Michael Reddy (born 24 March 1980, in
Kilkenny) is an Irish former professional
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 ...
who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
from 1997 to 2007.
He notably played for
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
and
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
. He also appeared as a professional for
Kilkenny City
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilkenn ...
,
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
,
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...
,
Barnsley,
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
and
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
. Reddy retired from professional football in 2007 after failing to regain his fitness following three operations from a hip injury he endured while playing with Grimsby Town in 2006. He was capped eight times by the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
Under-21 side, scoring three goals.
Career
Kilkenny City
He made his
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
debut for his local senior side at
Buckley Park on 15 March 1998, against Dundalk at the age of 17, scoring two goals and giving Kilkenny City a 2–1 wi
Sunderland
A striker, Reddy, signed for
Sunderland AFC, Sunderland, from
Kilkenny City
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilkenn ...
in 1999. He spent five years on Wearside, a time typified by many injury problems and loan spells; between 2001 and his departure in 2004, he was loaned out to
Swindon,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
,
Barnsley,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
, and twice to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
. He made 18 appearances for Sunderland, scoring twice, and became an instant hero when he scored a late equalizer against
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
in the league. His other Sunderland goal came in the League Cup against Luton Town. Manager
Peter Reid
Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player.
A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield ta ...
declared Reddy to be the "most exciting young player" he had ever worked with. Reddy was valued a
£5 millionin 2001. He received the club's Young Player of the Year award and was also called into the full Irish squad in the same season. Michael's career at Sunderland came to an abrupt end after he ruptured his medial ligament in a training ground accident.
Grimsby Town
In July 2004, Reddy signed for
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
as one of the first new signings under newly installed manager
Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered profession ...
. He was a huge signing for the cash-strapped and relegation-hit club, as was the addition of winger
Andy Parkinson
Andrew John Parkinson (born 27 May 1979) is an English former professional footballer and youth team manager of Tranmere Rovers.
As a player he was a forward, attacking midfielder and winger from 1997 to 2015. He played for Tranmere Rovers ...
who had joined the club a few days previously. Reddy's first season was somewhat disappointing, as the player was still recovering from a medial ligament injury and struggling to regain full fitness. Despite this, Reddy was utilized as Town's favored striker, mainly playing alongside
Martin Gritton
Martin Francis Gritton (born 1 June 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer and sports co-commentator primarily for BBC Radio Devon.
As a player he was a striker from 1998 to 2012. He was a journeyman player and has previously playe ...
,
Matt Harrold
Matthew James Harrold (born 24 July 1984) is a former English professional footballer who played as a forward and is currently first team coach for club Leyton Orient.
Harrold has had numerous previous clubs including Wycombe Wanderers, Southe ...
or
Colin Cramb
Colin Cramb (born 23 June 1974 in Lanark) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who played as a forward from 1991 and 2009.
He notably played for Hamilton Academical, Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City and Stirling Albion. Cra ...
throughout this season. Notably, though, he did finish the season on a high, scoring a hat trick against the
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
. He managed nine goals throughout the season; however, the club finished in 18th place.
The 2005-06 campaign began with Grimsby doing well. Reddy is the star of a strong team that never dropped out of the top four all season. His ability to run with the ball, make plays, create goals, and score goals earned him hero status amongst the club's supporters. His partnership with new signing
Gary Jones was good.. Between them, Reddy and Jones managed to find the net 31 times throughout the season. During the season, the club had a decent run in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
defeating both
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
and
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
, before losing to
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
. Michael was involved in all three games. Reddy's impressive performances had also earned him the right to be named League 2 Team of the Year. But in an unfortunate twist of fate, Reddy's season was interrupted by a hip injury in March, and as a result, the striker did not complete another ninety minutes for the remainder of the campaign. The Mariners faltered and fell out of the automatic promotion places on the penultimate day of the season. Reddy was deemed fit enough to take part in the play-off campaign, but it was goals from Gary Jones and
Ben Futcher
Benjamin Paul Futcher (born 20 February 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, he works for the Football Association as a youth coach developer.
As a player, he was a defender from 1999 to 2013 notably playing ...
that defeated
Lincoln City in the semi-final stages. Slade opted to play Reddy from the start in the final at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national ru ...
against
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...
but he was substituted due to receiving a concussion after a clash of heads. Grimsby attempted to use
Junior Mendes
Albert Junior Hillyard Andrew Mendes (born 15 September 1976) is an English-born Montserratian former professional footballer and sports scientist who works a fitness coach for Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren.
As a player he was a stri ...
and
Gary Cohen
Gary Cohen (born ) is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.
Cohen currently calls Mets broadcasts for SportsNet New York, SNY and WPIX and Seton Hal ...
to help cater for Jones in attack, but without Reddy, the club went on to lose the game 1–0, ending a promising season.
After failing to secure promotion, his manager Russell Slade resigned, and Reddy requested to be put on the transfer list. This was followed by several press reports linking him with a move to newly promoted Premiership side
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...
. Though eventually it was
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
and
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
who made more of a forward approach for the player. Grimsby had also made the signing of striker
Isaiah Rankin
Isaiah Marcus Rankin (born 22 May 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1996 to 2014.
He started his professional career with Arsenal where he came through the club's youth setup. He appeared once for ...
in the hope of combining the pair in an attempt to make a second assault on promotion from League Two, but Michael still had to contend with his hip injury, which was still largely persistent. The injury was rumored to be so bad that it possibly threatened to end his career altogether. Reddy managed to play the odd game, and soon Slade's replacement as manager,
Graham Rodger
Graham Rodger (born 1 April 1967) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and scout.
As a player, he was a defender from 1984 until 1998 for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City and Luton Town before finishing his ...
was dismissed by the club after a poor start to the season. In turn, the club appointed
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside.
As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest ...
as his successor. The new Grimsby boss made it clear he wanted to keep Reddy, who had by now undergone hip surgery. Buckley aimed to stick by him through his injury troubles and help the player get back to fitness, but with Reddy still harboring the interest of leaving
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,05 ...
, he subsequently snubbed fresh contract talks in favor of listening to potential offers from
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
. Due to the continued hip problem, City had by now lost interest altogether in signing him. However,
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...
had also made an official approach for Reddy's services, but this came to nothing in the end. Reddy had failed to respond well to his hip surgery and was forced to retire from the game.
Personal life
Former Grimsby manager
Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered profession ...
, who was the manager of
Yeovil Town offered to help the player with his rehabilitation after he had a second hip operation. Reddy remained with Yeovil for several weeks before leaving the club. After an unsuccessful third hip operation, Michael accepted defeat and was forced to retire from professional football. He has since taken up his UEFA B coaching license with the
English FA
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
in 2009.
As of 2012, Reddy is studying business at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Honours
Grimsby Town
*
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...
play-offs:
2005–06
Individual
*
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...
:
2005–06 Football League Two
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, Michael
1980 births
Living people
Association footballers from County Kilkenny
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Kilkenny City A.F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Hull City A.F.C. players
Barnsley F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
League of Ireland players
Premier League players
English Football League players