James O'Shea
Encyclopedia
James "Jay" O'Shea is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

. He is primarily a right winger, but can also operate as a striker.

O'Shea began his career with St Joseph's Boys AFC before moving on to play for Home Farm
Home Farm F.C.
Home Farm Football Club is an Irish football club based in Whitehall, Dublin. Originally founded in 1928, the club joined the League of Ireland in 1972 after merging with Drumcondra. Following this merger they were briefly known as Home Farm Drumcondra...

 of the Leinster Senior League
Leinster Senior League (association football)
The Leinster Senior League is an association football league organised by the Leinster Football Association. The league is the highest level of football outside the Republic of Ireland football league system...

 in 2005. He signed for Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers A.F.C.
Bray Wanderers A.F.C. are an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1942 and elected to the League in 1985, hails from Bray and play their home matches at the Carlisle Grounds. Club colours are Green and White, and it goes by the nickname...

 after just two appearances for Home Farm, and spent a year-and-a-half with Bray. In 2008, O'Shea signed for Galway United, playing 60 games for the club in all competitions, and attracted a lot of interest from Football League
The 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...

 and Premier League teams.

He subsequently joined Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 in August 2009 for an undisclosed fee, and made his Premier League debut shortly after against Manchester United
Manchester 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...

. However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during his first season at Birmingham, and was loaned out to Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 in March 2010. O'Shea was loaned out again in October 2010, this time to League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 side Stevenage where he spent two months, and then to Port Vale in January 2011. He was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season, and joined Milton Keynes Dons.

Bray and Galway

O'Shea began his career at St Joseph's Boys, a youth team located in south County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

 that caters for players from the age of six up to eighteen years old. Shortly after leaving St Joseph's, he signed for Home Farm
Home Farm F.C.
Home Farm Football Club is an Irish football club based in Whitehall, Dublin. Originally founded in 1928, the club joined the League of Ireland in 1972 after merging with Drumcondra. Following this merger they were briefly known as Home Farm Drumcondra...

 of the Leinster Senior League
Leinster Senior League (association football)
The Leinster Senior League is an association football league organised by the Leinster Football Association. The league is the highest level of football outside the Republic of Ireland football league system...

 in 2005, before joining Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers A.F.C.
Bray Wanderers A.F.C. are an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1942 and elected to the League in 1985, hails from Bray and play their home matches at the Carlisle Grounds. Club colours are Green and White, and it goes by the nickname...

 a year later. O'Shea made his Bray debut in the club's 2–0 home defeat to Longford Town
Longford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...

 in September 2006 at the age of eighteen, coming on as a substitute in the second-half, and started his first match in a 6–0 loss to Cork City
Cork City F.C.
Cork City Football Club is an Irish football team that plays in the League of Ireland. Founded and elected to the league in 1984 to continue the long tradition of Association Football in Cork, City's traditional colours are green and white with red trim, and the crest is a variant of the Cork...

. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 win over Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...

 in October 2007, before signing for League of Ireland Premier Division side Galway United in December 2007. O'Shea scored his first goal for Galway in a 2–2 home draw with Finn Harps
Finn Harps F.C.
Finn Harps Football Club are a professional Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their home matches at Finn Park. The club's colours are blue...

, and finished as Galway's top scorer during the 2008 season, scoring ten goals in all competitions.

In November 2008 it was rumoured that a £400,000 deal had been agreed between Galway and English 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...

 side Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

, with the player expected to move to The Rams with the reopening of the transfer window in January 2009. O'Shea went on trial with the club on 17 November 2008 and scored twice in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 in a match which an experienced Derby side won 5–2. However, when Derby manager 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...

 resigned the move was put on hold and then cancelled. Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

 manager Greg Abbott
Greg Abbott (footballer)
Gregory Stephen "Greg" Abbott is an English football manager and former player. He played as a right back or midfielder, and is now manager of Carlisle United....

 said the club also came "within minutes" of signing O'Shea ahead of the 2009–10
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

 season, but lost out after trying to sign the player for three months. In January 2009, O'Shea spent two weeks on trial with Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, but returned to Galway ahead of the club's league campaign. The 2009 season witnessed O'Shea score six goals in 23 appearances for Galway, as well as captaining the team throughout the campaign. His final game for the club was a 2–1 win over his former employers, Bray Wanderers, a game in which he scored the winner in injury-time. In his last two games for Galway, O'Shea was watched by scouts from Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

, Derby County, Birmingham City, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

, Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, and Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 respectively.

Birmingham City

On 10 August 2009, O'Shea signed a two-year contract, with the option of a further two years, with Birmingham City of the Premier League. The fee was undisclosed. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat at Manchester United
Manchester 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...

. He started his first game for Birmingham nine days later, playing 45 minutes in the club's 2–1 League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 win over 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...

. He also featured in the following round, this time playing 63 minutes in Birmingham's 2–0 away loss at Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 before being replaced by Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....

. It was to be O'Shea's last appearance of the season for Birmingham. In March 2010, O'Shea joined Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 on loan for a month. He made his debut – both for the club and in the Football League
The 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...

 – as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at home to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 on 3 April. He started the next game, away at Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

, but made no more first-team appearances.

Early in the 2010–11 season, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

 attempted to find a Football League club for O'Shea to join on loan so that he could play regular football. In October, he had a trial with Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

, during which he played for the club's reserve team in a game against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 reserves which ended 1–1. Scunthorpe manager Ian Baraclough
Ian Baraclough
Ian Robert Baraclough is a former English professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Scunthorpe United, where he notably appeared as a player between 2004 and 2008...

 said he "wanted to take a further look at O'Shea" ahead of a reserve game against Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

, but he did not feature in the match. Towards the end of October, McLeish expressed surprise and concern that no club had taken the player on loan: "I'm surprised nobody has come for him because I think he's a decent young player and it would be great to get him that league experience. Playing in reserve games every now and again is probably not the right thing for a young player with potential." On 26 October, O'Shea joined League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 club Stevenage on a one-month loan deal. He was assigned the number 22 shirt. Having scored in a reserve match against Ipswich Town
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....

 the day after signing, O'Shea started in Stevenage's 0–0 home draw with Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 on 30 October. After six appearances, four in the League and two in the FA Cup, O'Shea's loan was extended until 16 January 2011.

He returned to Birmingham at the end of his loan spell, and a few days later went out on loan again, this time to League Two club Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 for a one month spell. He scored his first goal in English football at Vale Park
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the home ground of Port Vale F.C., who have played at the ground since 1950....

, with a well taken strike against Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...

 on 1 February. He made a total of five starts during his loan spell, before returning to Birmingham. Later in the season Vale's caretaker-manager Mark Grew
Mark Grew
Mark Stuart Grew is an English former football goalkeeper, now assistant manager to Micky Adams at Port Vale. On three occasions he has also served as the club's caretaker-manager, most recently from March to May in 2011....

 attempted to re-sign O'Shea, but the deal was reported to have fallen through because of the player's wages. After Birmingham's relegation from the Premier League, O'Shea was one of several players released when their contracts expired at the end of the season.

Milton Keynes Dons

In July 2011, O'Shea spent some weeks on trial at League One club Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

, before signing a one-year contract with an option for a second year.

International career

O'Shea has represented 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....

 at under-19, under-21, and under-23 levels.
He scored on his U21 debut on 28 March 2009, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 win over Spain U21
Spain national under-21 football team
The Spain national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita , competes in the biannual European Under-21 Football Championship.Following the realignment of UEFA's youth...

.

Career statistics

.

Club Season LeagueThe "League" column includes appearances, both in the starting eleven and as a substitute, and goals scored in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

, the Premier League and the Football League
The 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...

.
FA CupThe "FA Cup" column includes appearances, both in the starting eleven and as a substitute, and goals scored in the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...

 and FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

.
League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers A.F.C.
Bray Wanderers A.F.C. are an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1942 and elected to the League in 1985, hails from Bray and play their home matches at the Carlisle Grounds. Club colours are Green and White, and it goes by the nickname...

2006 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2007
2007 League of Ireland
The League of Ireland, consisting of both the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland First Division, kicked off in March, 2007...

26 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 27 2
Total 352100000362
Galway United 2008 29 7 4 2 4 1 0 0 37 10
2009 19 4 1 1 3 1 0 0 23 6
Total 48115372006016
Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

2009–10
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0
2010–11
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1000200030
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

(loan)
2009–10
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Stevenage (loan) 2010–11
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...

5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

(loan)
2010–11
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...

5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

2011–12
2011–12 in English football
The 2011–12 season is the 132nd season of competitive football in England.The season began on 5 August 2011 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier starting eight days later, League Football Conference Starting one day before Premier League starts.The Championship, League One, and League Two...

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career totals 961483920011319

External links

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