Daniel O'Shea (born 26 March 1963) is an English former 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 le ...

who made 461 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in a career that lasted more than 15 years.

Career

O'Shea, born in

Newington, London Newington is a district of South London, just south of the River Thames, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey. It was the location of the County ...

, came through the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

youth system to make his league debut on 30 October 1982 in a goalless draw at home to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, and played 9 times in all competitions for the

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

outfit between 1982 and 1983. He also had a loan spell with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

before making a permanent move to

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 ...

where he established himself as a regular first teamer and made 45 league appearances, scoring twice. Predominantly a midfield player who moved into

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

later in his career, in August 1985 he joined

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, where he spent four years and played 139 games in all competitions, scoring 12 goals. Released at the end of the 1988–89 season on a free transfer, he signed for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

together with Southend teammate Martin Robinson. While Robinson only spent a season at the

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a association football, football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum Seating capacity, capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional Coll ...

, O'Shea stayed until 1995, playing a major role in the success the club enjoyed in nearly reaching 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 Foo ...

under manager John Beck. O'Shea captained the United side as they played a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

quarter-final tie at his old club Arsenal in 1991, though he ended on the losing side that day. After playing more than 250 games for the club and having a spell as player-coach when

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

took charge, O'Shea left the club in 1995. Following this, he joined

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

as player-assistant manager to former Cambridge United manager Ian Atkins. During the Summer of 1995 O'Shea made an appearance on loan in Wimbledon's ill-fated Intertoto Cup campaign, though did not do enough to earn a full-time contract with the Premier League club. He played a further 80 league games for Northampton before moving into

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

in 1997 first with Rushden & Diamonds, then Aylesbury United before finishing his playing career with Canvey Island.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Danny Living people 1963 births People from Newington, London Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Arsenal F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Aylesbury United F.C. players Canvey Island F.C. players English Football League players Southend United F.C. players