Keith Graham Branagan (born 10 July 1966) is a

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 ...

coach and former professional player. As a player, he was a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who notably played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and Ipswich Town. He also played 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 ...

for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

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 ...

and Gillingham. Born in England, he won a single cap 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. ...

at international level in 1997.

Club career

Branagan played for a number of clubs in his career. He began his career at

, and later joined

. However, his most successful years were spent at

, where he experienced three promotions, played two seasons in the

and played at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

in the 1995 League Cup final. After eight years at Bolton, Branagan joined Ipswich Town in 2000. He was forced to retire from the game in October 2002 following a nine-month battle against a shoulder injury. Branagan has remained in the game following retirement; he now has a UEFA 'A' Coaching licence and has coached the goalkeepers at

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

before taking up a coaching role at

Bolton School Bolton School is a private day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery (ages 0–4), co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including ...

. He is still there as a football coach.

International career

At international level, Branagan won one full cap for the Republic of Ireland. His only senior cap came on 11 February 1997, in the 0–0 draw against Wales at The National Stadium,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Branagan also played a couple of matches for the Republic of Ireland "B" team.

Coaching career

He became a part-time youth goalkeeping coach for

on 28 March 2012.

Personal life

His son Ritchie Branagan is also a goalkeeper and has played professionally for Bury and Macclesfield Town. Since 2004, Branagan has worked as the director of football coaching at

Honours

Bolton Wanderers *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1996–97 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 1994–95 Ipswich Town * Football League First Division play-offs:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branagan, Keith 1966 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers Premier League players English Football League players Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Fulham Association football goalkeeping coaches 20th-century Irish sportsmen