Alan Francis McLoughlin (20 April 1967 – 4 May 2021)
was an Irish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and coach, who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
and various English club sides, most notably
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
and
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. His most notable moment at international level was scoring the equaliser against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in Belfast that qualified the Republic of Ireland for the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
Career
Manchester United
McLoughlin began his career as a trainee at
Manchester United on leaving school in July 1983, turning professional at the start of the
1985–86 season. However, he never played a first team game for United even when featuring over 40 times for the
reserves.
Swindon Town
After his release from Old Trafford, McLoughlin played in a trial tournament for
Stoke City but was not signed. He featured in an exit trial match at Durham University. He was then offered a one-week trial by
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
but joined
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
in August 1986, just after they had won promotion to the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
. He made his debut in a 2–2 draw with
Newport County on 12 September 1986. However, he did not fit with then-manager
Lou Macari
Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...
's "long ball" style, and seven months and nine appearances later, he moved to
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
on loan. His Swindon career looked to be over when he returned to Torquay at the start of the following season for another loan spell, but suspensions to other players meant McLoughlin was given another chance in the first team and he soon established himself as a regular for Swindon.
It was under Macari's successor as manager,
Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. He now runs his ...
, that McLoughlin really blossomed. He was an ever-present in Ardiles' first season, scoring 16 goals. He capped a fine season by scoring the winning goal in the
play-off final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
on 28 May 1990 against
Sunderland.
However, before the next season began, Swindon were demoted by
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
for making irregular payments to players. This initially meant that Sunderland were promoted to the First Division in their place, and Swindon were demoted to the Third Division; their place in the Second Division was given to losing Third Division play-off finalists
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. However, an appeal saw Swindon restored to the Second Division.
Southampton
With Swindon in financial trouble, players had to be sold, and McLoughlin left for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in December 1990, for a club record
£1 million. However, he failed to find the same level of form that he had at Swindon, and he was loaned first to
Aston Villa and then to
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
.
Portsmouth
The latter were impressed enough by McLoughlin to make a bid for him, and so in February 1992 he moved to
Fratton Park for £400,000 after making only 29 appearances for the Saints. He helped Portsmouth to the
1992 FA Cup semi-final, scoring the winning goal in the quarter-final tie with
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, only for them to lose the semi-final to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on a penalty shoot-out. He helped Portsmouth to the brink of the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
in
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
, but they were pipped to automatic promotion by
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
and lost to
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in the play-offs.
Wigan Athletic
In December 1999, he was sold to
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
for £260,000. However, injuries prevented him from making a major impact and he made only 22 appearances for Wigan, scoring three goals. He scored once in the league against
Gillingham. and also scored a brace in a Football League Trophy tie against Oldham Athletic.
Rochdale
McLoughlin moved on a free transfer to
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
in December 2001 and played his part in Rochdale reaching the play-offs in 2001–02 and scored a twice-taken penalty for them on his last league appearance against
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
.
Forest Green Rovers
With his career winding down McLoughlin joined
Forest Green
At right is displayed the color forest green.
''Forest green'' refers to a green color said to resemble the color of the trees and other plants in a forest.
This web color, when written as computer code in HTML for website color display, is w ...
as a player-coach for the 2002–03 season and also featured in Rovers FA Cup first round tie with
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
which was broadcast live on the BBC's ''
Match of the Day
''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary ...
'' programme. At the end of the season, McLoughlin retired from playing to concentrate on coaching with the club.
International career
Republic of Ireland
McLoughlin's performances at club level won him international recognition, and he was named by
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
in the
Ireland squad for the
1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
in Italy. He made his International debut on 2 June 1990 in a 3–0 friendly win against
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. He made two appearances at the 1990 World Cup, coming on as a substitute in the matches with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
On 17 November 1993, McLoughlin came on as a substitute and scored a 76th minute equaliser against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in a 1–1 draw at
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual renta ...
in a critical
1994 World Cup qualifier; the draw, combined with Spain's defeat of Denmark, meant that the Republic of Ireland team qualified for the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
in the United States. McLoughlin became the first Portsmouth player to be included in any World Cup squad since the
1958 tournament – nine years before McLoughlin himself was born. He was capped 42 times in total for the Republic of Ireland and scored two goals, his other goal coming on 2 April 1997 in a 3–2 away defeat to
Macedonia.
Media career
After the end of his playing career, McLoughlin returned to Portsmouth, where he became a co-commentator on the now-defunct Portsmouth-based radio station
The Quay. In February 2011, he joined
BBC Radio Solent
BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.
According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
as matchday co-commentator for Portsmouth matches. He stopped this when offered a role in Portsmouth coaching set up in 2011. He occasionally deputised for
Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham (born 10 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a striker from 1988 until 2005, notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. Having start ...
as co-commentator on BBC Radio Solent.
Managerial career
In July 2011, he joined Portsmouth as Senior Academy Coach, working alongside other club favourites
Andy Awford and
Paul Hardyman. On 8 July 2013, McLoughlin was appointed Portsmouth's first-team coach. Alongside manager
Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham (born 10 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a striker from 1988 until 2005, notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. Having start ...
, he assisted the side in their first season in
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
after relegation. Whittingham was sacked in November 2013 and replaced by
Richie Barker, who lasted just three months. Andy Awford then took charge for the rest of the season as along with Hardyman and McLoughlin, Portsmouth were unbeaten in their final seven matches, keeping in the league and finishing 13th. Awford was appointed permanent manager and McLoughlin kept his role as first-team manager alongside new assistant Paul Hardyman in May 2014. He was released from his position as first-team coach at Portsmouth on 4 December 2014.
Personal life
Born in Manchester in 1967 to Irish parents, McLoughlin grew up on Maine Road, near to
Manchester City's then
home ground of the same name. He attended Catholic school Saint Mark's, in the same year as former Oasis guitarist and singer
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
. He lived in Swindon with his wife and two daughters.
McLoughlin was diagnosed with a kidney tumour in 2012 and had a successful operation. However, he later died of cancer in the kidneys, chest wall and lungs on 4 May 2021, aged 54.
Career statistics
Honours
Swindon Town
*
Football League Second Division play-offs:
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
*
Football League Third Division play-offs
The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual En ...
:
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
Individual
*
FAI Senior International Player of the Year: 1996
*
Swindon Town Player of the Year: 1990
*
Swindon Town Hall of Fame
*
Portsmouth Hall of Fame: 2010
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Alan
1967 births
2021 deaths
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Association football midfielders
Republic of Ireland international footballers
Republic of Ireland B international footballers
Manchester United F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Aston Villa F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Forest Green Rovers F.C. players
1990 FIFA World Cup players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
Footballers from Manchester
British people of Irish descent
Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff
Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff