Alan Desmond Lee (born 21 August 1978) is an Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. He scored 119 goals in 547 appearances in a 19-year professional career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and won 10 caps for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. He started his career with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, also playing on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

. Following a season with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, he signed with

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

in 2000. He is considered something of a cult hero at the club, after helping the "Millers" to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the Second Division in 2000–01. He was bought by

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and made almost 100 appearances for the Welsh side between 2003 and 2006. Then purchased by

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, he made over 100 appearances for the club before earning a big money move to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. After returning from a loan spell at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, he wrote himself into the club's folklore by scoring in the final game of the 2009–10 season against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, saving the Eagles from

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

and ultimately

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. Following these heroics, he moved on to Huddersfield Town and helped the "Terriers" to win promotion out of League One in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. He announced his retirement in 2014, having spent his final season as a player-

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

at Ipswich Town.

Club career

Aston Villa

Born in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland, Lee began his career as a trainee with

before turning professional in August 1995. However, he never made his first-team debut at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

. He joined

on 27 November 1998 and made his debut the following day in the Third Division in a 3–1 defeat to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

at Underhill; he replaced Tony Bedeau as a substitute at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

. He made his full debut at

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United F.C., Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National Leagu ...

on 12 December in a 2–0 win over

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. He scored his first league goal on boxing day, which secured a 1–1 draw with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

. He also scored against

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

to take his tally for

Wes Saunders Wesley Saunders (born 23 February 1963) is an English former professional association football, football player and manager (association football), manager, who played as a Defender (association football), central defender. He played for Newcast ...

's "Gulls" up to three goals in nine appearances. On 2 March 1999, he joined

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

on a two-month loan. Making 11 appearances, he scored in draws with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

and

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, helping the "Valiants" to avoid

out of the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

Burnley

He left Villa in July 1999 when

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Stan Ternent Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won ...

signed him for a £150,000 fee. He scored once for Burnley; in a 2–1

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

defeat at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. He played 15 league games as the "Clarets" won

out of the Second Division as runners-up in 1999–2000. Though a successful season for the club, Lee never had an extended first-team run at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

, and only had two league starts as

Andy Payton Andrew Paul Payton (born 23 October 1967) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, Payton played for seven professional clubs in England and Scotland, scoring 200 goals in over 500 appearances, and gaining the nickname the ''Pa ...

and

Andy Cooke Andrew Roy Cooke (born 20 January 1974) is an English former footballer, who played as a striker for Newtown, Burnley, Stoke City, Busan I'Cons (South Korea), Bradford City, Darlington and Shrewsbury Town. Career Born in Shrewsbury, Shrops ...

formed an effective partnership up front.

Rotherham United

Lee moved to

for £150,000 in November 2000 after a short loan spell. In his first season at the club, 2000–01, he scored 15 goals in 35 games as

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He is currently the chief scout at Hartlepool ...

's "Millers" won promotion out of the Second Division as runners-up. Lee scored the late winner against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

which sealed promotion. He remained a key fixture at

Millmoor The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County between 1907 and 1925, and then its successor Rotherham United until 2008. The stadium ...

in the First Division, scoring ten goals in 41 games in 2001–02, and finding the net 16 times in 44 appearances in 2002–03.

Cardiff City

He was sold to

in August 2003 for a fee of £850,000, just days after impressing Cardiff manager

Lennie Lawrence Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, (born 12 December 1947) is an English football manager. He is assistant manager and non-executive director at National League side Hartlepool United. Lawrence was a semi-professional a ...

in a goalless draw on the opening day of the season. Rotherham's manager

prophesied that "Alan Lee can and will do better than Cardiff". However, Lee found himself struggling with injuries at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

and largely out of first-team contention. He scored three goals in only 24 games in 2003–04, though he managed seven goals in 43 appearances in 2004–05. However, he was restricted to just two goals in 25

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

games in 2005–06.

Ipswich Town

In January 2006 joined

for £100,000. He scored his second career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 5–0 win against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 29 October 2006. He ended the 2006–07 campaign with 17 goals in 44 games, including a header that relegated

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on the last day of that season. He penned a new deal with the club in August 2007. In January 2008 there was speculation of a move back to Burnley for £900,000 but the Ipswich chairman and Lee himself denied these rumours. He completed his

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

with a tally of 12 goals, including the winner in Ipswich's 1–0 win against

on the final day of the season.

Crystal Palace

On 30 August 2008, Lee moved again, leaving Ipswich for

for a fee of around £640,000. He signed a three-year

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with the club, saying that "I jumped at the chance to go an play for

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...

". In March 2009, he moved out on loan to

, his spell lasting for the rest of the season. Norwich went close to signing Lee permanently six years previously, but lost out to Cardiff. His performances at Norwich earned him public praise from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Gary Doherty Gary Michael Thomas Doherty (born 31 January 1980) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender, having previously also played as a forward. He gained international honours for the Republic of Ireland. He began his caree ...

. In the summer he came close to a move to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, but the two clubs could not reach a deal. After returning to

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

, Lee became a fan's favourite and a cult hero due to the tremendous effort he displayed throughout his second season at Palace, culminating in him scoring a bullet header in Palace's 2–2 draw with

on the last day of the season, saving Palace from relegation. However, he fell down the pecking order following the arrivals of Pablo Counago and Jon Obika.

Huddersfield Town

In August 2010, Lee transferred to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

for an undisclosed fee, which was later reported to be £350,000. He made his debut for the Terriers in a 3–1 win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

at the

Galpharm Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

on 28 August 2010. He quickly established a reputation cult hero with the Huddersfield supporters. On 30 October he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in a league match against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

at the Galpharm, where Town won 1–0. On 30 January 2011, he scored his first goal for Huddersfield in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Fourth Round 2–1 defeat to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

. He added to his tally with a brace against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

in the Football League Trophy, though he remained goalless throughout 28 league games. He was a late substitute in the club's play-off final defeat to

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. Lee scored his first league goals for the "Terriers" during a 3–0 win over

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

on 27 August 2011. The first goal came from his first touch of the game 40 seconds after making it onto the pitch as a second-half substitute before he finished the game with a brace. He finished the 2011–12 campaign with seven goals in 38 games and was an

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

substitute in the play-off final victory over

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, though missed his

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in the shoot-out. Lee scored his first goal of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season in a 3–2 home defeat by

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

after replacing newly signed emergency loanee

Jermaine Beckford Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford (born 9 December 1983) is a football pundit and former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He began his career as a trainee at Chelsea F.C., Chel ...

. After a 1–0 win over

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports ground in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used by Barnsley Football Club for home fixtures, and those of their reserves. As of 2023, the Barnsley F.C. Women's team also play at the stadium. While the na ...

on 10 November, Lee said that " he fansare so supportive of me it just melts my heart." At the end of the season, it was announced that he was to be released along with

Scott Arfield Scott Harry Nathaniel Arfield (born 1 November 1988) is a professional association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Falkirk F.C., Falkirk. Born and raised in Scotland, Arfield represented his natio ...

and Tom Clarke.

Return to Ipswich Town

Lee returned to

in July 2013 as part of the club's academy staff and later began training with the first team after

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...

considered handing him a first-team contract. He re-signed as a player on non-contract terms on 30 August, allowing him to play in the club's first-team whilst retaining his academy

ing position. He made an appearance in the

, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–2 defeat to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

on 14 January. He remained registered as a player for the 2014–15 season if his services as a player would be required due to an injury crisis. He was forced to retire due to injury in July 2014, having undergone knee surgery over the summer.

International career

Lee represented the Republic of Ireland internationally and earned five caps for the Irish under-21 side. However, many feel he was overlooked by the national team during his time at Rotherham, when he scored 37 league goals over three seasons. He was though utilised for his country whilst with Cardiff making ten appearances for the

between 2003 and 2006.

Coaching career

In July 2013, Lee began coaching at Ipswich Town's academy. In May 2018, he also began working as the head of

Culford School Culford School, formerly the East Anglian School for Boys, is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils age 1–18 in the village of Culford, north of Bury St Edmunds in ...

's new football programme. By the end of the year he had left his role at Ipswich Town to coach at

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...

Style of play

The Rotherham United website stated that Lee was a "strong and very quick striker... with no mean skill." He said that he preferred playing as a lone striker, though was comfortable with any type of partner.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Burnley *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

second-place promotion: 1999–2000 Rotherham United *Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 2000–01 Huddersfield Town *

Football League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Alan 1978 births Living people Association footballers from Galway (city) Association footballers from County Galway players Sportspeople from Galway (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Aston Villa F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Irish association football coaches Ipswich Town F.C. non-playing staff 20th-century Irish sportsmen 21st-century Irish sportsmen