Eamon O'Keefe
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| Eamon O'Keefe | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eamon Gerard O'Keefe | |
| Date of birth | 13 October 1953 | |
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |
| Playing position | Forward (retired) | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| -1973 1973-1975 1975 1975-1976 1976-1979 1979-1981 1981-1983 1983-1985 1985-1987 1986-1987 1987-1988 1989-1990 1990-19?? |
Stalybridge Celtic Plymouth Argyle Hyde United Al-Hilal Mossley Everton Wigan Athletic Port Vale Blackpool Cork City St Patrick's Athletic Chester City Bangor City Career |
? (?) 0 (0) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) 40 (6) 58 (25) 59 (17) 36 (23) ? (?) ? (?) 17 (4) ? (?) 210 (75) |
| National team | ||
| England Semi-Pro Republic of Ireland |
5 (1) |
|
| Teams managed | ||
| 1987-1988 | Cork City (player-manager) | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Eamon Gerard O'Keefe (also referred to as Eamonn O'Keefe) (born 13 October 1953 in Manchester) is an English-born Irish former professional footballer. He played as a forward, but in later years was moved into a midfield role.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Domestic career
O'Keefe had a varied career that saw him come from non-League football to play forty top-flight games for Everton before a move into the lower divisions.
O'Keefe joined Sam Ellis's Blackpool from Port Vale in 1985. He made his debut for the Seasiders towards the end of the 1984–85 campaign, in a 4–2 victory over Peterborough United at Bloomfield Road on March 30, 1985, scoring Blackpool's fourth goal. He went on to score five more goals in eleven games before the end of the campaign, at which point Blackpool won promotion to Division Three.
The following season, 1985–86, O'Keefe scored seventeen goals in nineteen league starts (including a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over Doncaster Rovers on October 1, 1985). He finished the season as the club's top scorer.
After only two games in 1986–87, O'Keefe announced his retirement from professional football due to injury. His final game for Blackpool occurred on September 6, 1986, in a 2–1 home defeat by Carlisle United.
He was awarded a testimonial match as the summer wound down, with Division One champions Everton visiting Bloomfield Road.
O'Keefe went on to enjoy a two-year spell playing and managing in Ireland with Cork City, and in March 1989 he came out of professional retirement to sign for Chester City, under the guidance of his former Wigan Athletic manager Harry McNally. The signing was delayed due to lengthy negotiations with the Football League over his insurance payout from two years earlier.[1] His Chester debut came at his former club, Blackpool, on March 18, 1989, coming off the bench to score in a 1–1 draw, denying Blackpool two points in their battle against relegation. Although he appeared in every game until the end of the season and became the club's penalty taker, O'Keefe, who also worked as commercial manager at the club, only featured in three more matches in 1989–90 and drifted out of professional football circles.
[edit] International career
O'Keefe win five caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring one goal.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ Chas Sumner (1997). On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997, p.106. ISBN 1-874427-52-6.
[edit] References
- Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.
