Irish Player Appearances In English Football

One of our twitter followers contacted us to know if representation of Irish players across the four divisions in England had dropped in recent years - not just in the Premier League. It's taken a little while to collate the data from the last ten years, but we can confirm that this is correct.

Note that one appearances in league football for each season were counted - appearances in FA Cup, League Cup, European, etc were disregarded

The number of Premier League players have steadily declined from 39 in 2009-10 to only 13 this season. There hasn't been an increase in player numbers season-to-season since 2011-12.

Championship numbers were almost double those in the Premier League in 2009-10 with 70 of the Boys in Green appearing in England's second tier. This has declined to 33 this season, with only slight increase in 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2016-17 arresting the slide.

Following the European Championships in 2012, there was a brief improvement in the player numbers in League One and League Two from the 2012-13 season until 2015-16 and declined since then, with the only increase coming in League One in 2017-18.

While there has been improvement in the fortunes at underage level for Ireland, this has not yet had an effect on the numbers playing at senior level in England, and it may be at least another 12 months before we start to see the talent from the underage sides make an impact for their respective club sides.

(mouse over the dots on the graph to see the players from that division that season)

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 27th October 2018

Saturday, 27th October 2018

Premier League

Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United

Conor Coventry was named in a Premier League squad for the first time

Championship

Preston North End 1-1 Rotherham

Sean Maguire was booked for the first time this season

Swansea 2-0 Reading

John O'Shea's start was the defender's first start in a month

West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Blackburn

Derrick Williams made his 100th start for Blackburn

League 1

Fleetwood 3-2 Blackpool

Paddy Madden scored his fifth goal of the season

Scunthorpe 1-4 Plymouth

Niall Canavan scored his first goal for Plymouth, his first goal since February 2017

Sunderland 3-0 Southend United

Aiden McGeady scored his first goal of the season

Walsall 3-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Michael Harriman made his 150th appearance for Wycombe Wanderers

League 2

Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Grimsby

Corey Whelan scored his first goal of the season

Exeter 1-2 Forest Green

Pierce Sweeney made his 100th start for Exeter

Mansfield Town 1-1 MK Dons

Ryan Sweeney was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Northampton 2-1 Oldham

John-Joe O'Toole was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game
Sam Foley was sent off for the first time in his career

Scottish Premier League

Kilmarnock 1-1 Hamilton Academical

After being introduced as a substitute, Jack Byrne was booked for the first time this season

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Premier League

Burnley 0-4 Chelsea

Jeff Hendrick's start was his 200th career appearance
Robbie Brady was booked on his return from injury, making his first appearance in 11 months

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 24rd October 2018

Tuesday, 23rd October 2018

Championship

Middlesbrough 0-0 Rotherham

Ryan Manning made his 50th appearance in the Championship

Norwich 2-1 Aston Villa

Glenn Whelan started his first game since Saturday, 1st September
Conor Hourihane made his 100th appearance in the Championship
Scott Hogan came off the bench for his first appearance of the season

Sheffield United 1-1 Stoke City

John Egan made his 200th career appearance

League 1

Plymouth 3-1 Gillingham

Callum Reilly made his 25th start for Gillingham
Bradley Garmston made his 100th career appearance

Wycombe Wanderers 3-0 Rochdale

Joe Rafferty made his 150th appearance in League One

League 2

Bury 1-1 Newport Co.

Joe Murphy made his 50th appearance for Bury

Wednesday, 24th October 2018

Championship

Preston North End 4-3 Brentford

Alan Browne scored his 20th goal for Preston

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 20th October 2018

Saturday, 20th October 2018

Premier League

Manchester City 5-0 Burnley

Jeff Hendrick was booked for the first time this season

Championship

Blackburn 2-1 Leeds United

Darragh Lenihan scored his first goal of the season

Hull City 1-1 Preston North End

Sean Maguire made his first start of the season

Rotherham 1-1 Bolton

Richie Towell made his 50th appearance for Rotherham

League 1

Luton 2-0 Walsall

Glen Rea's first goal of the season was his fifth goal for Luton

Portsmouth 1-0 Fleetwood

Cian Bolger made his 100th appearance for Fleetwood

Southend United 1-2 Coventry

Michael Doyle was booked for the first time this season
Simon Cox was sent off for the first time in his career

League 2

Bury 4-0 Notts County

Jay O'Shea's first goal of the season was his fifth goal for Bury

Forest Green 1-1 Cheltenham

Kevin Dawson made his 150th career start in England
Liam McAlinden came off the bench for his first appearance since Tuesday, 28th August

Lincoln City 1-1 Cambridge United

David Forde made his 100th appearance in League Two

MK Dons 1-0 Northampton

Sam Foley was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 0-1 St Johnstone

Charles Dunne's start was his first appearance since Saturday, 21st July

St Mirren 1-2 Kilmarnock

Alan Power scored his first goal for Kilmarnock, this was his first goal since January 2017

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline 0-1 Queen of the South

Aidan Keena made his first appearance for loan club Dunfermline

Sunday, 21st October 2018

Premier League

Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace

Seamus Coleman was booked for the first time this season

Australian A-League

Perth Glory 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers

Andy Keogh scored on the opening day of the A-League 2018/19 season 

Round up for UEFA Nations League games in October 2018

Saturday, 13th October 2018

UEFA Nations League

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Denmark

Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 31st appearance for Ireland
Kevin Long made his ninth appearance for Ireland
Shane Duffy continued his remarkable record of starting every game when he plays for Ireland in his made his 22nd appearance, and was booked for the first time since November 2016
Richard Keogh made his 19th appearance for Ireland
James McClean made his 61st appearance for Ireland
Callum O'Dowda made his 13th appearance for Ireland
Harry Arter's 14th appearance for Ireland was his first start since November 2017
Cyrus Christie made his 20th appearance for Ireland
Matt Doherty made his fourth appearance for Ireland was also his first start for the national side
Jeff Hendrick made his 42nd appearance for Ireland
Shane Long made his 81st appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Aiden O'Brien made his second appearance for Ireland
Enda Stevens made his fourth appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his third appearance for Ireland

Tuesday, 16th October 2018

UEFA Nations League

Republic of Ireland 0-1 Wales

Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 32nd appearance for Ireland
Shane Duffy made his 23rd appearance for Ireland
Richard Keogh made his 20th appearance for Ireland
Kevin Long was booked for the first time at international level in his tenth appearance for Ireland
James McClean made his 62nd appearance for Ireland
Cyrus Christie made his 21st appearance for Ireland
Jeff Hendrick made his 43rd appearance for Ireland
Harry Arter made his 15th appearance for Ireland
Matt Doherty made his fifth appearance for Ireland
Aiden O'Brien made his third appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his fourth appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Sean Maguire made his third appearance for Ireland, this was his first appearance since Friday, 23 March 2018
Scott Hogan made his second appearance for Ireland
Shane Long made his 82nd appearance for Ireland, and was shown his first yellow card since September 2017

Round up for week of Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Football League Trophy

Cambridge United 4-0 Southampton U21

Emmanuel Osadebe's start was his first appearance in a month

Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Grimsby

Ian Lawlor start for Doncaster was his first appearance since the end of August
After signing for Doncaster from Finn Harps last January, Shane Blaney made his first appearance for Donny

Blackpool 1-2 West Bromwich Albion U23

Paudie O'Connor's start was his first appearance in a month
Kevin Healy made his first appearance in senior football

Crawley 0-1 Portsmouth

Joe Mason started his first game for Portsmouth

Colchester 2-0 Southend United

Rene Gilmartin's start was the goalkeeper's first appearance since November 2017

Luton 3-0 MK Dons

Alan Sheehan scored his first goal of the season

Oxford United 1-2 Northampton

Samir Carruthers started his first game in two months
John-Joe O'Toole was sent off for the fourth time since joining Northampton, the was the seventh red card of the midfielder's career

Saturday, 13th October 2018

League 1

Barnsley 3-2 Luton

Alan McCormack came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance in a month, and was shown his first yellow card in two months

Accrington Stanley 3-1 Bradford City

Eoin Doyle scored for the first time in a month

Fleetwood 2-1 Shrewsbury

Paddy Madden scored his tenth goal for Fleetwood in his 250th appearance in League One

Gillingham 0-2 Southend United

The first goal of Simon Cox's brace was his fifth goal of the season

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 5th October 2018

Friday, 5th October 2018

Premier League

Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 West Ham United

Shane Duffy's start was his 50th appearance in the Premier League

Saturday, 6th October 2018

Premier League

Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty scored his first goal of the season - this is the fifth Premier League goal scored by an Irish player this season, more than scored in the last two seasons at this point (four in 2016/17 and three in 2017/18)

Championship

Norwich 0-1 Stoke City

James McClean returned from injury for his first start since Saturday, 1st September

Preston North End 4-0 Wigan

Sean Maguire came off the bench for his first appearance of the season
Callum Robinson scored his fifth goal of the season, and in the same game was booked for the first time since August 2017
Darron Gibson was shown his first red card since December 2012

Sheffield United 1-0 Hull City

David McGoldrick scored his fifth goal of the season

Bolton 0-1 Blackburn

Derrick Williams made his 100th appearance for Blackburn

League 1

Blackpool 2-2 Rochdale

Ryan Delaney scored his second goal of the season

Bradford City 1-2 Sunderland

Anthony O'Connor's first goal of the season was the tenth goal of his career
Sean Scannell was sent off for the first time since April 2011

Portsmouth 0-2 Gillingham

Callum Reilly made his 25th appearance for Gillingham

League 2

Bury 2-2 Mansfield Town

Jay O'Shea was booked for the first time since November 2016

Forest Green 1-1 Newport Co.

Padraig Amond scored his fifth goal of the season

Swindon Town 1-1 Northampton

John-Joe O'Toole scored his first goal of the season

Yeovil 2-2 Exeter

Pierce Sweeney made his 100th career appearance for Exeter

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 1-1 Livingston

Carl McHugh was sent off for the third time in his career

Sunday, 7th October 2018

Scottish Premier League

Rangers 3-1 Hearts

Jimmy Dunne scored his second goal in two consecutive games

Round up for week of Tuesday, 2nd October 2018

Tuesday, 2nd October 2018

Championship

Wigan 0-0 Swansea

Darron Gibson was named in the Wigan starting XI for the first time in almost two months

League 1

AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Bradford City

Sean Scannell made his 200th career start

Barnsley 1-1 Plymouth

Graham Carey was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Burton Albion 1-2 Southend United

Simon Cox scored his 30th goal for Southend - all of which have been scored in the league

Oxford United 1-2 Luton

Samir Carruthers's late introduction was his first appearance in two months
Glen Rea was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Sunderland 2-2 Peterborough

Aiden McGeady was named in Sunderland's starting XI for the first time this season

League 2

Cambridge United 1-3 Forest Green

Jake Carroll was sent off in English football for the first time

Newport Co. 3-3 Macclesfield

Fiacre Kelleher scored his fifth goal of his career
Padraig Amond was booked for the first time since November 2017
Kieran O'Hara was booked for the first time this season

Northampton 0-0 Bury

John-Joe O'Toole made his 300th career start

Wednesday, 3rd October 2018

Championship

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Millwall

Shaun Williams scored his third goal of the season in what was his 100th Championship appearance

Rotherham 0-0 Bristol City

Ryan Manning made his 50th appearance in English football

Round up for weekend of Friday, 28th September 2018

Friday, 28th September 2018

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline 1-0 Partick Thistle

Niall Keown was booked for the first time this season

Persian Gulf Pro League

Tractor Sazi 6-0 Esteghlal

Anthony Stokes' four goals in this win (his first strikes in a month) brings his total to seven goals in seven appearances for Sazi

Saturday, 29th September 2018

Premier League

West Ham United 3-1 Manchester United

Declan Rice made his 25th start for West Ham United

Everton 3-0 Fulham

Cyrus Christie was booked for the first time this season

Manchester City 2-0 Brighton and Hove Albion

Shane Duffy was booked for the first time this season

Championship

Blackburn 2-2 Nottingham Forest

Darragh Lenihan made his 100th appearance for Blackburn, coincidentally, this was also his 100th career start

Brentford 2-2 Reading

Alan Judge was booked for the first time this season

Millwall 2-3 Sheffield United

Enda Stevens and John Egan were both booked for the first time this season

Norwich 1-0 Wigan

Darron Gibson was booked for the first time this season, a year after his last booking on Wednesday, 20th September 2017

Rotherham 2-2 Stoke City

Richie Towell scored his first goal of the season, after Ryan Manning's penalty which was the fifth goal of his career

League 1

Burton Albion 0-0 Scunthorpe

Damien McCrory was booked for the first time this season

Luton 2-2 Charlton

James Collins scored his first goal of the season in his 50th start for Luton
Josh Cullen was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Colchester 1-2 Bury

Eoghan O'Connell made his first appearance in a month

Newport Co. 4-2 Cambridge United

Barry Corr made his 50th appearance for Cambridge United

Port Vale 1-1 Exeter

Dara O'Shea made his first appearance in League Two

Scottish Premier League

Hamilton Academical 0-2 Dundee

Andy Boyle scored his first goal of the season, and was booked for the first time this season against Hamilton

Hearts 2-1 St Johnstone

Jimmy Dunne scored his first goal of the season

Scottish Championship

Inverness CT 0-0 Queen of the South

Aaron Doran was booked for the first time this season

Sunday, 30th September 2018

Premier League

Cardiff 1-2 Burnley

Greg Cunningham was booked for the first time this season