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 le ...

. He represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in August 1999 and later that month, on the opening day of the season, scored on his league debut against Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow. 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 in the

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 ...

third round tie against Queens Park Rangers in December 1999, O'Brien fell out of favour with manager

Wes Saunders Wesley Saunders (born 23 February 1963) is an English former professional football player and manager, who played as a central defender. He played for Newcastle United, Bradford City, Carlisle United and Torquay United in the Football League and ...

. He was loaned to Conference side Southport 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. 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 ...

, 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 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; an ...

to avoid relegation and send Barnet down instead. Lee left at the end of the season and was replaced by Roy McFarland. 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 "Tony" Bedeau (born 24 March 1979) is a former 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, but was released at the end of that month. He joined

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre 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 ...

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 at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

. 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