Alan Mahon

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Alan Mahon

| image =

| fullname = Alan Joseph Mahon{{cite book

| editor-last = Hugman

| editor-first = Barry J.

| title = The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09

| publisher = Mainstream

| year = 2008

| isbn = 978-1-84596-324-8}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1978|4|4}}

| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}

| position = Attacking Midfielder

| youthyears1 = 1993–1995

| youthclubs1 = Tranmere Rovers

| years1 = 1995–2000

| years2 = 2000–2001

| years3 = 2000–2001

| years4 = 2001–2004

| years5 = 2003

| years6 = 2003

| years7 = 2004–2006

| years8 = 2006

| years9 = 2006–2009

| years10 = 2009

| years11 = 2009–2011

| clubs1 = Tranmere Rovers

| clubs2 = Sporting CP

| clubs3 = → Blackburn Rovers (loan)

| clubs4 = Blackburn Rovers

| clubs5 = → Cardiff City (loan)

| clubs6 = → Ipswich Town (loan)

| clubs7 = Wigan Athletic

| clubs8 = → Burnley (loan)

| clubs9 = Burnley

| clubs10 = → Blackpool (loan)

| clubs11 = Tranmere Rovers

| caps1 = 120

| goals1 = 13

| caps2 = 1

| goals2 = 0

| caps3 = 18

| goals3 = 0

| caps4 = 18

| goals4 = 1

| caps5 = 15

| goals5 = 2

| caps6 = 11

| goals6 = 1

| caps7 = 47

| goals7 = 9

| caps8 = 8

| goals8 = 0

| caps9 = 59

| goals9 = 4

| caps10 = 1

| goals10 = 0

| caps11 = 16

| goals11 = 1

| totalcaps = 313

| totalgoals = 31

| nationalyears1 = 1998–2000

| nationalteam1 = Republic of Ireland U21

| nationalcaps1 = 18

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2000

| nationalteam2 = Republic of Ireland

| nationalcaps2 = 2

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| manageryears1 = 2020

| managerclubs1 = Manchester City Women (interim)

}}

Alan Joseph Mahon (born 4 April 1978) is an Irish former professional footballer who played a midfielder and was capped by the Republic of Ireland.

Playing career

=Club career=

==Early career==

Dublin-born Mahon, who was educated at St. James Street Christian Brothers Secondary School in the Irish capital, joined English Football League club Tranmere Rovers in 1995. In five years at the club, Mahon made a total of 144 appearances, scoring fourteen goals. He played in the 2000 Football League Cup Final as Tranmere lost 2–1 to Leicester City at Wembley on 27 February 2000.

On 4 July 2000, he moved to Portugal, joining Portuguese Liga club Sporting CP on a free transfer. He played the first half in a 4–0 defeat in the Champions League to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on 25 October,{{cite news|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=293384|title=European Cup – 1st Stage Group A Real Madrid 4–0 Sporting Lisbon|date=25 October 2000|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=14 March 2009}} he was loaned to First Division club Blackburn Rovers on 15 December for the rest of the season, making his debut two days later as an 89th-minute substitute in a 2–0 victory over their Lancashire rivals Burnley at Turf Moor. He was a regular first-team squad member and made eighteen league appearances, as Blackburn finished in second place and were promoted to the Premier League.

==Blackburn Rovers==

On 29 June 2001, he signed for Blackburn Rovers permanently for a transfer fee of £1.5M. He made his Premier League debut on 22 August in a 2–2 draw with Manchester United at Ewood Park.{{cite news|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=318385|title=English Premier – Blackburn 2–2 Man Utd |date=22 August 2001|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=14 March 2009}} Three days later he scored Blackburn's first goal in a 2–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur.{{cite news

|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/3011459/Blackburn-get-balance-right.html

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505141557/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/3011459/Blackburn-get-balance-right.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=5 May 2013

|title=Blackburn get balance right

|work=The Daily Telegraph

|date=25 August 2001 |access-date=17 February 2010

| location=London

| first=Derick

| last=Allsop}} He made a total of thirteen league appearances in the 2001–02 season as Blackburn finished in tenth place. He was an unused substitute when Blackburn won the 2002 League Cup, beating Tottenham 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 24 February 2002.

After just two league appearances, in the 2002–03 season, on 20 January 2003, Mahon was sent on loan to Second Division Cardiff City for the rest of the season as the Bluebirds won promotion to the First Division. On 8 September 2003, he was loaned out to Ipswich Town, where he made eleven league appearances and scored one goal against Bradford{{cite web

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3156214.stm

|title=Bradford City 0–1 Ipswich

|publisher=BBC

|date=11 October 2003 |access-date=24 October 2009}} in a three-month loan spell. He returned to Blackburn on 22 December, and made three further league appearances.

==Wigan Athletic==

Mahon signed for Wigan Athletic on 6 February 2004, stating that he wanted regular first-team football. He made his debut the following day in a 3–1 victory over Ipswich at Portman Road. The following season he made 27 league appearances scoring seven goals as Wigan won promotion to the Premier League.

After starting the 2005–06 season in the first team, he dropped out of favour halfway through the campaign and was allowed to leave, despite being seen as an ongoing squad player by Paul Jewell.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} On 23 March 2006 he joined Burnley on loan for the rest of the 2005–06 season, making his debut the following day against Norwich City. Jimmy Bullard, a Wigan Athletic player, said that all the players wore black armbands when Mahon left the club.

==Burnley==

After eight appearances on loan, he joined Burnley permanently on 8 June for £200,000 on a three-year contract. Burnley's then-manager Steve Cotterill described Mahon as "an absolute gem, [he is] the jewel in our crown"{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} and it appeared that Cotterill planned to build Burnley's team around Mahon in the 2006–07 season; however, injuries and a loss of form during the 2006–07 season saw Mahon become a fringe first-team player. In the 2007–08 season, he returned to the first eleven and appeared to have regained the form that he showed when first arriving at Turf Moor. However, injuries plagued his season once again, and he started just 15 games, scoring one goal. The 2008–09 season started the same way, with his being a fringe squad player for the Clarets.

On 14 March 2009, Cotterill's successor as Burnley manager, Owen Coyle, stated that fellow Championship club Blackpool had made an enquiry to take Mahon on loan for the rest of the season, saying: "I won't stand in his way because Alan needs to play. He is a terrific professional who I have so much time for and I am trying to do right by him."{{cite news|url=http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0,,10413~1590626,00.html |title=Mahon Set To Join Seasiders |date=14 March 2009 |publisher=Burnley F.C. |access-date=15 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229184958/http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0%2C%2C10413~1590626%2C00.html |archive-date=29 February 2012 }} Blackpool caretaker manager Tony Parkes confirmed Blackpool's interest in Mahon.{{cite news |url=http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10432~1590984,00.html |title=Parkes Confirms Mahon Interest |date=14 March 2009 |publisher=Blackpool F.C. |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317060227/http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10432~1590984%2C00.html |archive-date=17 March 2009 |url-status=dead }} Three days later he joined the Tangerines on loan until the end of the season.{{cite news |url=http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10432~1593240,00.html |title=Mahon Puts Pen To Paper |date=17 March 2009 |publisher=Blackpool F.C. |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321182804/http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10432~1593240%2C00.html |archive-date=21 March 2009 |url-status=dead }} He made his debut on 21 March in a 1–1 draw with Southampton at Bloomfield Road.

In June 2009, Mahon was released by Burnley at the end of his contract, alongside Gabor Kiraly and Steve Jones.

==Tranmere Rovers==

On 6 July 2009, he signed a three-year contract with former club Tranmere Rovers. He scored his first goal for Tranmere in a 3–2 defeat against Walsall on 12 September 2009.{{cite web

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8246606.stm

|title=Tranmere 2 – 3 Walsall

|publisher=BBC

|date=12 September 2009 |access-date=24 October 2009}}

In July 2011, and following a series of injuries that kept him out of the first team for the whole of the 2010–11 season, Mahon's contract with Tranmere was terminated by mutual consent.

=International career=

Mahon played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team in the 1996 UEFA European Under-18 Championship finals in Luxembourg and made his senior international debut on 26 April 2000 as a 54th-minute substitute in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Greece at Lansdowne Road, Dublin.{{cite news|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=419718|title=Ireland 0–1 Greece |date=26 April 2000|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=14 March 2009}} On 11 June he played in another friendly, a 2–1 win over South Africa in Giants Stadium, New York, United States.{{cite news|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=284822|title=Ireland 2–1 South Africa |date=11 June 2000|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=14 March 2009}}

Coaching career

In February 2020, Mahon took control of Manchester City Women on an interim basis.{{cite web |last1=Oatway |first1=Caroline |title=Mahon: It's business as usual |url=https://www.mancity.com/news/mcwfc/mcwfc-news/2020/february/alan-mahon-bristol-city |website=mancity.com |access-date=12 February 2020 |language=en}}

Honours

Tranmere Rovers

Football League Cup runner-up: 1999–2000{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/658945.stm |title=Leicester triumph at Wembley |website=BBC Sport |date=27 February 2000 |access-date=28 March 2024}}

Blackburn Rovers

Football League Cup: 2001–02{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/worthington_cup/1834988.stm |title=Cole strike stuns Spurs |website=BBC Sport |date=24 February 2002 |access-date=27 March 2024}}

Individual

FAI Under-21 International Player of the Year: 1999{{cite news |title=Injury rules out McPhail |url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/injury-rules-out-mcphail-26124652.html |work=Irish Independent |date=21 February 2000 |access-date=13 November 2013 }}

References

External links

[http://www.clarets-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED35&id=310840 Alan Mahon profile] at Clarets Mad
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080516101909/http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10413~9824,00.html Alan Mahon profile] at burnleyfootballclub.com
{{Soccerbase}}

Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:Republic of Ireland men's association footballers

Category:Republic of Ireland men's international footballers

Category:Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers

Category:Tranmere Rovers F.C. players

Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players

Category:Cardiff City F.C. players

Category:Ipswich Town F.C. players

Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. players

Category:Burnley F.C. players

Category:Blackpool F.C. players