Stephen Kelly (footballer, born 1983)
{{Short description|Irish footballer}}
{{for|other people named Stephen Kelly|Stephen Kelly (disambiguation){{!}}Stephen Kelly}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Stephen Kelly
| image = Stephen Kelly 2012 Sopot.jpg
| caption = Kelly with the Republic of Ireland national team before UEFA Euro 2012
| fullname = Stephen Michael David Kelly{{cite book |editor-first=Barry J. |editor-last=Hugman |title=The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11 |date=2010 |publisher=Mainstream |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-84596-601-0 |page=233}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|9|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| position = Right back
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Belvedere
| youthyears2 = {{0|0000}}–2000 | youthclubs2 = Tottenham Hotspur
| years1 = 2000–2006 | clubs1 = Tottenham Hotspur | caps1 = 37 | goals1 = 2
| years2 = 2003 | clubs2 = → Southend United (loan) | caps2 = 10 | goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2003 | clubs3 = → Queens Park Rangers (loan)| caps3 = 7 | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2003 | clubs4 = → Watford (loan) | caps4 = 13 | goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2006–2009 | clubs5 = Birmingham City | caps5 = 79 | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2009 | clubs6 = → Stoke City (loan) | caps6 = 6 | goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2009–2013 | clubs7 = Fulham | caps7 = 44 | goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2013–2015 | clubs8 = Reading | caps8 = 46 | goals8 = 1
| years9 = 2015–2017 | clubs9 = Rotherham United | caps9 = 35 | goals9 = 0
| totalcaps = 277
| totalgoals = 3
| nationalyears1 = 1999–2000 | nationalteam1 = Republic of Ireland U16 | nationalcaps1 = 12 | nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 2002–2003 | nationalteam2 = Republic of Ireland U20 | nationalcaps2 = | nationalgoals2 =
| nationalyears3 = 2003–2005 | nationalteam3 = Republic of Ireland U21 | nationalcaps3 = 17 | nationalgoals3 = 0
| nationalyears4 = 2006–2014 | nationalteam4 = Republic of Ireland | nationalcaps4 = 39 | nationalgoals4 = 0
}}
Stephen Michael David Kelly (born 6 September 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right back. He was part of the team that secured the Republic of Ireland's qualification for UEFA Euro 2012.
Kelly began his professional career at Tottenham Hotspur and also played for Southend United, Queens Park Rangers, Watford, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Fulham and Reading before joining his final club, Rotherham United, in 2015. He was capped 39 times for the Republic of Ireland.
Club career
=Tottenham Hotspur=
Kelly was born in Dublin, where he played football for Belvedere before joining Tottenham Hotspur through their youth programme.{{cite web |url=http://www.belvederefc.com/profiles/past-players.914.html |title=Past Players |publisher=Belvedere F.C. |access-date=6 September 2012}} He was something of an understudy to Stephen Carr (who was subsequently transferred to Newcastle United) and then to Paul Stalteri. He made his Spurs first team debut in 2003 and then went on to make 37 Premier League appearances, scoring two league goals, against Birmingham City{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4384113.stm |title=Birmingham 1–1 Tottenham |website=BBC Sport |date=2 April 2005 |access-date=14 September 2009}} and Aston Villa.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4476077.stm |title=Tottenham 5–1 Aston Villa |website=BBC Sport |date=1 May 2005 |access-date=14 September 2009}}
=Birmingham City=
Birmingham City were reported to have agreed a deal to sign Kelly in January 2006 before Tottenham's shortage of defenders put a stop to the move.{{cite news |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A141560727/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=94c36e1e |title=Football spy: Blues eye Kelly deal |newspaper=The Mirror |location=London |date=2 February 2006 |page=65 |access-date=16 September 2021 |via=Gale OneFile: News |url-access=subscription}} He did join Birmingham, however, on 28 June for an initial fee of £750,000, potentially rising to £1.25 million depending on his success with the club.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/5064692.stm |title=Kelly completes Birmingham switch |website=BBC Sport |date=28 June 2006 |access-date=4 March 2007}} He made 36 appearances in the 2006–07 Championship as Birmingham were promoted as runners-up.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/6629685.stm |title=Championship clockwatch |first=Nathan |last=Mercer |website=BBC Sport |date=6 May 2007 |access-date=16 September 2021}}
Kelly was the only outfield player in the 2007–08 Premier League season to play every minute of every game for his club.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/may/14/premierleague1 |title=Opta stats: The Premier League season in numbers |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=14 May 2008 |access-date=19 May 2008}}
==Stoke City (loan)==
On 4 February 2009, Kelly joined Stoke City on loan from Birmingham City until the end of the 2008–09 season. Stoke City had to wait for 36 hours after the January transfer window shut for confirmation of the deal.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7867516.stm |title=Stoke complete Kelly loan switch |website=BBC Sport |date=4 February 2009 |access-date=7 February 2009}} Kelly made his Stoke debut in their next game, a 2–0 defeat to Sunderland,{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/sport/Stoke-City-Kelly-s-return-delights-Reid/article-681419-detail/article.html |title=Stoke City: Kelly's return delights Reid |newspaper=The Sentinel |location=Stoke-on-Trent |date=9 February 2009 |access-date=22 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807144602/http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Stoke-City-Kelly-s-return-delights-Reid/story-12550189-detail/story.html |archive-date=7 August 2011}} but picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty which kept him out of Stoke's next fixture.{{cite news |url=http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3004808,00.html |title=Stoke v Portsmouth preview |website=Sky Sports |date=20 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223093125/http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_3004808,00.html |archive-date=23 February 2009}}
=Fulham=
File:Kelly.JPG in 2009]]
On 16 June 2009, Kelly signed a three-year contract with Fulham, making him the club's first signing of the 2009 summer window. He said he was delighted to join the Cottagers and was looking forward to representing the club in both the Premier League and Europa League.{{cite web |url=http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2009/june/16/kelly-signs |title=Kelly signs |publisher=Fulham F.C. |date=16 June 2009 |access-date=23 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234928/http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2009/june/16/kelly-signs |archive-date=3 March 2016}} He helped Fulham reach the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, playing in their memorable win against Juventus on the way, but he was left out of the squad for the final itself.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8573049.stm |title=Fulham 4–1 Juventus (agg 5–4) |first=Phil |last=Dawkes |website=BBC Sport |date=18 March 2010 |access-date=20 March 2020}}{{cite news |first=Jacob |last=Murtagh |title=Fulham star wants to make up for Europa League heartbreak |url=https://www.mylondon.news/sport/football/football-news/fulham-star-wants-make-up-5980970 |website=MyLondon |date=1 December 2011 |access-date=16 September 2021}}
=Reading=
Kelly joined Reading on 11 January 2013, signing a {{frac|2|1|2}}-year contract.{{cite web |title=Kelly signs |url=http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/kelly-signs-110113-592502.aspx |publisher=Reading F.C. |date=11 January 2013 |access-date=22 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114000428/https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/kelly-signs-110113-592502.aspx |archive-date=14 January 2013}} He made his debut on 19 January in Reading's 2–1 away win over Newcastle United at St James' Park, made his home debut a week later against Sheffield United in a 4–0 FA Cup win, and soon afterwards, stated that "regardless of what happens now and for the rest of the season, coming here is the best decision I've made in football".{{cite news |url=http://talksport.com/sports-news/football/premier-league/130204/stephen-kelly-move-fulham-reading-was-best-decision-my-career-190915 |title=Stephen Kelly: Move from Fulham to Reading was best decision of my career |first=Nick |last=Rostron-Pike |website=Talksport |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=22 September 2013}} Kelly started every game in what remained of the season, and the team were relegated to the Championship.
He was allocated squad number 3 for the 2013–14 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/squad-numbers-submitted-944351.aspx |title=Squad numbers submitted |publisher=Reading F.C. |date=25 July 2013 |access-date=22 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727051944/http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/squad-numbers-submitted-944351.aspx |archive-date=27 July 2013}} Kelly scored his first goal for Reading on 1 January 2014, a 95th-minute header from Royston Drenthe's free kick that gave his side a draw at home to Nottingham Forest.{{cite news |url=https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/kelly-rescues-royals-dramatic-late-6459901 |title=Kelly rescues Royals with dramatic late equaliser |first=Charles |last=Watts |website=BerkshireLive |date=1 January 2014 |access-date=16 September 2021}}
Kelly left Reading at the end of the 2014–15 season, despite being offered a new contract by the club.{{cite news |url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stephen-kelly-leaves-reading-fc-9706281 |title=Stephen Kelly leaves Reading FC after new contract offer is left unsigned |first=Charles |last=Watts |newspaper=Reading Post |date=22 July 2015 |access-date=22 July 2015}}
=Rotherham United=
On 19 November 2015, Kelly joined Championship club Rotherham United until the end of the 2015–16 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.themillers.co.uk/news/article/stephen-kelly-rotherham-united-2808403.aspx |title=Kelly puts pen-to-paper with Millers |publisher=Rotherham United F.C. |date=19 November 2015 |access-date=19 November 2015}} He left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season.{{cite web |url=https://www.themillers.co.uk/news/2017/may/read--eight-players-released-by-millers/ |title=Read: Eight players released by Millers |publisher=Rotherham United F.C. |date=11 May 2017 |access-date=11 May 2017}}
International career
Kelly won Irish caps at junior levels and became a member of the senior Irish national squad, making his debut versus Chile. He represented the Republic of Ireland Under-16 team at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and the Under-20 team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.
On 29 March 2011, Kelly was named as Ireland captain for the friendly against Uruguay at the Aviva Stadium.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/mar/28/stephen-kelly-republic-ireland-uruguay |title=Fulham's Stephen Kelly to captain Republic of Ireland against Uruguay |first=David |last=Hytner |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=28 March 2011 |access-date=29 March 2011}}
He was a squad member at UEFA Euro 2012 but saw no game time. Then, despite injuries to Richard Dunne and Sean St Ledger, manager Giovanni Trapattoni left him on the bench for the 6-1 home defeat to Germany in 2014 World Cup qualifying. Days later, Kelly had a training ground row with assistant manager Marco Tardelli, and was left so upset by the incident that he did not want to board the plane for the game against the Faroe Islands.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/19901262 |title=World Cup qualifier: Rep of Ireland v Germany (Fri) |website=BBC Sport |date=11 October 2012 |accessdate=16 September 2021}}{{cite news |url=http://www.the42.ie/stephen-kelly-persuaded-to-board-faroes-flight-after-management-bust-up-reports-635798-Oct2012/ |title=Stephen Kelly in management bust-up – reports |website=The 42 |date=15 October 2012 |accessdate=20 January 2016}}
Career statistics
=Club=
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=2|FA Cup !colspan=2|League Cup !colspan=2|Other !colspan=2|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division
!Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| rowspan=5|Tottenham Hotspur
|2002–03{{soccerbase season|34486|2002|access-date=20 January 2016}} | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003–04{{soccerbase season|34486|2003|accessdate=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05{{soccerbase season|34486|2004|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 17 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 23 | 2 | |
| 2005–06{{soccerbase season|34486|2005|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 10 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!37 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 44 | 2 | ||
| Southend United (loan) | 10 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 10 | 0 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan)
|7 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 2{{efn|Appearances in Second Division play-offs}} | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Watford (loan) | 13 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 13 | 0 | |||
| rowspan=4|Birmingham City
|2006–07{{soccerbase season|34486|2006|access-date=16 September 2021}} | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 41 | 0 | |
| 2007–08{{soccerbase season|34486|2007|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 40 | 0 | |
| 2008–09{{soccerbase season|34486|2008|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 7 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!79 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 88 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City (loan)
|Premier League | 6 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 6 | 0 | |||
| rowspan=5|Fulham
|2009–10{{soccerbase season|34486|2009|access-date=20 January 2016}} |Premier League | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10{{efn|name=UEL|Appearances in UEFA Europa League}} | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2010–11{{soccerbase season|34486|2010|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 12 | 0 | |
| 2011–12{{soccerbase season|34486|2011|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7{{efn|name=UEL}} | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2012–13{{soccerbase season|34486|2012|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 3 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!44 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 71 | 0 | |
| rowspan=4|Reading
|Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14{{soccerbase season|34486|2013|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Championship | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 16 | 1 | |
| 2014–15{{soccerbase season|34486|2014|access-date=20 January 2016}}
|Championship | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 18 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!46 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 52 | 1 | ||
| rowspan=3|Rotherham United
|2015–16{{soccerbase season|34486|2015|access-date=7 January 2017}} |Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | colspan=2|— | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17{{soccerbase season|34486|2016|access-date=16 September 2021}}
|Championship | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 20 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 35 | 0 | ||
| colspan=3|Career total
!277 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 328 | 3 |
{{notelist}}
=International=
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{NFT player |id=13156|name=Kelly, Stephen |accessdate=16 September 2021}} | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=9|Republic of Ireland
|2006 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total||39||0 |
Honours
Birmingham City
- Championship runner-up: 2006–07
Fulham
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2009–10
International
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.fai.ie/ireland/player/52884 Stephen Kelly profile] at the Football Association of Ireland website
- {{UEFA player|52884|Stephen Kelly}}
- {{Soccerbase}}
{{Republic of Ireland squad UEFA Euro 2012}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Stephen}}
Category:Association footballers from Dublin (city)
Category:Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Category:Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers
Category:Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Republic of Ireland men's international footballers
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Belvedere F.C. players
Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Category:Southend United F.C. players
Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Category:Birmingham City F.C. players
Category:Stoke City F.C. players
Category:Rotherham United F.C. players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Premier League players