Paul Thomas Hanlon (born 20 January 1990) is a Scottish 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 ...
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...
club Hibernian, where he is the current club captain, and the Scotland national team. He began his senior career with Hibernian, making his debut in 2008, and has gone to make over 500 appearances for the club. He also briefly played for
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
on loan during the 2008–09 season.
Hanlon represented Scotland at the under-19 and under-21 levels, and made his full international debut in October 2020.
Club career
Hanlon played for the well known
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
youth football club
Hutchison Vale
Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale Football Club (LTHV) are a senior non-league football club based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Currently competing in the , they play their home matches at Saughton Enclosure in the Saughton area of the city.
History
...
, along with future Hibs teammate
Danny Galbraith
Daniel William Galbraith (born 19 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bo'ness United.
Galbraith was a youth player with Heart of Midlothian and then signed for Manchester United, but injury problems ...
. Hanlon was an attacking midfielder who scored plenty of goals in youth football, but was converted to a defensive position after he signed for boyhood club Hibs. He played his first senior game for Hibs on 12 January 2008, against
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,David Murphy and Lewis Stevenson. Hanlon played for Hibs on a regular basis over the next seven months, and he agreed a five-year contract with the club.
During the 2008–09 season, however, Hanlon was replaced by Ian Murray as Hibs' regular left back. Hanlon was loaned out to
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
in December 2008, initially for one month. St Johnstone wanted to extend the loan arrangement, but Hibs refused to allow this. Hanlon went straight back into the Hibs team after returning from St Johnstone, but he was dropped soon afterwards by
Mixu Paatelainen
Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's ...
due to a defensive error he made in a match against
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
.
Hanlon played infrequently during the 2009–10 season, only featuring when one of the regular defenders was unavailable. One such period was when
Sol Bamba
Souleymane Bamba (born 13 January 1985) is a professional footballer who last played for club Middlesbrough and the Ivorian national team as a centre-back.
Bamba started his career in his native France with Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to ...
2010 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...
;
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
John Hughes said it was a tough decision to reinstate Bamba to the team at Hanlon's expense. At the end of the season, Hughes commented that Hanlon was a "great" footballer, but needed to become tougher and show more desire.
Hughes again praised Hanlon before the start of the 2010–11 season, saying that he had a "real future" in the game and had the potential to play in the
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 ...
. Following the departure of
Chris Hogg
Christopher Francis Hogg (born 12 March 1985) is an English former footballer. He was most recently Assistant Head Coach of League One club Milton Keynes Dons.
Hogg started his career with the York City youth system in 1997, captaining England ...
, Hanlon captained the team at times. Hanlon agreed a new contract with the club in May 2011.
Hibs struggled in the 2011–12 season, only securing a place in the SPL with a 4–0 win against
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
in early May. Hanlon scored the fourth goal, which was awarded despite the fact the ball had not crossed the goal-line. He played in Scottish Cup final defeats in
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
He won the club's player of the year award for the 2013–14 season, awarded in March 2014. At the same time, Hanlon was ruled out of action for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Hibs were seven points ahead of the relegation play-off position at that point, but a continued bad run of results led to their eventual relegation to the
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
.
In the 2015–16 season, Hanlon scored the winning goal in a match against
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
and scored an injury-time equaliser away to Hearts in the
2015–16 Scottish Cup
The 2015–16 Scottish Cup was the 131st season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in what was the fifth season of a five-year partnership. The final was conteste ...
. Hibs won the replay against Hearts at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-larges ...
and went on to win the competition, defeating Rangers 3–2 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
Hanlon signed a three-year contract with Hibs in June 2016. He missed much of the second half of the 2016–17 season due to a pelvic injury, but the team earned promotion to the Premiership. He was awarded a testimonial by Hibs in March 2018, and soon afterwards agreed a new contract with the club.
Hanlon made his 400th competitive appearance for Hibs on 23 November 2019, in a 3–1 win against
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
.
Following the retirement of David Gray, Hanlon was appointed club
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in July 2021. On 16 November 2021, Hanlon signed a new long-term contract with Hibernian, keeping him at the club until 2024. Hanlon made his 500th appearance for the club on 7 May 2022, in a 1–1 draw against
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
in March 2009. Hanlon was a regular in central
defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
during the
2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started with a qualifying competition which began on 27 March 2009 and finished on 13 October 2010. The final tournament was held in Denmark between 11–25 June 2011.
The first stage of the qualifyin ...
campaign, which ended in a play-off defeat by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. Hanlon then captained an inexperienced side in November 2010 as
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Billy Stark
William Stark (born 1 December 1956) is a Scottish former football player and current coach. He made 500 league appearances in total, including successful spells at Aberdeen and Celtic. He then turned to management, which has seen him take ca ...
made initial preparations for the
2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2011 and 2012 to decide the qualifiers for 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, to be held in Israel. The draw for ...
campaign. He scored the second goal in a 3–1 win for Scotland in a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Hanlon received his first call-up to the senior
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
squad in November 2017, for a friendly match with the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. He was recalled to the squad in October 2020, and made his full international debut in a 1–0 win against the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
Career statistics
Honours
Hibernian
*
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2015–16
*
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...