Stephen O'Shaughnessy (born 13 October 1967) is a Welsh 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 lea ...

who was most recently manager of Airbus UK Broughton. As a player, he made more than 200 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. O'Shaughnessy or "Shaughssa" as he is affectionately known was born in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and started his career as an apprentice at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, before moving onto

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, where he made one league appearance. In 1988, O'Shaughnessy was signed by former

midfielder and manager Eddie Gray for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. In three seasons at

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseysi ...

, O'Shaughnessy enjoyed arguably the most successful spell in his career scoring 16 goals in 109 League appearances and reaching the 5th Round of the 1990

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. During this time, O'Shaughnessy earned the nickname the "Master Blaster" for his skill at taking long distance free-kicks. In July 1991, O'Shaughnessy joined

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

for £10,000. After a disappointing three-game spell at

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

under

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

winner Alan Ball, which saw him sent off at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, O'Shaughnessy joined

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in January 1992. In 88 League appearances for the Quakers, Steve became team captain before being released at the end of the 1993–94 season, with his final

appearance coming on 7 May 1994 against Bury. After this, Steve went to a roundabout of clubs, including

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

and

Buler Rangers Hong Kong Rangers Football Club (), often abbreviated to Rangers, currently known as Biu Chun Rangers due to sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong professional association football, football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier ...

in Hong Kong, before returning to play in the

League of Wales League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

. In 153 League of Wales appearances, O'Shaughnessy played for Inter Cardiff, Barry Town,

Holywell Town Holywell Town Football Club () is a Welsh football club from Holywell, Flintshire. They are nicknamed 'The Wellmen', and play their home games at the Bartons North Wales Stadium (commonly known as 'Halkyn Road'), Holywell. They currently pla ...

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club () is a professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. They play in the . They are nicknamed "the Canaries" because of the club's yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from 1895. Caernarfon ...

, T.N.S. Llansantfraid,

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

, Oswestry Town and NEWI Cefn Druids. In 1999, O'Shaughnessy was appointed player-manager of Oswestry Town. On 27 September 2006, O'Shaughnessy was named as the new manager of

. In June 2008, O'Shaughnessy left Caernarfon Town and joined Connah's Quay Nomads as manager, but left the club after one season in charge. After serving as assistant, he was appointed as manager of Airbus UK Broughton in November 2016. On 24 September 2022, Steve O'Shaughnessy, left Airbus UK Broughton by mutual agreement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshaughnessy, Steve 1967 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football central defenders Bradford City A.F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players The New Saints F.C. players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Cymru Premier players Cymru Premier managers English Football League players Footballers from Wrexham Hong Kong First Division League players Caernarfon Town F.C. managers Oswestry Town F.C. managers Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. managers Cefn Druids A.F.C. managers Cefn Druids A.F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Holywell Town F.C. players Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. players Gresford Athletic F.C. players Welsh football managers Airbus UK Broughton F.C. managers