John Andrew O'Kane (born 15 November 1974) is an English 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 played as a defender. He started his career with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

but failed to break into the first team, and after loan spells with

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, Bury,

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

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 ...

, he made a permanent move to Everton in January 1998. There he found first-team opportunities easier to come by, but a change of manager at the end of the 1997–98 season meant he fell out of favour again and was sent on loan 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 ...

at the start of the 1998–99 season. He went on loan again to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

at the start of 1999–2000, a move that was made permanent a month later. After two years with Bolton, he moved to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, where he spent another two years before retiring due to injury. He came out of retirement again soon after to play for

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, formed in 1919. The team's strip is red shirts and black shorts and their home ground is the 4,250 capacity Ewen Fields. Hyde United's record ...

, where he spent a further three seasons before his final retirement in 2006.

Career

He began his professional career at

in 1990 and played 7 competitive games for the club before signing for Everton in January 1998. His last appearance for United was on 27 November 1996 when he played against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in the League Cup O'Kane was a member of United's

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 ...

winning side in 1991–92. On the introduction of squad numbers in the

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

for the 1993–94 season, he was issued with the number 30 shirt, and then with the number 24 shirt from the start of the 1996–97 season. He had a brief loan spell at

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, featuring in their makeshift squad for the

1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition of the tournament administered by the UEFA. It saw Strasbourg and Bordeaux win their semi-finals to advance to the first round of the UEFA Cup, the latter eventually finishing runners-up. It also ...

along with fellow United players

Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL League Two club Shrewsbury Town. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that ...

and Graeme Tomlinson. O'Kane played in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup for Manchester United. He was finally sold from Old Trafford after refusing another contract, in the 1997–98 season for a fee around £1 million, 14 months after his last appearance, when

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston ...

signed him for Everton. He had more chance of first team football at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

and was a regular starter. O'Kane helped Everton stay in the league on the last day of the season against Coventry City in 1998. Howard Kendall got the sack and Walter Smith was his replacement. O'Kane wasn't given a chance of further development and fell out of favour and handed in a transfer immediately. He joined

in November 1999, along with Everton teammate

Gareth Farrelly Gareth Farrelly (born 28 August 1975) is an Irish football manager and former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Everton. He also played in the Football League ...

, and after both made the move to the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

permanent they helped Wanderers back to the Premier League, via the play-offs. He made his final senior appearance at the age of 28 for

in 2002–03. He captained them and helped them secure promotion and the

2001–02 Football League Trophy The Football League Trophy 2001–02, known as the LDV Vans Trophy 2001–02 for sponsorship reasons, was the 21st staging of the Football League Trophy, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in Second, Third Division and the Confer ...

, before retirement through injury. O'Kane signed for non-League

, where he remained until retiring completely in 2006, and captained them to the double double.

Personal life

O'Kane has been diagnosed as autistic and has worked in the care sector. He has a book out called ''"Bursting The Bubble-Autism and Me"'' - Publisher: Empire Publications Ltd .

Honours

Blackpool *

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 ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okane, John 1974 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Bury F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Everton F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Footballers from Nottingham Autistic sportspeople