James Kevin Matthew O'Connor (born 1 September 1979) 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 lea ...
who is the President of Soccer Holdings, which is the holding company of
USL Louisville City Football Club and NWSL Louisville Racing. He oversees all of the Soccer Holdings operations including all business aspects and soccer operations.
O'Connor began his career with
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
and after progressing their youth team he helped them to victory in the
2000 Football League Trophy Final and
2002 Football League Second Division play-off final. After making over 200 appearances for the Potters, he left to join Midlands rivals
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
in the summer of 2003. He spent one season at The Hawthorns before moving on to
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
. O'Connor became a regular at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...
making 149 appearances in four seasons at the club. In June 2008 he joined
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Formed in 1867 as an off ...
where he had spent four years making over 150 appearances. In January 2012 he moved to the United States to play for
Orlando City. At international level, he played for the
Republic of Ireland Under-21s.
He retired from playing in the summer of 2014 to become head coach of
Louisville City.
Club career
O'Connor was born in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and joined English club
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
in 1996 after being spotted by the club's Irish base scouts. He made his debut in the
1998–99 season before becoming a regular in the team in
1999–2000. He scored eight goals in 55 appearances as Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to
Gillingham although he did play in the
2000 Football League Trophy Final where Stoke beat
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
2–1 and his performances during the season earn him the
player of the year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is held on b ...
award. He played 54 times in
2000–01 for Stoke scoring ten goals as they again failed in the play-offs losing to
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
. He played in 50 matches in
2001–02 as Stoke finally won promotion via the play-offs, beating
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
2–0 in the
2002 Football League Second Division play-off final. He played 47 times in
2002–03 helping Stoke avoid relegation before he turned down the offer of a new contract.
He moved to
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
in summer 2003 for a fee of £250,000 and made his debut in the 4–1 defeat to
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
. He spent a successful three-month loan spell with Burnley in
2004–05. That season he made only two substitute appearances for West Bromwich Albion and moved to Burnley permanently to pursue first-team football, signing on
transfer deadline
In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new cl ...
day in 2005 for a £175,000 fee where he became a popular player with the fans.
His form at the start of the
2006–07 season at Burnley was among the best of his career. However, by the start of the
2007–08 season he seemed to be relegated to a squad player's role. The departure of
Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English coach and former player who is currently the manager of National League side Forest Green Rovers.
Cotterill, a striker, had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albio ...
as Burnley manager brought
Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...
in and he immediately restored O'Connor to the starting eleven. O'Connor responded by resuming his previous good form as the team's results improved. He was offered a new contract at the end of the 2007–08 season but when O'Connor asked for more time to consider his options, Coyle withdrew the offer and released him. O'Connor confirmed in an interview on
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire.
Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...
on 23 May that he was about to start a coaching course before deciding on his future.
[
]
O'Connor confirmed his move to
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
side
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Formed in 1867 as an off ...
on 27 June 2008 following a month of speculation surrounding the move in the press.
[
][
] He joined the club on a
free transfer under the
Bosman ruling
''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...
after turning down the offer to extend his stay at Turf Moor.
[
]
International career
O'Connor played for the Ireland at
Under-21 level.
[
]
Coaching career
On 10 January 2012, O'Connor signed with American third-tier side Orlando City of USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...
.[http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com/news/teamnews/index.html?article_id=626] He became a player-coach in 2013 with the team. He then became manager of Louisville City (Orlando City sold their rights to a USL Pro team to an investor group in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
). In March 2017, O'Connor extended his contract with Louisville City through the 2020 season.
On 29 June 2018, Louisville City announced that O'Connor would depart the club after its match against New York Red Bulls II
New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid.
Hi ...
the next day to become head coach of Orlando City SC in MLS, replacing Jason Kreis
Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer coach and former player who is the director of operations and special projects for Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake and the former head coach of the United States unde ...
, who was sacked two weeks earlier. A trio of players – George Davis IV
George Davis IV (born August 5, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who previously played for Louisville City FC in the USL Championship. Currently, he is the Director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation.
Early life Personal
D ...
, Paolo DelPiccolo
Paolo DelPiccolo (born May 28, 1991) is an American retired soccer player who is currently an assistant coach for Louisville City in the USL Championship.
Career
College and amateur
DelPiccolo played four years of college soccer at the Univers ...
and Luke Spencer
Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera ''General Hospital'', played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015. Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor ...
– would serve as player-coaches on an interim basis until a replacement was announced. He was sacked at the end of the 2019 season
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* '' Dici ...
with the team having missed out on playoffs again and remaining 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Personal life
O'Connor's two brothers, Danny
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾
People
*Danny Altmann, British immunologist
* Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
* Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...
and Kevin
Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ).
The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...
both played for Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...
.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
All competitive games (league and domestic cups) are included.
Honours
Stoke City
*Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
: 1999–2000
Orlando City
* USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...
Championship: 2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
Louisville City FC
* USL
USL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project
* Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool
Companies
* United Spirits Limited, India
* Former United States Lines shipping company
C ...
Championship: 2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
Individual
* Stoke Player of The Year: 1999–2000
References
External links
*
Article on O'Connor leaving Burnley at Claretsmad.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, James
1979 births
Living people
Association footballers from Dublin (city)
Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers
Stoke City F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Orlando City SC head coaches
Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
English Football League players
USL Championship players
Louisville City FC coaches
Republic of Ireland association football managers