Michael George O'Brien (born 25 September 1979) 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 lea ...

. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as a schoolboy. O'Brien, a left-sided midfielder, began his career as a trainee with Everton, turning professional in October 1997. At Everton he had captained the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

winning side in 1998, but his progress was hampered by injury and he was released at the end of the 1998–99 season. He joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in August 1999 and later that month, on the opening day of the season, scored on his league debut against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Gay Meadow Gay Meadow was a football ground in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, serving as the home ground of Shrewsbury Town. Located on the banks of the River Severn, it opened in 1910. The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07 Football League seas ...

. After a first season in and out of the starting line-up, but with some notable moments, including as a goal from a 30-yard free kick at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round tie against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

in December 1999, O'Brien fell out of favour with manager

Wes Saunders Wesley Saunders (born 23 February 1963) is an English former professional association football, football player and manager (association football), manager, who played as a Defender (association football), central defender. He played for Newcast ...

. He was loaned to Conference side

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

in January 2001, returning in March with Torquay struggling at the foot of

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

. With Saunders sacked, O'Brien returned to the first team squad under new manager

Colin Lee Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard. Playing career Lee began his football career w ...

, playing four times as a substitute before the end of the season. The last of these games, on the final day of the season, saw O'Brien come on early in the first half for

Jason Rees Jason Mark Rees (born 22 December 1969) is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international. Club career Rees began his career with Luton Town before moving to Portsmouth in 1994 on a free transfer, having spent the majority of ...

as Torquay won 3–2 away to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

to avoid relegation and send Barnet down instead. Lee left at the end of the season and was replaced by

Roy McFarland Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England. Born in Liverpool, McFarland developed his skills at Tranmere Ro ...

. O'Brien was one of a number of players on short-term contracts, giving McFarland a chance to assess the squad. He appeared as a late substitute for

Tony Bedeau Anthony Charles Osmond Bedeau (24 March 1979 – February 2025) was a professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in England, he made four appearances for the Grenada national team. Career Torquay United After being on Chelsea's bo ...

on 11 August 2001, as Torquay lost 1–0 away to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

, but was released at the end of that month. He joined

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

in September 2001, moving to Chester City the following month and appearing in their Conference side. He was released by Chester at the end of the 2002–03 season, having not played in their first team that season. He returned to Droylsden in August 2003, playing seven times up to early October. He returned to the Droylden side in October 2005, playing his final game for them that season on 12 December as Droylsden lost at home to

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

. He also became kit man to the Everton youth team, also taking some of the coaching and by April 2008 was one of Everton's Academy coaches.

References

SoccerFunZone.com

External links

* SoccerFunZone.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Mick Living people 1979 births English men's footballers Everton F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Southport F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Footballers from Liverpool English Football League players Men's association football midfielders