City's Player of the Season for 2016-17. On the last game of the 2016-17 season, Hoolahan scored two goals and one assist against QPR on the 7th of May 2017.[29]

International career

Hoolahan was first capped at under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland.[30] While at Shelbourne, he was an unused substitute in Don Givens' first game in charge of the Republic of Ireland, a 0–0 draw against Greece in November 2002.[30]

Hoolahan with Ireland, 2013.

Hoolahan was named in the Republic of Ireland "B" squad on 8 November 2007, for the match against Scotland on 20 November at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie.[30][31] Hoolahan played in the match, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[32]

In April 2008, Giovanni Trapattoni included Hoolahan in his preliminary 40-man squad for the friendly matches against Serbia on 24 May and Colombia on 29 May.[33] On 13 May it was confirmed that Hoolahan had made the 28-man squad and that he would be joining a training camp in Portugal on 15 May in preparation for the matches.[34] He came on as a 70th-minute substitute in a practice match which the Irish team drew 1–1 with Portuguese Liga de Honra club side Portimonense.[35] He was an unused substitute in Ireland's 1–1 draw with Serbia at Croke Park in Dublin. On 29 May, he came on as a second-half substitute in the 1–0 win over Colombia held in England at Craven Cottage.[36]

On 10 August 2012, Hoolahan was recalled to the Republic of Ireland squad for the 15 August friendly international against Serbia in Belgrade. However, he was unable to accept the call due to an Achilles tendon injury.[37]

On 31 October 2012, Hoolahan was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the 14 November friendly international against Greece in Dublin. He came on at half-time in the 1–0 defeat replacing Robbie Brady and earning his second cap for the Republic of Ireland.[38] On 6 February 2013, Hoolahan scored his first goal for Ireland in a 2–0 defeat of Poland in a friendly in Dublin.

After being rarely used during the Trappatoni era, Hoolahan was selected for Martin O'Neill's first game as Irish manager against Latvia. Ireland won the game 3–0.[39] Hoolahan has flourished under O'Neill, picking up the Man of the Match awards against Serbia and Turkey.[40][41] Former Norwich City teammate Anthony Pilkington has called for O'Neill to build the team around Hoolahan for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.[42]

On 11 October 2014, despite not being used in the first qualifying game against Georgia, O'Neill restored Hoolahan to the starting 11 against the minnows Gibraltar. Hoolahan was heavily involved in the game with his sublime ball finding Aiden McGeady who crossed to Robbie Keane who made it 1–0. He then assisted Keane for the second goal and won the penalty which Keane converted to make it 3–0. Hoolahan scored the 7th goal which rounded off the rout and he also picked up the Man of the Match award for his brilliant performance.[43]

On 29 March 2015, Hoolahan started Ireland's crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland in the Aviva Stadium. The game finished 1–1 with Hoolahan getting the assist for Shane Long's injury time equaliser. Hoolahan picked up the Man of the Match award with Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy praising his performance.

Hoolahan scored the first goal for Ireland at UEFA Euro 2016 in Ireland's opening group-stage match against Sweden. He earned the Man of the Match award for his display in an eventual 1–1 draw.[44][45] On 22 June 2016, Hoolahan came on as a substitute for James McCarthy in the 77th minute in Ireland's final Euro 2016 group game against Italy. He provided the assist for Robbie Brady's 85th-minute winner to send the Republic of Ireland through to the last 16. Moments prior to the goal, Hoolahan had missed a great one-on-one chance.[46]

International goals

As of match played 12 November 2016. Republic of Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Hoolahan goal.[47]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 February 2013Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland3 Poland2–02–0Friendly
2 11 October 2014Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland17 Gibraltar7–07–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
3 13 June 2016Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France31 Sweden1–01–1UEFA Euro 2016

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2017[48]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Livingston 2005–06[49] Scottish Premier League 160201000190
Total 160201000190
Blackpool 2006–07[50] League One 4593110315211
2007–08[51] Championship 455104100506
Total 901441513110217
Norwich City 2008–09[52] Championship 322000000322
2009–10[53] League One 37112122104214
2010–11[54] Championship 41101020004410
2011–12[55] Premier League 334311000375
2012–13[56] Premier League 333102100364
2013–14[57] Premier League 161003000191
2014–15[58] Championship 394100031435
2015–16[59] Premier League 304002000324
2016–17[60] Championship 337000000337
2017-18 Championship 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1
Total 29546821234132053
Career total 401601431957244170

International

As of match played 10 June 2017[61]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland		 200810
201210
201381
201481
201580
2016111
201730
Total403

Honours

Club

Shelbourne
Blackpool
Norwich City

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ Paul Fennessy. "How ‘The Irish Messi’ made the difference at the weekend". The42.
  3. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan: A magician under Alex Neil". Read Norwich.
  4. ↑ "English Premier League Irish players who have experienced Futsal in Ireland". www.facebook.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Blackpool take Hoolahan on loan". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 July 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "results/fixtures Blackpool v Leyton Orient". Soccerbase. 30 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  7. ↑ "results/fixtures Scunthorpe v Blackpool". Soccerbase. 30 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Livingston block Hoolahan switch". BBC Sport. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  9. ↑ "Pool handed bonus ahead of opener". Blackpool F.C. via Wayback Machine. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Hoolagate: FIFA still dragging their feet". Blackpool Gazette. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  11. ↑ "hoolahan joins the canaries". Archived from the original on 28 September 2008.
  12. ↑ "results/fixtures Norwich v Barnsley". Soccerbase. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
  13. ↑ "Hoolahan out for rest of season". BBC Sport. 18 March 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  14. ↑ Haylett, Tom (27 December 2009). "Hoolahan eyeing the top two ahead of tomorrow's trip to the West Midlands". norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "Norwich 4–2 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  16. ↑ "Hoolahan signs new contract". Norwich City F.C. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  17. ↑ "Wigan 1–1 Norwich". BBC Sport. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  18. ↑ "Bolton 1–2 Norwich". BBC Sport. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  19. ↑ "New Hall of Fame inductees". Norwich City F.C. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  20. ↑ "NEW DEAL FOR WES". Norwich City F.C. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  21. ↑ "Poll: After Wes Hoolahan’s transfer request, what would you do with the Norwich City midfielder?". Pinkun.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Norwich shun Aston Villa's advances for Wes Hoolahan". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan keen to leave Norwich as transfer request denied". BBC. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan says 'no disrespect in Villa celebration'". BBC. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan Signs New Norwich City Contract". Norwich City F.C. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  26. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan: Norwich City hand new contract to midfielder". BBC Sport. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  27. ↑ "Norwich City midfielder Wes Hoolahan signs on at Carrow Road until 2017". Eastern Daily Press. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  28. ↑ "Winners announced for The Football League Awards 2015". The Football League. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Norwich City 4-0 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. 2017-05-07. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  30. 1 2 3 "International call up for Hoolahan". Blackpool F.C. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
  31. ↑ "Connor and Gartland earn 'B' call-up". RTÉ. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
  32. ↑ "Ireland pegged back by late strike". The Irish Times. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
  33. ↑ "Hoolahan Gets Ireland Call-Up". Blackpool F.C. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  34. ↑ "Hoolahan Gets Republic Nod". Blackpool F.C. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  35. ↑ "Seasider's Irish appearance". Blackpool Gazette. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  36. ↑ Canavan, Steve (30 May 2008). "International debut for Seasiders' Wes". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  37. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan called up to replace injured Gibson". Football Association of Ireland. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  38. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 0 – 1 Greece". Extra Time. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  39. ↑ "Ireland 3–0 Latvia". RTÉ. 15 November 2013.
  40. ↑ "Shane Long hoping to feature with Wes Hoolahan again after eventful night at the Aviva Stadium". RTÉ. 6 March 2014.
  41. ↑ "Game Matchtracker". extratime.ie. 25 May 2014.
  42. ↑ "Anthony Pilkington: Martin O’Neill should build team around Wes Hoolahan". Irish Mirror. 15 June 2014.
  43. ↑ "Robbie Keane shines as Ireland see off Gibraltar". RTE. 12 October 2014.
  44. ↑ "Republic of Ireland player ratings: Wes Hoolahan a deserved man of the match". Irish Independent. 29 March 2015.
  45. ↑ VIDEO: Giles, Brady and Dunphy on Ireland v Poland. RTÉ. 29 March 2015.
  46. ↑ "Italy 0–1 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  47. ↑ Wes Hoolahan at Soccerway
  48. ↑ "Wes Hoolahan". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  49. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  50. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  51. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  52. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  53. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  54. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  55. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  56. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  57. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  58. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  59. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  60. ↑ "Games played by Wes Hoolahan in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  61. ↑ "MATCHES → all internationals of Wes Hoolahan". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
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