Stephen Michael O'Leary (born 2 February 1985 in London) is an English

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 is contracted to Hemel Hempstead Town. He previously played in

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 ...

for Luton Town, Tranmere Rovers,

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

and

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 ...

Career

O'Leary is a midfield player, who played across the midfield for Luton, but is said to prefer a central role. He has played for the Republic of Ireland at U16, U17, and 18 levels. He was involved in a Luton youth who produced a number of good players. He made his debut for Luton in November 2003, away at Rushden & Diamonds. In this season Luton went on to be crowned league 1 champions. During the 2005–06 season, he joined Tranmere Rovers on loan. He gave a great account of himself, and won the praises of supporters and then manager

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

. The Tranmere supporters called for him to be signed on a long-term contract, however after numerous offers from other clubs he choose to sign a new one-year contract at Luton in May 2007. He left Luton in 2008 after turning down a new contract offer as he wanted to play at a higher level. On 27 August 2008 he signed for Hereford United on a one-year deal. He made his mark on his debut in the 2–0 home win over Crewe Alexandra by opening the scoring with a shot from 25 yards and setting up

Bradley Hudson-Odoi Bradley Hudson-Odoi (born 29 November 1988) is a Ghanaian footballer who last played as a striker for National League South side, Woking. Background Born in Accra, Hudson-Odoi is the son of former Hearts of Oak midfielder Bismark Odoi and th ...

for the second, collecting the man of the match award. His period at Hereford was largely interrupted by injury. He left at the end of the season to join bradford city. On 6 August 2009 O'Leary signed for

. Again his season was disturbed due to a lengthy toe injury. He left Bradford City at the end of the 2009–10 season with regret as he felt he never showed bradford fans his ability due to his injury. Just before the start of the 2010–11 season, O'Leary joined

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

on non-contract terms. O'Leary joined Dunstable Town early in 2011–12, scoring a hat-trick in his second and final appearance before returning to Kettering Town. He then joined Hemel Hempstead Town in June 2012.

Relatives

O'Leary's cousin is Noel O'Leary.

Notes

:A. : Soccerbase has divided O'Leary's Bradford appearances between his own page and a page for a non-existent "Steve O'Neill". O'Leary's profile at Bradford City's website confirms his debut in a match against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

which Soccerbase attributes to "O'Neill", and Bradford City's statistics page confirms his total of seven appearances.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Stephen 1985 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football midfielders Footballers from the London Borough of Barnet Luton Town F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players Dunstable Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players