 McAteer in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jason Wynne McAteer | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-06-18)18 June 1971 (age 54) | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1992 | Marine | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1995 | Bolton Wanderers | 114 | (8) |
| 1995–1999 | Liverpool | 100 | (3) |
| 1999–2001 | Blackburn Rovers | 72 | (4) |
| 2001–2004 | Sunderland | 53 | (5) |
| 2004–2007 | Tranmere Rovers | 81 | (4) |
| Total | 420 | (24) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–2004 | Republic of Ireland | 52 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009 | Tranmere Rovers (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jason Wynne McAteer (born 18 June 1971) is a former professional footballer. His primary position was inmidfield either in the centre or on the right flank, though he was also an ablefull-back. Born in England, he represented theRepublic of Ireland national team at international level, winning 52 internationalcaps and playing at twoWorld Cups in1994 and2002.
During his professional career from 1992 to 2007, McAteer played for five clubs:Bolton Wanderers,Liverpool,Blackburn Rovers,Sunderland and finallyTranmere Rovers. His transfer fees added up to £9.5 million.
McAteer was born inBirkenhead on theWirral. His family were shaken by the closure of the shipyards in the 1980s, and he began the 1990s in a state of unemployment.[1] McAteer got his big break aged 20, at local non-league teamMarine, when impressing for Marine Reserves against the Bolton Wanderers A team in 1992.[2] He had no contract with Marine, and Bolton purchased the young midfielder for £500 plus a large bag of footballs.[3] He made his first-team debut againstBurnley in a Division Two game atBurnden Park on 28 November 1992, finishing on the winning side in a 4–0 triumph. He made a total of 21 appearances in the1992–93 season for Bolton, who finished the season as runners-up and secured promotion to Division One.[4] Bolton wereFA Cup quarter-finalists in the1993–94 season and achieved a comfortable position in Division One. During the1994–95 season, Bolton reached the final of theFootball League Cup (their first appearance in a major cup final for37 years), but lost 2–1 toLiverpool.
McAteer and his colleagues returned toWembley the following month on 29 May 1995, as they reached the final of the Division One playoffs having finished third in the league. Their opponents on this occasion wereReading. Reading took a 2–0 lead in the first half and led the match until the 86th minute when Bolton scored a late equaliser to make the game 2–2 and force extra-time. Bolton went on to win the match 4–3 after extra time, and McAteer was given his first chance ofFAPremier League football.[5]
Early in the1995–96 season, McAteer joined Liverpool in a £4.5 million deal after he played against them in the1995 Football League Cup final for Bolton. He came close to joiningBlackburn Rovers in 1995, but when Liverpool declared an interest, McAteer decided to sign for the team he had supported as a boy and turned down the then Blackburn managerKenny Dalglish.[6] He made his Liverpool debut on 16 September 1995 in a 3–0 win against Blackburn atAnfield, coming on as a late substitute forJohn Barnes.[7]
During his time at Anfield, McAteer also filled in at right back for certain spells despite being primarily a central midfielder. He broke his leg whilst playing against Blackburn at Anfield on 31 January 1998.[8]He made a full recovery and on his return to the first team scored two goals againstWest Ham United on 2 May 1998.[9]He played in the1996 FA Cup final against Manchester United in which Liverpool lost to a single goal scored byEric Cantona.[1]In total he made 139 appearances for Liverpool, scoring six goals over four seasons.
McAteer was part of the group of 1990s Liverpool players known as the "Spice Boys" for the tabloid attention towards their private lives. Other players named in this group includedRobbie Fowler,Steve McManaman andJamie Redknapp.[10][11][1]
Blackburn Rovers managerBrian Kidd signed McAteer for £4 million on 27 January 1999. He signed a four-year contract with wages of £20,000 a week.[12] Rovers were relegated thatseason, but McAteer would help the club to promotion back to the Premiership in2001 during his second full season with the club. During his time with Rovers, McAteer had a vicious argument one day with managerGraeme Souness, and said of him in 2002: "He almost ruined my career and I cannot help but despise him for it."[13]
Souness sold McAteer to Sunderland for £1 million in October 2001, on a three-year deal.[14] He made 27 appearancesthat season, but was unable to prevent the Black Cats' relegation to the First Division the following season. After a double abdominalhernia operation, he played only five times between September 2002 and December 2003.[15] In his first game back, on 13 December, he took just four minutes to score away toWest Ham United, albeit in a 3–2 loss.[16] He played both legs of theplay-off semi-final against Crystal Palace in May 2004 before being released at the end of the year.[17]
In July 2004, McAteer was close to a one-year deal at newly relegatedLeicester City, which was called off due to unforeseen circumstances.[18] Days later, he signed a two-year deal withTranmere Rovers, hoping to play out his career with his hometown club.[19] He trained as a coach ready to embark on a career in that department after his retirement. He was made club captain by managerBrian Little, skippering the side to the League One play-off semi-finals, where they eventually lost on penalties to Hartlepool United.[citation needed]
He was released by Tranmere Rovers in May 2007 and announced his retirement shortly afterwards.[20][21] On 15 June 2009, he was appointed assistant manager to former Liverpool teammateJohn Barnes at Tranmere.[22] On 9 October, the pair were sacked after a run of just two league wins from 11 games.[23]
McAteer was deemed eligible to qualify to play forRepublic of Ireland through a grandfather who was born inCounty Down. In February 2024, he said that before playing for the Republic of Ireland, he had never been there, nor was he sure he was of Irish origin. Believing that his Irish ancestor was a great-grandfather, he was instructed by theFootball Association of Ireland to choose a random McAteer from County Down of an appropriate age to be his claimed grandfather, in order to achieve anIrish passport.[24]
Before pledging his international career to the Republic of Ireland, McAteer had been tracked for theEngland B team alongside his Bolton teammateAlan Stubbs. He reflected in 2024 that choosing the Republic of Ireland was the better decision, as Stubbs was never capped for England at senior level.[24] McAteer also had a Welsh grandmother who asked him to play fortheir national team.[24]
McAteer was capped 52 times between 1994 and 2004 making his debut on 23 March 1994 in a 0–0 draw againstRussia in a friendly match atLansdowne Road and was selected by managerJack Charlton for the Republic's1994 World Cup squad. McAteer came on as a substitute in the Republic's 1–0 group stage victory overItaly on 18 June.
McAteer played in his second World Cup in2002. He scored a goal for the Irish in a 2–2 draw againstNetherlands in Amsterdam on 2 September 2000qualifying and the winner in a 1–0 win against them on 1 September 2001.[25] These two results ultimately contributed to the Republic qualifying for the Finals in second place in the Group with 24 points, while Netherlands, in third place on 20 points, missed out. At the tournament itself he played 45 minutes of Republic of Ireland's opening match versus Cameroon and then 11 minutes as a substitute in their third match with Saudi Arabia.
McAteer was critical ofRoy Keane after theSaipan Incident at the2002 World Cup, saying, "Everything is black or white with Roy, there is no such colour as grey. I do not always understand his rage."[13] McAteer said that when they clashed during Sunderland's match against Manchester United in August 2002, he had said to Keane: "Put it all in your next book". Keane responded by elbowing McAteer on the side of the head.[26]
McAteer was nicknamed "Trigger", after anOnly Fools and Horses character of low intelligence.[27][28] He said in 2005 that he cultivated this image in order to play more matches, as managers would be comfortable putting him in different positions.[29] Anecdotes spread about McAteer's purported low intelligence, including that he had asked for a pizza to be cut into four pieces and not eight because he was not hungry;[30] he confirmed in 2005 that this story is true.[29]
McAteer released an autobiography,Blood, Sweat & Jason McAteer, in 2017. In it, he said that he struggled with depression and thoughts of suicide after his football career ended.[31]
McAteer married his first wife, Kristina Delaney, atSlane Castle in 2001.[32] In October 2013, he married Lucy Edwards inLimerick with the reception atDromoland Castle.[33] McAteer said that while he was at the2022 UEFA Champions League final with LFC TV, his wife and 22-year-old son were assaulted and robbedamidst the chaos.[34]
McAteer featured inEA Sports'FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the International edition ofFIFA Soccer 96, alongsideFrank de Boer.[35]
In 1997, McAteer featured in a Wash & Go shampoo advert, for which he was reportedly paid £100,000.[36][37]
McAteer has regularly appeared for the Liverpool legends who play in various charity games around the world. In March 2005, he recruited friends from football and showbusiness forTsunami Soccer Aid which generated over half a million pounds forSave the Children, helping survivors of the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. In May 2008, he visitedBanda Aceh in Indonesia to see how the money had been used.[32]
In 2006, McAteer became an investor inGolf Punk magazine, alongside former Sunderland teammatesPhil Babb,Michael Gray,Thomas Sørensen andStephen Wright, saving the publication from closure.[38]
In April 2011, while participating in a charity football match between Darndale F.C. and Liverpool/Manchester United Legends in aid of Autism Ireland, McAteer clashed withDublin GAAgoalkeeperStephen Cluxton. Cluxton punched McAteer and knocked him to the ground. Cluxton and McAteer were both sent off.[39]
McAteer regularly appears as a pundit onbeIN Sports. He has worked in the media for Asia-basedESPN Star Sports.[40] He has also worked onLFC TV.[34]
Bolton
Liverpool
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