Stephen Patrick Hunt (born 1 August 1981) 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 played as a
winger for played for
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
,
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 ...
,
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
,
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
and
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. At international level, he made 39 appearances scoring once for the
Republic of Ireland national team. His younger brother,
Noel, is also a footballer.
Club career
Early years
Hunt became known for his creative and skilful play as well as his work rate as a winger. Although born in Laois, Hunt grew up in Clonea-Power,
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
. He was a talented under-age
hurler and soccer player. He played for
Waterford hurlers at under-15 and under-16 levels. Hurling was his first love.
Hunt's first introduction to organised football was when he moved to the Christian Brothers' Secondary School in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary at the age of 11. During his time at secondary school he also began playing for Waterford soccer side
Johnville F.C. and won a Munster Schools Junior Cup with Carrick CBS. This gained Hunt a degree of recognition and he played in the Kennedy Cup with Waterford County. He later excelled for Carrick United at various age levels, before going to England starting his career as a trainee with
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 ...
. Failing to make an impact on the first team, Hunt had trials with clubs including
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
before leaving to join
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 ...
. In his four years at the West London club, he became an integral part of the team and stood in as captain for
Michael Dobson for a run of matches during the
2003–04 season.
In 2005 Hunt rejected a new contract and decided to leave Brentford. After agreeing to join
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
, late interest from
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, then in the
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 ...
, made him change his mind.
Reading
Hunt was denied more starting appearances in his first Reading season by the form of
Bobby Convey. He still made a good contribution, appearing from the bench, as Reading won the Championship title and promotion to the Premiership during the
2005–06 season.
![Stephen Hunt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Stephen_Hunt.png)
On 14 October 2006, Hunt's knee collided with
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
's goalkeeper
Petr Čech
Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as o ...
when the Reading player was lunging at the ball, resulting in Čech undergoing surgery for a
depressed fracture of the skull.
After the injury, Petr Čech had to wear head protection during every game. Following the incident, Premier League officials, players, pundits, player's representatives and even
MPs expressed views either condemning or supporting Hunt and the others involved in the aftermath of the incident. The FA eventually confirmed that no action would be taken against Hunt but, in the meantime, both Hunt and teammate
Ibrahima Sonko
Ibrahima Sonko (born 22 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Sonko moved to France from Senegal at a young age and began his career with Olympique Noisy-le-Sec and AS Saint-Étienne, before ...
, involved in a collision in the same match with Čech's replacement
Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini (; born 6 September 1973) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the son of the former Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini, and the grandson of Ponziana defender Guglielmo Cudicini. Cudicini is currently a c ...
, had allegedly received death threats from Chelsea fans. Cech revealed that while Hunt had been speaking about the incident in the press for months, he hadn't personally contacted or apologized to him. Hunt scored his first Premier League goal in the 6–0 home win over
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
.
During the January 2008
transfer window
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 win ...
, Reading rejected a series of bids (peaking at £5.5 million)
from
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 ...
for Hunt, but Reading confirmed that they had no intention of selling players at that time.
On 1 February 2008, Hunt signed a new deal with Reading keeping him at the club until the summer of 2011. In
2007–08, Hunt scored 6 goals in 39 appearances for Reading's first team but could not prevent the club being relegated on goal difference.
On 4 February 2009, Reading confirmed that Hunt had signed a new three-and-a-half year contract, that would keep him at the club until the summer of 2012. However, after the club failed in their attempt to win an instant return to the Premier League, losing in the playoff semi finals 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 ...
, Hunt announced his intention to leave Reading in the hope securing a move back to the Premier League.
Hull City
On 13 August 2009 it was confirmed that Hunt had signed for
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 ...
for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around the region of £3.5 million. He scored his first goal for the club 28 minutes into his debut against Chelsea on 15 August 2009. This was also the first goal of the
2009–10 Premier League
The 2009–10 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. A total of 20 teams competed in the league, with Chelsea unseating the three ...
season. However, he was taunted by Chelsea fans throughout the game, due to the incident with Cech. Hunt also scored in his next match, his home debut for Hull City, but they were beaten 5–1 by
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
.
In the
January transfer window
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 ...
, Hunt was the subject of a £5 million bid from
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, but the Tigers rejected it. Shortly after, Hunt suffered a foot injury that ruled him out of the run-in. In his absence, the club were relegated amid growing financial worries.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 21 June 2010 Wolverhampton Wanderers signed Hunt on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £3 million. Hunt, still recovering from his foot injury from his time with Hull, did not return to action until several months into the season, making his Wolves debut as a substitute against
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 23 October 2010. He scored his first goal for the club on 27 November, a 3–2 win against
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 ...
.
In the early part of 2011, Hunt suffered calf and hernia injuries which kept him out of action for up to three months. He returned from injury for the final five fixtures of the season and scored three minutes from time on the final day of the season against
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
to guarantee Wolves their Premier League safety.
Although undergoing a groin operation, Hunt was largely a regular player for Wolves throughout the 2011–12 season as the club suffered relegation. His campaign back in the Championship was hampered by a persistent hip injury but he played regularly throughout the final months as the team was once again relegated. At the conclusion of the season it was announced that Hunt would be free to leave as his contract had expired. In total he made 66 appearances for the club, scoring eight times.
Ipswich Town
On 8 November 2013, Hunt signed a short-term deal with
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
. He made his debut for Ipswich the following day on 9 November, in a 2–3 away win over
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
at
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...
. He made 24 appearances during his first season at the club without scoring.
On 30 June 2014, Hunt signed a further one-year deal with Ipswich. He made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season on 18 October, starting in a 1–1 draw with
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
. He featured less regularly over the course of the season due to the form of wingers
Paul Anderson and
Jay Tabb. He made 19 appearances during the season, helping Ipswich reach the
Championship play-offs.
He left Ipswich following the end of the season after the club did not offer him a new deal.
Coventry City
On 8 January 2016, Hunt signed a short-term deal with League 1 promotion chasing side
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
after a short spell as a free agent. He made 5 appearances for the club during the remainder of the season.
He retired from playing football at the end of the 2015–16 season.
He has since founded his own football agency, and looks after the needs of a whole host of players across the UK and Europe.
International career
![Cox, Kelly, Gibson, Hunt 2012 Sopot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Cox%2C_Kelly%2C_Gibson%2C_Hunt_2012_Sopot.jpg)
Hunt earned his first
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
in their 2–1 win away to
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
on 7 February 2007, coming on as a substitute. Later that year he was sent off following a challenge on
Jan Polák
Jan Polák (; born 14 March 1981) is a retired Czech international footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
In his younger days he played for FC Zbrojovka Brno and Tatran Bohunice. Formerly a member of the Czech national under-21 side, Pol ...
in a match 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 ...
on 12 September 2007.
The midfielder became a regular member of
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
's team that narrowly failed to qualify for the
2010 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 ...
. Hunt scored his first, and only international goal through a late penalty in a 2–3 friendly defeat to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
at
Croke Park
Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...
on 19 November 2008. He was subsequently selected as part of Ireland's squad for the
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 ...
tournament but did not play in any of their games.
Personal life
Hunt has a sister and three brothers,
Noel, James and Anthony
and is married to
Kevin Doyle
Kevin Edward Doyle (born 18 September 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He played for Wexford F.C. (formerly Wexford Youths), St Patrick's Athletic, and Cork City in his homeland before he moved to Eng ...
's cousin, Joanne. He attended CBS Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hunt goal.''
Honours
Reading
*
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 ...
:
2005–06
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 ...
Individual
*
Football League Championship Player of the Month: December 2008
*
Reading Player of the Year:
2007–08
*
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
:
2008–09 Championship
*
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 ...
Player of the Year:
2009–10
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Stephen
1981 births
Living people
People from Portlaoise
Waterford inter-county hurlers
Association footballers from County Laois
Association footballers from County Waterford
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Association football wingers
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players
Reading F.C. players
Hull City A.F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
Coventry City F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers
Republic of Ireland B 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