Emmet Friars (born 14 September 1985) is a Northern Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player.

Club career

Notts County

Emmet began his career as a trainee with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, but failed to establish himself in the first team. He made 14 appearances and scored one goal whilst at the club, but was released at the end of the 2005–06 season. He spent the start of the 2005–06 season playing on loan for non-league team

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

in the

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

. On 23 December 2006, Friars was sent out on loan to Hinckley United for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. In May 2007, Tamworth general manager Russell Moore confirmed that Friars would not be with the club for the 2007–08 season, and that the former

defender had returned to Northern Ireland.

Newry City

Friars trained with

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

team

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of Margate in the Thanet District, Thanet district of Kent, England. It includes the Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay estate, built in the 1930s with wide avenues and detached and semi-detached houses with driveways, gar ...

, where his brother

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

was then playing, but was not offered a contract. He then joined Newry City. who Sean was signed for at the time. Friars became a vital part of the Newry team and quickly established himself in team as starting

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He was Newry City's Player of the Year for the season 2007–08. For the 2008–09 season, Friars switched to the centre-back role, becoming a defensive rock. He also became club captain for a short while following the departure of Richard Clarke. While at Newry City, Emmet was a firm favourite with the fans.

Derry City

In February 2010, Friars signed with hometown club Derry City, a team he had been linked with several times, and won the League of Ireland First Division title that season.

Dungannon Swifts

On 3 January 2012, Emmet moved on to join

Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the I ...

, the same day that his brother

Sean Friars Sean Friars (born 15 May 1979) is a football coach and former player. He is the assistant manager of NIFL Championship club Institute and works for the Depaul Foyle Haven Centre, which helps people afflicted by addiction issues and homelessness ...

joined the club.

Portadown

On 1 May 2013,

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

announced they had signed Friars. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 2 September 2014.

Crusaders

Just hours after his release from Portadown, he signed for

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

and made his debut on 13 September against old club Dungannon Swifts.

Ballinamallard

On 29 July 2015, it was announced that Friars would join Ballinamallard United on loan until the end of the season. After Friars was obliged to miss Ballinamallard's first encounter against his parent club on 15 August, and before the closure of the registration window on 2 September, Friars transferred to Ballinamallard permanently.

Ards

In the summer of 2016, it was announced that Friars would be joining Niall Currie's

Ards Ards (or ARDS, ARDs) may refer to: Medical * ARDS, Acute respiratory distress syndrome * ARDs, age-related diseases Places * Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland ** Ards (territory), several historical territorial divisions on the Ards Peninsula ...

International career

Friars won seven caps for Northern Ireland Under-21s between 2004 and 2006.Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 2011/2012, page 129

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friars, Emmet 1985 births Living people Notts County F.C. players Portadown F.C. players AFC Telford United players Tamworth F.C. players Hinckley United F.C. players Newry City F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Dungannon Swifts F.C. players Crusaders F.C. players League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Men's association football defenders Ballymena United F.C. players Ards F.C. players Limavady United F.C. players Ballinamallard United F.C. players Association footballers from Derry (city) Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland English Football League players NIFL Championship players