 Kelly with theRepublic of Ireland national team beforeUEFA Euro 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Michael David Kelly[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-09-06)6 September 1983 (age 42)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Belvedere | |||
| –2000 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2006 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | (2) |
| 2003 | →Southend United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2003 | →Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2003 | →Watford (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Birmingham City | 79 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Stoke City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2009–2013 | Fulham | 44 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | Reading | 46 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Rotherham United | 35 | (0) |
| Total | 277 | (3) | |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2000 | Republic of Ireland U16 | 12 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Republic of Ireland U20 | ||
| 2003–2005 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 17 | (0) |
| 2006–2014 | Republic of Ireland | 39 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stephen Michael David Kelly (born 6 September 1983) is an Irish former professionalfootballer who played as aright back. He was part of the team that secured theRepublic of Ireland's qualification forUEFA Euro 2012.
Kelly began his professional career atTottenham Hotspur and also played forSouthend United,Queens Park Rangers,Watford,Birmingham City,Stoke City,Fulham andReading before joining his final club,Rotherham United, in 2015. He wascapped 39 times for the Republic of Ireland.
Kelly was born inDublin, where he played football forBelvedere before joiningTottenham Hotspur through their youth programme.[1][3] He was something of an understudy toStephen Carr (who was subsequently transferred toNewcastle United) and then toPaul Stalteri. He made his Spurs first team debut in 2003 and then went on to make 37 Premier League appearances, scoring two league goals, againstBirmingham City[4] andAston Villa.[5]
Birmingham City were reported to have agreed a deal to sign Kelly in January 2006 before Tottenham's shortage of defenders put a stop to the move.[6] He did join Birmingham, however, on 28 June for an initial fee of £750,000, potentially rising to £1.25 million depending on his success with the club.[7] He made 36 appearances in the2006–07 Championship as Birmingham were promoted as runners-up.[8][9]
Kelly was the only outfield player in the2007–08 Premier League season to play every minute of every game for his club.[10]
On 4 February 2009, Kelly joinedStoke City on loan from Birmingham City until the end of the2008–09 season. Stoke City had to wait for 36 hours after the January transfer window shut for confirmation of the deal.[11] Kelly made his Stoke debut in their next game, a 2–0 defeat toSunderland,[12] but picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty which kept him out of Stoke's next fixture.[13]
On 16 June 2009, Kelly signed a three-year contract withFulham, making him the club's first signing of the 2009 summer window. He said he was delighted to join the Cottagers and was looking forward to representing the club in both the Premier League andEuropa League.[14] He helped Fulham reach the2010 UEFA Europa League Final, playing in their memorable win againstJuventus on the way, but he was left out of the squad for the final itself.[15][16]
Kelly joinedReading on 11 January 2013, signing a2+1⁄2-year contract.[17] He made his debut on 19 January in Reading's 2–1 away win overNewcastle United atSt James' Park, made his home debut a week later againstSheffield United in a 4–0FA Cup win, and soon afterwards, stated that "regardless of what happens now and for the rest of the season, coming here is the best decision I've made in football".[18] Kelly started every game in what remained of the season, and the team were relegated to the Championship.
He was allocated squad number 3 for the 2013–14 season.[19] Kelly scored his first goal for Reading on 1 January 2014, a 95th-minute header fromRoyston Drenthe's free kick that gave his side a draw at home toNottingham Forest.[20]
Kelly left Reading at the end of the 2014–15 season, despite being offered a new contract by the club.[21]
On 19 November 2015, Kelly joinedChampionship clubRotherham United until the end of the2015–16 season.[22] He left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season.[23]
Kelly won Irish caps at junior levels and became a member of the seniorIrish national squad, making his debut versusChile. He represented the Republic of Ireland Under-16 team at the2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and the Under-20 team at the2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.
On 29 March 2011, Kelly was named as Ireland captain for the friendly againstUruguay at theAviva Stadium.[24]
He was a squad member atUEFA Euro 2012 but saw no game time. Then, despite injuries toRichard Dunne andSean St Ledger, managerGiovanni Trapattoni left him on the bench for the6-1 home defeat toGermany in2014 World Cup qualifying. Days later, Kelly had a training ground row with assistant managerMarco Tardelli, and was left so upset by the incident that he did not want to board the plane for the game against theFaroe Islands.[25][26]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2002–03[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[28] | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05[29] | Premier League | 17 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06[30] | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 44 | 2 | |||
| Southend United (loan) | 2002–03[27] | Third Division | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2002–03[27] | Second Division | 7 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Watford (loan) | 2003–04[28] | First Division | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Birmingham City | 2006–07[8] | Championship | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | |
| 2007–08[31] | Premier League | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[32] | Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 79 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 88 | 0 | |||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2008–09[32] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Fulham | 2009–10[33] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[b] | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2010–11[34] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[35] | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[36] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 44 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 71 | 0 | ||
| Reading | 2012–13[36] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[37] | Championship | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15[38] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 52 | 1 | |||
| Rotherham United | 2015–16[39] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17[40] | Championship | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 277 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 328 | 3 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2006 | 3 | 0 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 0 | |
Birmingham City
Fulham
International
