| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Philip Hardy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-04-09)9 April 1973 (age 52)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Ellesmere Port, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wrexham | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–2001 | Wrexham | 349 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Port Vale | 8 | (1) |
| Total | 357 | (2) | |
| International career | |||
| Republic of Ireland under-21 | 3 | (0) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Philip Hardy (born 9 April 1973) is an English-born formerIreland under-21footballer who played as aleft-back. With Welsh clubWrexham from 1990 to 2001, he played more than 450 games undermanagerBrian Flynn. He was named on thePFA Team of the Year for the1991–92Fourth Division campaign. He picked up both a winners and runners-up medal in theWelsh Cup. During his time at the club, Wrexham reached fourFAW Premier Cup finals, winning on three occasions, and were alsopromoted out of theThird Division in1992–93. He later played ten games forPort Vale, before leaving the professional game in 2002.
Hardy started his career withFourth DivisionWrexham, signing professionally forBrian Flynn's side in 1990. He played in theWelsh Cup final at theCardiff Arms Park in1991, in what finished as a 2–0 win forSwansea City.[3] An ever-present in the1991–92 season, along with fellow full-backAndy Thackeray, he played in theclub's giant-killing ofArsenal in theFA CupThird Round. They were eventually defeated byWest Ham United in the next round, following areplay. For his performances, Hardy was named on thePFA Team of the Year.
Following the creation of thePremier League, Wrexham spent the1992–93 season in theThird Division. A second-place finish then won the clubpromotion into theSecond Division. The "Red Dragons" held their own in the third tier and remained in the division for the rest of Hardy's time at the club.
Hecaptained the side in the1995 Welsh Cup final victory overCardiff City,[4] in his second appearance in a cup final. Wrexham equalled a club record by reaching theFA Cup quarter-finals in1996–97, beatingColwyn Bay,Scunthorpe United, West Ham United,Peterborough United andBirmingham City on the way. Drawn againstChesterfield, also of the Third Division, a 1–0 defeat atSaltergate prevented the club from making a first-ever appearance in theFA Cup semi-finals. However, Hardy was limited to just 16 appearances throughout the1996–97 season.
He posted 39 appearances in1997–98, picking up seven yellow cards. Wrexham became the inaugural winners of theFAW Premier Cup in1998, beating Cardiff City 2–1 at theRacecourse Ground. He played 42 games in1998–99, and at the end of the season Wrexham played in the1999 FAW Premier Cup final, losing out 2–1 toBarry Town. He played 45 games in1999–2000, and Wrexham won the FAW Premier Cup for a third time in2000, following a 2–0 victory over Cardiff City. Throughout the campaign, he wassent off againstLuton Town andBristol Rovers, and scored his first league goal with apenalty in a 1–0 win overColchester United on 24 April.
He made just 14 appearances in2000–01, as Wrexham reached the FAW Premier Cup final for a fourth time in2001, and beatSwansea City 2–0 atVetch Field. He departed the club at the end of the campaign. Despite being granted atestimonial match for serving the club for more than ten years and playing over 450 games (in all competitions),[5] financial problems from the 2001 season onwards meant that he never received the game.[citation needed]
In June 2001, he signed withBrian Horton'sPort Vale. He scored on his league debut for the "Valiants" on 25 August, helping Vale to beatPeterborough United 4–1 atVale Park. However, he was out of the first-team picture by October. He wastransfer listed in November.[6]Chester City expressed interest in signing him onloan the following month.[7] He joined Luton Town on trial in January 2002,[8] butmanagerJoe Kinnear decided that Hardy was too small for the Third Division.[9] With ten appearances to his name in2001–02, he left Vale in April 2002. In November that year had a trial withMansfield Town.[10] However, the 29-year-old failed to find acontract at anotherFootball League club, and announced his retirement.[11]
Hardy earned threecaps for theRepublic of Ireland U21 side.
On 29 May 1993, Hardy was a member of an Irish side which playedHungary in a testimonial forDavid O'Leary,[12] coming on as asubstitute forSteve Staunton; the Hungarians won the match 4–2.[13] Although the rest of the Irish team were past or future internationals, the match has not been granted full international status.[14]
After retiring, Hardy went on to a career in engineering before becoming a driver for a factory inEllesmere Port.[15]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wrexham | 1989–90 | Fourth Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 1991–92 | Fourth Division | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 55 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | Third Division | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | Second Division | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1994–95 | Second Division | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | Second Division | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Second Division | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | Second Division | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Second Division | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Second Division | 38 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 2000–01 | Second Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 349 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 436 | 1 | ||
| Port Vale | 2001–02 | Second Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Career total | 357 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 446 | 2 | ||
Individual
