Paul David McShane (born 6 January 1986) is an Irish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who is currently the Professional Development Phase coach at

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 ...

side

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Born in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

, Ireland, McShane moved to England when he was 16 to play for Manchester United, with whom he won the 2003

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 ...

. He had loan stints with

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 ...

and

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

before making a permanent move to

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 2006. He joined

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

a year later, but spent the 2008–09 season on loan to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

before making a permanent move there in 2009. He spent six years with Hull, broken up by loan spells with

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

, before joining

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in 2015. After four years with Reading, he moved to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

but was released following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in July 2021, when he made a return to Manchester United as a player-coach for the club's under-23s team. He retired from playing at the end of the season, when he took up a youth coaching role full-time. McShane represented the Republic of Ireland at every level from Under-15s upwards. He made six appearances for the under-21s before making his debut for the senior team in 2006. He was named in the Ireland squad for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, but did not make an appearance at the tournament. He earned his 33rd and final cap in March 2016, although he was named as a standby player for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Early life

Born in

, County Wicklow, McShane started his career with Greystones United, as well as playing for Newtown Juniors and his secondary school, St. David's. He later joined St Joseph's Boys, a club based in south

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 ...

Club career

Manchester United

In the summer of 2002, he signed for

. In December 2004, he was loaned to

, where he played four league matches and scored once against Sheffield Wednesday. He played for Manchester United in the final of the 2003

in which they defeated

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

3–1. He played in pre-season friendly matches and was given the squad number 34, but did not make a full debut for Manchester United.

Brighton & Hove Albion

In August 2005, he moved to

on an initial five-month loan deal. The loan was later extended for the whole of the 2005–06 season. McShane was voted Player of the Season by the supporters, as well as the away supporters' Player of the Season.

West Bromwich Albion

On 10 August 2006, McShane and fellow 2003 FA Youth Cup winner Luke Steele moved to

on a permanent basis in a deal that saw

Tomasz Kuszczak Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak (; born 20 March 1982) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC U ...

join United on a season-long loan with a permanent deal confirmed for the following summer. He made his debut for West Brom in a 3–0 win over

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

on 24 August 2006. His goal against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

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 ...

on 6 January 2007 sent Albion on their way to a 3–1 victory. It was the first of three goals he scored in 42 appearances for the club.

Sunderland

On 26 July 2007, McShane joined

for an initial £1.5 million fee. McShane's first match for the Black Cats ended in success – his performance helping Sunderland to a clean sheet and a 1–0 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Hull City

On 29 August 2008, Sunderland accepted a loan offer for McShane from

, who were newly promoted to the

. While playing for Hull, he scored the opening goal at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in a league match versus

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 13 December 2008. His last match during his loan spell for Hull was an

victory over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

on 14 January 2009, as he was recalled to Sunderland by manager

Ricky Sbragia Richard Sbragia (born 26 May 1956) is a Scottish football coach and former player. His playing career, mainly in the English lower leagues began at Birmingham City, Walsall, Blackpool, York City and a loan spell at Darlington. Sbragia had a ...

. On 30 August 2009, McShane rejoined Hull on a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee. On 16 February 2011, he joined

on a two-month loan, but Hull were given the option to recall him after 28 days. He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 4–2 win over

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 ...

on 9 April 2011. On 13 January 2012, McShane joined Crystal Palace on a one-month loan. McShane's loan at Palace was extended until the end of the 2011–12 season on 31 January 2012. The 2012–13 season started more positively for McShane than his previous few seasons at Hull as he enjoyed regular appearances under new manager

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

, often being deployed as part of Hull's new system of a three-man defence. He scored his first goal in over four years on 1 December 2012, shouldering the ball home to help Hull to a 2–1 victory at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. More solid performances at the heart of the Tigers' defence followed for McShane in 27 appearances that season, until he was ruled out for the rest of the campaign with ankle ligament damage suffered in a match, again against Nottingham Forest. With his contract running out at the end of the season, this injury put McShane's long-term future at the club in doubt. However, McShane returned to the team unexpectedly before the end of the season. On 4 May 2013, McShane started on the final day of the season in a match against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, a match which the Tigers had to win to guarantee promotion to the

. In the 63rd minute of the match, an inswinging corner from

Robbie Brady Robert Brady (born 14 January 1992) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Preston North End F.C., Preston North End and the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of ...

was met by the right foot of McShane, who saw the ball nestle in the corner of the net to give his team the lead. This meant the Irishman had potentially scored the goal to promote Hull (although

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

's subsequent loss to Leeds United meant they achieved this regardless). In the aftermath of the match,

Stephen Quinn Stephen Jude Quinn (born 1 April 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mansfield Town. He has also represented the Republic of Ireland national team. He started his career with League of Ireland club St Patric ...

, talking of his teammate, said "Mac's my age and I want to be like him. I want to structure my life like him. He dedicates his whole life to playing. He's had knock-downs in the past but that's the measure of the man. That's why I like him even more, he comes back from anything like that. He's an almighty man who you want in the trenches wherever you go." Steve Bruce later confirmed that McShane would be offered a new contract for the next season in the top flight. On 8 July 2013, McShane signed a new two-year deal with Hull City. McShane's 2013–14 Premier League season started slowly as he was mainly named as a substitute for the opening two months of the campaign, but was finally included in the starting eleven away against Tottenham, a match in which he was successful in keeping the home side out up until a controversial 80th-minute penalty. He started the next match, again away at Tottenham but this time in the

three days later, and put in a similarly impressive performance, scoring a header in the 99th minute past a helpless

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...

. He followed this up next Saturday with another impressive display, earning ''the Tigers'' a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over

. On 17 May 2014, he played as a substitute in the

2014 FA Cup Final The 2014 FA Cup Final was an association football match contested by Premier League clubs Arsenal and Hull City at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 17 May 2014. It was the 133rd FA Cup final overall and the showpiece match of English foot ...

against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 28 May 2015, Hull City released McShane and five other players who were out of contract at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Reading

On 2 July 2015, McShane signed a three-year contract with

. He made his first professional appearance for the Royals on 8 August 2015 in a 2–1 defeat away to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. McShane's first goal for Reading came during a 3–1 victory against his former club

on 20 February 2016, where he scored the equaliser during the

Fifth Round match at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Rea ...

. He was released by Reading at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Rochdale

On 10 October 2019, it was announced that McShane had joined

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 ...

side

on a short-term contract until January 2020. This was extended by 18 months in mid-January 2020.

Return to Manchester United

On 23 July 2021, he returned to former club Manchester United as a player-coach, with the intention of being used as an overage player in under-23s matches while coaching in the youth set-up. He played in the

2021–22 EFL Trophy The 2021–22 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa Johns Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 39th season in the history of the competition, was a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English f ...

wearing the number 62, but retired from playing at the end of the season and took up a full-time role as the club's Professional Development Phase coach.

International career

McShane received his first senior international call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad from manager Steve Staunton on 25 September 2006, for the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifiers against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and 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 ...

. An injury to Andy O'Brien and the suspension of

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his pro ...

(the two central defenders that had started the match against Cyprus) meant that McShane was given his first international cap against the Czech Republic on 11 October 2006. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with McShane being named man of the match. McShane was part of the team that missed out on place at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

after being defeated by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in a play-off, and was the Irish player directly behind

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

when Henry twice handballed late in extra-time before crossing for

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...

to score an illegitimate, but accepted, goal. On 29 May 2012, he was called in from the international wilderness to the Irish

squad following an injury to Kevin Foley ahead of the tournament.

Style of play

Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional association football, footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella ...

once compared McShane to Spanish international defender

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national football team, Spain nationa ...

, labelling Sergio Ramos "...like Paul McShane on steroids".

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Manchester United U18 *

: 2002–03 Hull City *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Republic of Ireland * Nations Cup:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Football Association of Ireland website * {{DEFAULTSORT:McShane, Paul 1986 births Living people People from Wicklow (town) Association footballers from County Wicklow Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Reading F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England FA Cup Final players Association football coaches Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff