Alan Quinn

Alan Quinn (born 13 June 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Alan Quinn
Personal information
Full nameAlan Quinn
Date of birth (1979-06-13) 13 June 1979 (age 45)
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)Midfielder
Youth career
Cherry Orchard
Manortown United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1997–2004Sheffield Wednesday157(16)
2003Sunderland (loan)6(0)
2004–2008Sheffield United97(11)
2008–2011Ipswich Town69(3)
2014Handsworth6(0)
Total335(30)
International career
2003–2007Republic of Ireland8(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He is one of nine brothers; both Stephen and Keith were on the books at Alan's former club, Sheffield United while another brother, Gerry, played for St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland, the club which his cousin Joe Redmond also plays for. Quinn has also played for Sheffield Wednesday, and is the only player to have scored for both teams in the Steel City derby. During his playing career he also played for Sunderland and Ipswich Town.

Club career

Quinn played youth football in Dublin for Old Church United, Manortown United and Cherry Orchard.

Sheffield Wednesday

Quinn started his English club career at Sheffield Wednesday, making his first appearance as a substitute during 1997–98 and his first start the following season. After two games in his first two seasons his career took off during 1999–00 and he eventually played 178 League and Cup games for Wednesday, scoring 17 times.

After 6 games on loan to Sunderland, and winning OwlsOnline.com player of the year award for the 2002–03 season[1] he moved to Wednesday's rivals Sheffield United on a free transfer in 2004 after no clubs came in with a bid for the out of favour player.[2]

Sheffield United

After a couple of substitute appearances he made his full debut for the Blades in a 1–0 away victory at Preston North End on 8 August 2004.[3] He scored his first goal for the club a couple of weeks later in a 2–1 home defeat by West Ham United.[4] He was a regular in the starting eleven in his first season at Bramall Lane but in later years Quinn found first team football more difficult to come by.

With the Blades promoted to the Premier League for the 2006–07 season he could not hold down a regular spot, with his younger brother Stephen being preferred ahead of him for a time. Despite that Quinn made 19 Premier League appearances that season and was rewarded in July 2007 with a contract extension until 2010.[5]

Following United's relegation back to the Championship, Alan failed to impress new manager Bryan Robson enough to convince him that he was worth a place in the first team and made only a handful of appearances. The club allowed him to leave for free during the January transfer window, meaning Quinn never commanded a transfer fee throughout his career.

Ipswich Town

On 18 January 2008 Quinn signed for Ipswich Town on an emergency loan, after an undisclosed fee was agreed. The transfer was made permanent on 23 January 2008, with Quinn signing a three and a half-year contract. He was allocated the number 25 shirt and scored four minutes into his second appearance for Ipswich against his former team Sheffield Wednesday. He also scored a goal in the East Anglian Derby at Portman Road in April 2009.[6]

Handsworth

In 2014, he signed for Handsworth.[7]

International career

At Youth level he won the 1998 U-18 European Championships with Republic of Ireland in a team that also featured Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne, scoring in the final. the match finished 1–1 AET with Rep. Of Ireland winning on penalties.

Quinn won his first senior cap for the Republic of Ireland against Norway on 30 April 2003 and went on to earn 8 caps.[citation needed]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Sheffield Wednesday
1997–98[8]Premier League10000010
1998–99[9]Premier League10000010
1999–00[10]Premier League1933000223
2000–01[11]First Division3722051443
2001–02[12]First Division3821060452
2002–03[13]First Division3751020405
2003–04[14]Second Division24400102[a]0274
Total15716701412018017
Sunderland (loan)2003–04[14]First Division60000060
Sheffield United2004–05[15]Championship4372020477
2005–06[16]Championship2741010294
2006–07[17]Premier League1901010210
2007–08[18]Championship800040120
Total9711408010911
Ipswich Town2007–08[18]Championship1610000161
2008–09[19]Championship3422030292
2009–10[20]Championship1900021211
Total6932091804
Career total329301303122037532

International

Source:[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland
200320
200440
200610
200710
Total80

Honours

Sheffield United

Individual

References