John Andrew O'Kane (born 15 November 1974) 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 ...
who played as a defender.
He started his career with Manchester United but failed to break into the first team, and after loan spells with Wimbledon, Bury 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.
...
, he made a permanent move to Everton in January 1998. There he found first-team opportunities easier to come by, but a change of manager at the end of the 1997–98 season meant he fell out of favour again and was sent on loan to
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
at the start of the 1998–99 season. He went on loan again to Bolton Wanderers at the start of 1999–2000, a move that was made permanent a month later.
After two years with Bolton, he moved to Blackpool, where he spent another two years before retiring due to injury. He came out of retirement again soon after to play for
Hyde United
Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Manchester United in 1990 and played 7 competitive games for the club before signing for Everton in January 1998. His last appearance for United was on 27 November 1996 when he played against
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 League Cup
O'Kane was a member of United's FA Youth Cup winning side in 1991–92. On the introduction of squad numbers in the FA Premier League for the 1993–94 season, he was issued with the number 30 shirt, and then with the number 24 shirt from the start of the 1996–97 season. He had a brief loan spell at Wimbledon in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
, featuring in their makeshift squad for the
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition of the tournament administered by the UEFA. It saw Strasbourg and Bordeaux win their semi-finals to advance to the UEFA Cup, the latter eventually finishing runners-up. It also saw English repres ...
along with fellow United players
Michael Appleton
Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool.
As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that began in 1994 and e ...
and Graeme Tomlinson. O'Kane played in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup for Manchester United.
He was finally sold from Old Trafford after refusing another contract, in the 1997–98 season for a fee around £1 million, 14 months after his last appearance, when
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager.
Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...
signed him for Everton. He had more chance of first team football at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
and was a regular starter. O'Kane helped Everton stay in the league on the last day of the season against Coventry City in 1998. Howard Kendall got the sack and Walter Smith was his replacement. O'Kane wasn't given a chance of further development and fell out of favour and handed in a transfer immediately.
He joined Bolton Wanderers in November 1999, along with Everton teammate
Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly (born 28 August 1975) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer.
He played as a midfielder notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Everton. He also played in the Football Leagu ...
, and after both made the move to the
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming ri ...
permanent they helped Wanderers back to the Premier League, via the play-offs.
He made his final senior appearance at the age of 28 for Blackpool in 2002–03. He captained them and helped them secure promotion and the
2001–02 Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy 2001–02, known as the LDV Vans Trophy 2001–02 for sponsorship reasons, was the 19th staging of the Football League Trophy, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in Second, Third Division and the Confer ...
, before retirement through injury. O'Kane signed for non-League
Hyde United
Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.