Liam Brendan George (born 2 February 1979) is a

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 plays for Barton Rovers on a part-time basis, having signed for them in 2010. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland in the Under 18 European Youth Championship.

Career

Early career

George was born in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, England. His family originates from

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

(father, Victor) and Church Street, Dublin (mother, Anne). He grew up on

Marsh Farm Marsh Farm is a suburb of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing. The area is bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Bramingham Road to the south, Spinney Wood and the path from the ...

housing estate and attended Cardinal Newman Catholic School. George started his career in football progressing through the youth ranks at

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 ...

. He represented his country, Ireland, at all youth levels. His career took him from an Under 18 European Youth Championship winner with Ireland to the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

in America within eight years. Having broken into the Irish youth teams with the likes of

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and current television pundit for TNT Sports, who played as a centre-back. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Du ...

and

Stephen McPhail Stephen John Paul McPhail (born 9 December 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and the sporting director of Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division. A play-making central midfielder, McPhail started his career at ...

, George progressed through the Irish youth teams and the Luton Town reserve team. In July 1998 he represented the Republic of Ireland in the

1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1998 Final Tournament was held in Cyprus. It also served as the European qualification for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. For this tournament, the age limit was moved back from August to January. Pl ...

, reaching the final against Germany. The game went to penalties and, with the score at 3–3, George slotted home the winner to make it 4–3.

Luton Town

George's debut with

came in the 1997–98 season with a 3–0 defeat to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

, however playing time was limited throughout the season's duration. The following season showed more promise and George started as a first team regular, although a broken leg prevented him from playing past the summer months. The 1999–2000 season was a greater success for George, bagging 16 goals. Luton were relegated the following year with George managing seven league goals, two cup goals. Luton were in the Third Division (now

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

) for the first time in over 30 years and George stayed at the club on a weekly contract basis. However Luton manager

Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (27 December 1946 – 7 April 2024) was an Irish professional football manager and player. As a defender, Kinnear spent the majority of his career spanning ten seasons with Tottenham Hotspur and one with Brighton & H ...

purchased a number of players and George struggled to hold down a starting position.

Later career

Unsuccessful trials at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

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 ...

and Gillingham led George to

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

. However, after three months at the Conference club with his ex-Luton assistant manager, Wayne Turner, George moved onto Bury on a three-month contract at the start of the following season. Before the end of the 2002–03 season, George had turned out for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

and

St. Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

signed George after a successful trial ahead of the 2003–04 season, however another injury meant George spent more time on the treatment table and York were relegated that year. York manager,

Chris Brass Christopher Paul Brass (born 24 July 1975) is an English football Manager (association football), manager and former professional Association football, player who works in a senior recruitment role at Premier League club Nottingham Forest F.C., ...

did not offer him a new contract and therefore another move was on the cards, this time to

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

. Before signing for

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

side the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in March 2006, George kitted out for Dunstable Town and

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

. A far cry from the international success at under-18 level, George found himself thousands of miles from home playing in the United Soccer League, the second division of US soccer, the top tier being

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. George scored three goals in 22 games for the Silverbacks before returning to England with Chesham United in November 2006, signing non-contract terms to be able to play competitive football. January 2007 saw him move to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

again on non-contract terms. This was followed by spells with

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, formed in 1919. The team's strip is red shirts and black shorts and their home ground is the 4,250 capacity Ewen Fields. Hyde United's record ...

and

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home m ...

, whom he left in October 2007. George went on to sign for Barton Rovers before he signed for Darran Hay's Hitchin Town in December 2008. After a short spell with

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at New Lamb Meadow. History The club was establishe ...

, George rejoined Barton Rovers in 2010.

Managerial career

George entered management by joining St Neots Town as an assistant manager in September 2014.

Injuries

In August 1998, George suffered a fracture-dislocation of his left ankle following a challenge from

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 ...

defender Scott Green. A failed medical in November 2001 saw a move to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

fall through of which he was never given a reason behind the failure. During the 2003–2004 season, George's season was cut short through shin splints of his right calf. He was again injured in the 2004–2005 season with patella tendinitis which saw him sit on the sidelines for 18 months. He studied at the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

for a degree in Physiotherapy which he completed in the summer of 2011.''Graduation 2011" booklet published by

, July 2011.

Honours

Republic of Ireland U18 * UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Liam 1979 births Living people English people of Saint Lucian descent English people of Irish descent Irish people of Saint Lucian descent Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Luton Town F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Stevenage F.C. players Bury F.C. players Boston United F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players York City F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Stotfold F.C. players Dunstable Town F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Chesham United F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players F.C. United of Manchester players Barton Rovers F.C. players Hitchin Town F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players USL First Division players Black British sportsmen Alumni of the University of Salford People educated at Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Luton League of Ireland players Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Black Irish sportspeople 21st-century Irish sportsmen Footballers from Luton English Football League players