Neil Andrew Heaney (born 3 November 1971) is an English 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 lea ...

who played as a winger. Heaney began his career with top-flight club

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 ...

before making 61 appearances 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

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He 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

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, Hartlepool United,

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 ...

, Charlton Athletic, Bristol City,

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

and Plymouth Argyle, and also had a spell in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

with Dundee United. He was capped six times by England U21 in 1992.

Career

Neil Andrew Heaney was born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 3 November 1971. He played football for Teesside schools before being signed by London club

on schoolboy forms in January 1987. While still at school, he was part of the side that won the FA Youth Cup in 1987–88, and he turned professional in November 1989. After spells on loan at Hartlepool United and

, he made his Arsenal debut as a substitute against Sheffield United on 18 April 1992. A winger with considerable pace, he was on the fringes of the Arsenal first team over the next two seasons, before being sold by George Graham to

for £300,000 in March 1994. He made eight senior appearances for Arsenal without scoring. He became Alan Ball's third signing for the Saints (just before the transfer deadline) and scored his first goal against Newcastle United on 22 March 1995. Saints had failed to win a game since before Christmas and had dropped into 20th place, just above the relegation zone. Heaney came on as a substitute with Saints 1–0 down, and with four minutes left he prodded home a loose ball after a save by

Pavel Srníček Pavel Srníček (10 March 1968 – 29 December 2015) was a Czech association football, football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. In a career that lasted from 1990 to 2007, he not ...

from Gordon Watson's header. Watson and Neil Shipperley completed the scoring to see Saints run out unlikely 3–1 winners. Saints then managed to climb up the table to finish in 10th place. According to Holley & Chalk, Heaney "had the ability and pace to turn matches, but could frustrate with a tendency to run up blind alleys." Heaney made 61 league appearances for Southampton in two and a half seasons, scoring five goals, before being sold for £500,000 to First Division (second-tier) club

in November 1996. He was a regular in the matchday squad for the rest of that season, but rarely played during the 1997–98 season, which he finished with a loan spell at First Division rivals Charlton Athletic. He was part of the Charlton side that faced

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in the dramatic 1998 First Division play-off final, a match they won 7–6 on penalties after a 4–4 draw to gain promotion to the Premier League, while Manchester City were relegated to the third tier. After two and a half seasons during which he started just 16 matches in all competitions, Heaney spent the last few weeks of 1998–99 on loan at First Division Bristol City before signing for

in August 1999 on a free transfer. Playing on the left wing, he scored five goals from 36 league matches and became a crowd favourite as he helped the club reach the Third Division play-off final. He left for

club Dundee United for a £175,000 fee in July 2000. He lasted 18 months and made just eight starts before leaving by mutual consent; club chairman Jim McLean mentioned him in a list of "players on wages that didn't match what they gave the club in return". He returned to English football with Plymouth Argyle, managed by Paul Sturrock who had signed him for Dundee United, but lasted less than a year of his 18-month contract before recurrent knee problems forced his retirement.

Personal life

After retiring, Heaney left football and became CEO of Judicare, an English firm of solicitors that deals with international legal issues and is known particularly for recovering monies invested into problematic property abroad, based partly on his own problems investing in Spanish property.

Honours

Arsenal * FA Youth Cup: 1988 * The Football Combination: 1990 Charlton Athletic * First Division play-offs:

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 ...

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 Football in England, En ...

: 1999–2000 Third Division

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaney, Neil 1971 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football wingers Arsenal F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players