Ian Robert Nolan (born 9 July 1970) is a 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 played as a full back. He notably played in the Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday and

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

, as well as 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 ...

for Tranmere Rovers and

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, ...

as well as non-league sides

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

and Southport. Born in England, he won 17 caps for Northern Ireland.

Club career

Born in Liverpool, Nolan began his career as a trainee with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, but left in 1988 without making a first team appearance. He played non-league football with

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

and

, before beginning his

career in 1991 with Tranmere Rovers. He helped Tranmere to the semi-finals of the 1993–94 League Cup, where they faced

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. Nolan scored in the first leg to give them a 3–1 lead at the halfway point in the tie. However Villa won the second leg 3–1 and sent the game to a penalty shootout. In sudden death, Mark Bosnich saved Nolan's penalty to send the Premier League side to Wembley. Nolan moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1994, and it was while playing for Wednesday in February 1998 that he suffered a broken leg in a challenge with Tottenham Hotspur's

Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back. He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...

; in 2001 (by which time he had joined

), he attempted to sue both Edinburgh and Hotspur in a legal case similar to that of another ex-Bradford City player, Gordon Watson.(also an ex-Sheffield Wednesday player). After his season at Bradford (in which he scored once against Newcastle United in the League Cup) he then spent one season with

, before dropping out of the league system to join Southport in October 2002. After a failed trial with Halifax Town in July 2003, Nolan retired from professional football that same year.

International career

Nolan was capped 17 times by Northern Ireland between 1996 and 2002.

References

External links

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NIFG
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Ian 1970 births Living people Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Bradford City A.F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Southport F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Marine A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Footballers from Liverpool Men's association football fullbacks