James Kevin Matthew O'Connor (born 1 September 1979) is an Irish 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 is the President of Soccer Holdings, which is the holding company of USL Louisville City Football Club and NWSL Louisville Racing. He oversees all of the Soccer Holdings operations including all business aspects and soccer operations. O'Connor began his career with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

and after progressing their youth team he helped them to victory in the

2000 Football League Trophy Final The 2000 Football League Trophy Final (known as the Auto Windscreens Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Second and Third Division of the Football League. The match wa ...

and 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final. After making over 200 appearances for the Potters, he left to join Midlands rivals

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in the summer of 2003. He spent one season at The Hawthorns before moving on 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, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. O'Connor became a regular at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...

making 149 appearances in four seasons at the club. In June 2008 he joined

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

where he had spent four years making over 150 appearances. In January 2012 he moved to the United States to play for Orlando City. At international level, he played for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s. He retired from playing in the summer of 2014 to become head coach of Louisville City.

Club career

O'Connor was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and joined English club

in 1996 after being spotted by the club's Irish base scouts. He made his debut in the 1998–99 season before becoming a regular in the team in 1999–2000. He scored eight goals in 55 appearances as Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to Gillingham although he did play in the

where Stoke beat

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

2–1 and his performances during the season earn him the

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

award. He played 54 times in 2000–01 for Stoke scoring ten goals as they again failed in the play-offs losing to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. He played in 50 matches in 2001–02 as Stoke finally won promotion via the play-offs, beating

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

2–0 in the 2002 Football League Second Division play-off Final. He played 47 times in 2002–03 helping Stoke avoid relegation before he turned down the offer of a new contract. He moved to

in summer 2003 for a fee of £250,000 and made his debut in the 4–1 defeat to

. He spent a successful three-month loan spell with Burnley in 2004–05. That season he made only two substitute appearances for West Bromwich Albion and moved to Burnley permanently to pursue first-team football, signing on

transfer deadline A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer w ...

day in 2005 for a £175,000 fee where he became a popular player with the fans. James O'Connor

His form at the start of the 2006–07 season at Burnley was among the best of his career. However, by the start of the 2007–08 season he seemed to be relegated to a squad player's role. The departure of

Steve Cotterill Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town. Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...

as Burnley manager brought

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

in and he immediately restored O'Connor to the starting eleven. O'Connor responded by resuming his previous good form as the team's results improved. He was offered a new contract at the end of the 2007–08 season but when O'Connor asked for more time to consider his options, Coyle withdrew the offer and released him. O'Connor confirmed in an interview on

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Darwen Street in Blackburn. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...

on 23 May that he was about to start a coaching course before deciding on his future. O'Connor confirmed his move to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

on 27 June 2008 following a month of speculation surrounding the move in the press. He joined the club on a free transfer under the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association ...

after turning down the offer to extend his stay at Turf Moor.

International career

O'Connor played for the Ireland at Under-21 level.

Coaching career

On 10 January 2012, O'Connor signed with American third-tier side Orlando City of

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

.http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com/news/teamnews/index.html?article_id=626 He became a player-coach in 2013 with the team. He then became manager of Louisville City (Orlando City sold their rights to a USL Pro team to an investor group in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

). In March 2017, O'Connor extended his contract with Louisville City through the 2020 season. On 29 June 2018, Louisville City announced that O'Connor would depart the club after its match against

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yo ...

the next day to become head coach of Orlando City SC in MLS, replacing

Jason Kreis Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for MLS club Inter Miami CF and as head coach of the United States under-23 team. He coached Orlando City S ...

, who was sacked two weeks earlier. A trio of players –

George Davis IV George Davis IV (born August 5, 1987) is the Director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation and an American former soccer player who previously played for Louisville City FC in the USL Championship. Early life Personal Davis was born in Dayton, Ohio ...

Paolo DelPiccolo Paolo DelPiccolo (born May 28, 1991) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Louisville City FC in the United Soccer League. He is also the club's current captain. Career College and amateur DelPiccolo played four years of c ...

and

Luke Spencer Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera ''General Hospital'', played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015. Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in ...

– would serve as player-coaches on an interim basis until a replacement was announced. He was sacked at the end of the 2019 season with the team having missed out on playoffs again and remaining 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Personal life

O'Connor's two brothers,

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

and

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

both play for Bray Wanderers.

Career statistics

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition , - !rowspan="2", Club !rowspan="2", Season !colspan="3", League !colspan="2", National cup !colspan="2", League cup !colspan="2", Other !colspan="2", Total , - !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals , - , rowspan="6",

, 1998–99 ,

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, 4, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 0 , - , 1999–2000 , Second Division , 42, , 5, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 9, , 2, , 55, , 8 , - , 2000–01 , Second Division , 44, , 8, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 2, , 4, , 0, , 54, , 10 , - , 2001–02 , Second Division , 43, , 2, , 4, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 3, , , 1, , 50, , 3 , - , 2002–03 , First Division , 43, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 47, , 0 , - !colspan="2", Total !176!!16!!9!!0!!9!!2!!17!!4!!211!!22 , - , rowspan="3",

, 2003–04 , First Division , 30, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 5, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 36, , 0 , - , 2004–05 ,

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 ...

, 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 2, , 0 , - !colspan="2", Total !30!!0!!2!!0!!6!!0!!colspan="2", —, , 38!!0 , - , rowspan="5",

, 2004–05 , ,

, 21, , 2, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 23, , 2 , - , 2005–06 , Championship , 45, , 3, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 49, , 3 , - , 2006–07 , Championship , 42, , 3, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 44, , 3 , - , 2007–08 , Championship , 29, , 3, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 33, , 3 , - !colspan="2", Total !137!!11!!4!!0!!8!!0!!colspan="2", —, , 49!!11 , - , rowspan="5",

, 2008–09 , Championship , 41, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 43, , 0 , - , 2009–10 , Championship , 44, , 3, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , colspan="2", —, , 46, , 3 , - , 2010–11 ,

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, 36, , 2, , 4, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 45, , 4 , - , 2011–12{{Soccerbase season, id=14886, season=20011} , League One , 18, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 1{{efn, name=FLT, , 0, , 22, , 1 , - !colspan="2", Total !139!!6!!7!!0!!6!!0!!4!!2!!156!!8 , - , rowspan="4", Orlando City ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, 21, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 22, , 0 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, USL Pro , 19, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 3{{efn, Appearances in USL Pro Playoffs, , 0, , 25, , 0 , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, USL Pro , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - !colspan="2", Total !41!!0!!4!!0!!0!!0!!3!!0!!48!!0 , - !colspan="3", Career total !523!!33!!26!!0!!29!!2!!24!!6!!602!!41 {{notelist

Managerial statistics

All competitive games (league and domestic cups) are included. {{updated, 7 October 2019 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , +Managerial record by team and tenure ! rowspan="2" , Team ! rowspan="2" , From ! rowspan="2" , To ! colspan="8" , Record , - !{{Tooltip, P, Matches played !{{Tooltip, W, Matches won !{{Tooltip, D, Matches drawn !{{Tooltip, L, Matches lost !{{Tooltip, GF, Goals for !{{Tooltip, GA, Goals against !{{Tooltip, GD, Goal difference !{{Tooltip, Win %, Winning percentage , - , align="left" , Louisville City , 4 June 2014 , 30 June 2018 {{WDL, 125, 71, 28, 26, for=225, against=119, diff=yes , - , align="left" , Orlando City , 2 July 2018 , 7 October 2019 {{WDL, 56, 13, 14, 29, for=69, against=95, diff=yes , - ! colspan="3" , Career total {{WDLtot, 181, 84, 42, 55, for=294, against=214, diff=yes

Honours

Stoke City *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

* Stoke Player of The Year:

Orlando City *

Championship:

Louisville City FC *

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

Championship:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

{{reflist

External links

* {{Soccerbase
Article on O'Connor leaving Burnley at Claretsmad.com
{{Stoke City F.C. Player of the Year {{Orlando City SC managers {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, James 1979 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Stoke City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Orlando City SC coaches Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football midfielders Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in the United States English Football League players USL Championship players Louisville City FC coaches Republic of Ireland football managers