Alan Mahon
Encyclopedia
Alan Joseph Mahon is an Irish footballer who plays a midfielder
and has been capped by the Republic of Ireland
.
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 Clube de Portugal 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 Stadium
on 25 October, 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.
at Ewood Park
. Three days later he scored Blackburn's first goal in a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur
. 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 Worthington Cup
, beating Tottenham 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium
, 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
, where he made eleven league appearances and scored one goal against Bradford in a three-month loan spell. He returned to Blackburn on 22 December, and made three further league appearances.
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 Town 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 half-way through the campaign and was allowed to leave, despite being seen as an ongoing squad player by Paul Jewell
. 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.
described Mahon as "an absolute gem, [he is] the jewel in our crown" 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." Blackpool caretaker manager
Tony Parkes
confirmed Blackpool's interest in Mahon. Three days later he joined the Tangerines on loan until the end of the season. 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.
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.
defeat to Greece
at Lansdowne Road
, Dublin. On 11 June he played in another friendly, a 2-1 win over South Africa
in New York
, United States
.
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
and has been capped by the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
.
Early career: Tranmere Rovers and Sporting Clube de Portugal
Dublin-born Mahon, who was educated at St. James Street Christian Brothers Secondary School in the Irish capital, joined English Football LeagueThe Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
club Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
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
2000 Football League Cup Final
The 2000 Worthington Cup Final was played between Leicester City, in their third final appearance in four years, and First Division side Tranmere Rovers at Wembley on 27 February 2000...
as Tranmere lost 2-1 to Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
at Wembley on 27 February 2000.
On 4 July 2000 he moved to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, joining Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
club Sporting Clube de Portugal on a free transfer. He played the first half in a 4-0 defeat in the Champions League to Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is an all-seater football stadium in Madrid, Spain. It was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 and is owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. It has a current capacity of 85,454 spectators....
on 25 October, he was loaned to First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
club Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
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
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
rivals Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
. 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 UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...
. Three days later he scored Blackburn's first goal in a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. 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 Worthington Cup
2002 Football League Cup Final
The 2002 Worthington Cup Final was played between Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on Sunday, 24 February 2002. Blackburn won the match 2–1....
, beating Tottenham 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, 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
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
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
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, where he made eleven league appearances and scored one goal against Bradford 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 AthleticWigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
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 Town at Portman Road
Portman Road
Portman Road is an association football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted a number of England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly international match, against Croatia in 2003...
. 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 half-way through the campaign and was allowed to leave, despite being seen as an ongoing squad player by Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell
Paul Steven Jewell is a former English footballer who is currently the manager of Ipswich Town.His playing career started with Liverpool before moving to Wigan Athletic and then a ten-year spell with Bradford City...
. On 23 March 2006 he joined Burnley on loan for the rest of the 2005-06
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...
season, making his debut the following day against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
. 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 CotterillSteve Cotterill
Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...
described Mahon as "an absolute gem, [he is] the jewel in our crown" and it appeared that Cotterill planned to build Burnley's team around Mahon in the 2006-07 season
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
; 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
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
, 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
Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle is a Scottish-born Irish international former professional player and professional association football manager . He is currently the manager of Bolton Wanderers....
, stated that fellow Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
club Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
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." Blackpool caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
Tony Parkes
Tony Parkes
Anthony "Tony" Parkes is an English former professional footballer. After retiring, he became a coach. He was most recently caretaker manager at Blackpool. It was the seventh such role of his coaching career, having performed the role on six occasions for...
confirmed Blackpool's interest in Mahon. Three days later he joined the Tangerines on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 21 March in a 1-1 draw with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
at Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
.
In June 2009 Mahon was released by Burnley at the end of his contract, alongside Gabor Kiraly
Gábor Király
Gábor Ferenc Király is a Hungarian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is currently playing for 1860 Munich, in the 2. Bundesliga...
and Steve Jones.
Tranmere Rovers
On the 6th 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.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 made his international debut on 26 April 2000 as a 54th-minute substitute in a 1-0 friendlyExhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
defeat to Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
, Dublin. On 11 June he played in another friendly, a 2-1 win over South Africa
South Africa national football team
The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
External links
- Alan Mahon profile at Clarets Mad
- Alan Mahon profile at burnleyfootballclub.com