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Kevin Foley (footballer, born 1984)

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Kevin Foley
Foley playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2010
Personal information
Full name Kevin Patrick Foley[1]
Date of birth (1984-11-01) 1 November 1984 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth London, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender / Midfielder
Youth career
1995–2002 Luton Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2007 Luton Town 151 (3)
2007–2015 Wolverhampton Wanderers 194 (5)
2014 → Blackpool (loan) 5 (0)
2014–2015 → Blackpool (loan) 4 (0)
2015 Copenhagen 4 (0)
2016 Ipswich Town 8 (0)
2016–2017 Charlton Athletic 15 (0)
2017 Coventry City 12 (0)
2017–2018 Billericay Town 15 (0)
Total 408 (8)
International career‡
2004–2006 Republic of Ireland U21 8 (1)
2006 Republic of Ireland B 1 (0)
2009–2012 Republic of Ireland 8 (0)
Managerial career
2020–2021 Tampa Bay Rowdies (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 December 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:10, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Kevin Patrick Foley (born 1 November 1984) is a professional football coach and former player who is currently a transition coach for Luton Town.

Foley, a right back also able to operate in midfield, previously spent twelve years at Luton Town before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he played for seven and a half years. He was part of the Wolves squad which won promotion to the Premier League in 2009.

Club career

[edit]

Luton Town

[edit]

Born in London,[1] to Irish parents, Foley joined hometown club Luton Town at the age of nine. He progressed through the youth ranks, winning the Luton Town Young Player of the Season award at the age of seventeen,[2] before signing professional terms with the club at the age of eighteen.[3] He finally broke into the first-team squad in 2002–03, making his league debut on 19 April 2003, in a 2–2 draw with Bristol City.[4] Foley was again named Young Player of the Season for the second consecutive season.[5] The following season, he established himself as first choice right-back at the club and was again named Young Player of the Season for the third consecutive year.[6] Foley won promotion with Luton to the Championship in 2005,[7] and spent two seasons at this level before the club dropped back into League One in 2007.[8] He made a total of 151 appearances for Luton, scoring three times.[9]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

[edit]
Foley won Wolves' Player of the Season Award in 2009.

On 14 August 2007, Foley joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[10] before making his club debut the following day in a League Cup tie against Bradford.[11] He scored his first league goal for the club on 22 September 2007 against Norwich City at Molineux.[12] He ended his first season for Wolves as a regular member of their starting XI, featuring in a total of 49 games, scoring one goal.[13]

The 2008–09 season saw him part of the Wolves team that won the Championship, and so returned to the Premier League. He made a total of 47 appearances, scoring one goal.[14] His performances won him Wolves' Player of the Season Award, voted by the club's fans,[15] as well as a new four-year contract with the club that would keep him at Wolves until at least summer 2013.[16]

Foley made his Premier League debut in the team's opening fixture against West Ham on 15 August 2009. During the 0–2 defeat though he sustained a medial knee ligament injury that kept him out for four months, meaning it was not until December 2009 that he got a sustained run in the team. When he did play it was mostly at right-midfield and central-midfield in a 4–5–1 formation, with players such as Ronald Zubar and Richard Stearman by now favoured in Foley's preferred right-back position.[17]

During the 2010–11 season, Foley scored his only Premier League goals, when he netted in consecutive home games, against Bolton then Sunderland, respectively.[18][19] He made a career-best of 33 top flight appearances, scoring two goals during the campaign as the team narrowly avoided relegation.[20] At the conclusion of the season he signed another contract extension, due to run until summer 2015.[21]

He began the following season but soon had to undergo surgery to treat a long-running ankle problem.[22] Having returned to fitness in January 2012, he was part of the Wolves squad that suffered relegation under Terry Connor.

After a second successive relegation, Foley was rarely used as new manager Kenny Jackett sought to rebuild a new team. In February 2014, Foley agreed a one-month loan with Championship club Blackpool,[23] for whom he made five appearances but was not offered the chance to remain until the end of the season.[24] In November 2014, having not featured for Wolves in the meantime, Foley was again loaned out to Blackpool in a deal that ran until January 2015.[25]

On 12 January 2015, the remainder of Foley's contract with Wolves was cancelled by mutual agreement.[26] In total he made 213 appearances for the club, scoring six goals.[9]

Copenhagen

[edit]

On 12 January 2015, within hours of confirmation that he had left Wolves, Foley signed a six-months contract with the Danish club F.C. Copenhagen, where he reunited with his former Wolves manager Ståle Solbakken.[27]

In November 2015, after a two-week trial with Shrewsbury Town, Foley began training with Reading with the view to a short-term contract.[28] Foley left Reading without earning a contract.

Ipswich Town

[edit]

After starting a game for Ipswich Town's U21s in January 2016, Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy recalled Foley impressing him for the Hatters against his Wolves team: "He played against us for Luton at Wolves and at the time had some good wide players, Matt Jarvis and Michael Kightly, and he saw them all off. I signed him on the back of that and he was different class for me. He's a great bloke, he'd fit in fabulously with the lads, if he's all right, if he's fully fit, but he looks it. He's trained with us and he looks the part at the moment, so hopefully he'll get through the game today. He was out playing in Denmark [with FC Copenhagen], he hurt his shoulder and he had to have an operation in the summer. That doesn't bother me too much. If it was his legs it might be bothering me, but it was his shoulder. He's a gentleman, he's a lovely fella, he'd fit in perfectly with the rest of the lads. I hope he proves that he's worth it."[29]

On 22 January 2016, Foley signed for Championship club Ipswich Town on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season, following the departure of full-back Jonathan Parr.[30]

Charlton Athletic and Coventry City

[edit]

On 5 August 2016, Foley signed for Charlton Athletic on a five-month contract.[31] He made his debut on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 2–0 defeat away to Bury.[32] Foley made 20 appearances for Charlton and was released following the expiration of his contract.[32][33] A day later, he signed for League One club Coventry City on a contract until the end of 2016–17, with a view to a one-year extension.[34] He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat away to Chesterfield on 14 January.[35] Foley was cup-tied for Coventry's win in the 2017 EFL Trophy Final.[36] Foley finished the season with 12 appearances for Coventry,[32] and was one of nine players released when his contract expired at the end of 2016–17.[37]

Billericay Town

[edit]

On 2 August 2017, Foley signed for Isthmian League Premier Division club Billericay Town.[38] He made his debut 10 days later, starting in Billericay's 1–0 home defeat to Kingstonian on the opening day of 2017–18.[39] Foley started as Billericay beat Chelmsford City 2–1 in the Essex Senior Cup final on 20 March 2018.[40] He was restricted to 21 appearances due to injury, with 15 of those appearances coming in the league,[39][41] as Billericay won the Isthmian League Premier Division title and promotion to the National League South.[42] He was released by Billericay at the end of the season.[43]

International career

[edit]

Born and raised in England, Foley qualified to play for Ireland as his parents are from County Kerry. He made his debut for Republic of Ireland's under-21 team in May 2004 against Scotland. In 2005, he was named as the FAI Under-21 Player of the Year.[44]

On 29 May 2009, Foley made his senior debut for Ireland against Nigeria in an international friendly.[45] On 26 March 2011, he made his first competitive start for Ireland against Macedonia at right-back playing the full 90 minutes.[46] He played two full games during Ireland's success at the 2011 Nations Cup.[47]

Having been part of the team that achieved Ireland's first qualification for a major tournament since 2002, Foley was initially named in Giovanni Trapattoni's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012.[48] However, he suffered problems with a hamstring during pre-tournament preparations and then did not make the final list.[49] Foley said he "felt betrayed" by Trapattoni's decision to exclude him on the morning of the squad submission.[50][51] His replacement, Paul McShane, did not play a game at the tournament. Foley has not yet returned.[52]

Coaching career

[edit]

Tampa Bay Rowdies

[edit]

In 2020, Foley joined former Wolves teammate Neill Collins' staff with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship, the American second division.[53] Foley left his position with the Rowdies following the 2021 season.[54]

Forest Green Rovers

[edit]

In January 2022, Foley joined former Wolves teammate Rob Edwards' staff with Forest Green Rovers in League Two, the English fourth tier. However, this position was unofficial as stated by the manager on 3 February 2022 in an interview with Gloucestershire Live.[55] Foley left his position with Forest Green at the same time Edwards left in May 2022.

Brackley Town

[edit]

In September 2022, Foley joined Roger Johnson's staff with Brackley Town Football Club[56] in the National League North, the English sixth tier.[57]

Luton Town F.C.

[edit]

In July 2023, Foley joined Luton Town F.C. as a coach focusing on helping young players transition to the first team.[58][59]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of end of 2017–18 season
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Luton Town 2002–03[60] Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 4 0
2003–04[61] Second Division 33 1 3 0 2 2 0 0 38 3
2004–05[62] League One 39 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 41 2
2005–06[63] Championship 38 0 1 0 0 0 — 39 0
2006–07[64] Championship 39 0 2 0 3 0 — 44 0
Total 151 3 8 0 5 2 2 0 166 5
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2007–08[13] Championship 44 1 3 0 2 0 — 49 1
2008–09[14] Championship 45 1 0 0 2 0 — 47 1
2009–10[65] Premier League 25 0 3 0 1 0 — 29 0
2010–11[20] Premier League 33 2 0 0 3 1 — 36 3
2011–12[66] Premier League 16 0 1 0 1 0 — 18 0
2012–13[67] Championship 26 0 1 0 0 0 — 27 0
2013–14[68] League One 5 1 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 7 1
2014–15[69] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 194 5 8 0 10 1 1 0 213 6
Blackpool (loan) 2013–14[68] Championship 5 0 — — — 5 0
2014–15[69] Championship 4 0 — — — 4 0
Total 9 0 — — — 9 0
Copenhagen 2014–15[69] Danish Superliga 4 0 0 0 — — 4 0
Ipswich Town 2015–16[70] Championship 8 0 — — — 8 0
Charlton Athletic 2016–17[32] League One 15 0 2 0 1 0 2[b] 0 20 0
Coventry City 2016–17[32] League One 12 0 — — — 12 0
Billericay Town 2017–18[39] Isthmian League Premier Division 15 0 5 0 — 1[c] 0 21 0
Career total 408 8 23 0 16 3 6 0 453 11
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
  3. ^ Appearance in Essex Senior Cup

International

[edit]
As of match played 7 June 2011[71]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2009 1 0
2010 2 0
2011 5 0
Total 8 0

Honours

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Club

[edit]

Luton Town

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Copenhagen

Billericay Town

International

[edit]

Republic of Ireland

Individual

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ a b "Whiz-kid Taylor at the double". Luton Today. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Player profiles: Kevin Foley". Ipswich Town F.C. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Luton 2–2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 19 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Coyne is Hatters top choice". Luton Today. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Boyce gets awards night hat-trick". Luton Today. 3 May 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Wrexham 1–2 Luton". BBC Sport. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Derby 1–0 Luton". BBC Sport. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Kevin Foley". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Wolves sign Luton defender Foley". BBC Sport. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Wolves 2–1 Bradford". BBC Sport. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Wolves 2–0 Norwich". BBC Sport. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Live from the awards dinner!". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 30 April 2009. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010.
  16. ^ "Foley to extend Wolves stay". Sky Sports. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Wolves Kevin Foley adjusts to midfield role". BBC Sport. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  18. ^ Lillywhite, Jamie (13 November 2010). "Wolves 2–3 Bolton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  19. ^ Ashenden, Mark (27 November 2010). "Wolves 3–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  21. ^ "Kevin Foley signs four-year contract extension at Wolves". BBC Sport. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  22. ^ "Foley finally free of pain". Sky Sports. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Kevin Foley: Blackpool agree one-month loan for Wolves defender". BBC Sport. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  24. ^ "Blackpool decide against extending Kevin Foley loan". Sky Sports. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Kevin Foley: Wolves defender returns to Blackpool on loan". BBC Sport. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Foley's contract cancelled". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016.
  27. ^ "Kevin Foley joins Copenhagen after leaving Wolves". RTÉ Sport. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  28. ^ Watts, Charles (10 November 2015). "Reading FC transfers: Kevin Foley training with Royals as Steve Clarke targets swoop for former Wolves defender". Reading Post. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  29. ^ "Foley and non-league youngster Hickey start for U21s". TWTD. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  30. ^ "Kevin Foley: Ipswich Town sign former Luton and Wolves defender". BBC Sport. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  31. ^ Jones, George (5 August 2016). "Done deal | Kevin Foley signs short-term contract". Charlton Athletic F.C. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016.
  32. ^ a b c d e "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  33. ^ Jones, George (5 January 2017). "News | Kevin Foley departs". Charlton Athletic F.C. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017.
  34. ^ Turner, Andy (6 January 2017). "Coventry City sign Kevin Foley from Charlton Athletic". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  35. ^ Rodger, James (14 January 2017). "Chesterfield 1 Coventry City 0: Match digest as Sky Blues hit bottom spot". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  36. ^ "Coventry City v Oxford at Wembley: Here's who is cup-tied for both sides". coventrytelegraph.net. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  37. ^ Marshall, Billie (2 May 2017). "News: Coventry City release nine players including Nathan Clarke, Ruben Lameiras and Marcus Tudgay". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  38. ^ Lambert, Luke (2 August 2017). "Billericay finally complete signing of former Arsenal winger Pennant". The Echo. Basildon. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  39. ^ a b c d "Player profiles: Kevin Foley". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  40. ^ a b Lambert, Luke (20 March 2018). "Billericay Town crowned Essex Senior Cup champions as Chelmsford City are toppled". The Echo. Basildon. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  41. ^ "Player review". Billericay Town F.C. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  42. ^ a b "Ryman Premier: 2017/18: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  43. ^ Lambert, Luke (21 May 2018). "Billericay Town begin new season rebuild on and off the pitch". The Echo. Basildon. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  44. ^ a b "17th eircom/FAI International Award winners announced". FAI. 4 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012.
  45. ^ McCaig, Alvin (29 May 2009). "Rep of Ireland 1–1 Nigeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  46. ^ "Republic earn vital victory". Sky Sports. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  47. ^ "Rep of Ireland 5–0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  48. ^ "Euro 2012 squad named". FAI. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  49. ^ "McShane named in squad ahead of Foley". RTÉ Sport. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  50. ^ "Kevin Foley feels betrayed by Giovanni Trapattoni". BBC Sport. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  51. ^ Mahoney, Donny (30 May 2012). "'Betrayed' Kevin Foley told he'd been dropped by Trap half hour before deadline". Balls.ie. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  52. ^ "Kevin Foley refuses Republic of Ireland call-up, senior players excused for Serbia friendly". RTÉ Sport. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  53. ^ "ROWDIES HIRE KEVIN FOLEY AS ASSISTANT COACH". RowdiesSoccer.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  54. ^ "NEILL COLLINS SIGNS EXTENSION TO REMAIN AT THE HELM IN TAMPA BAY". RowdiesSoccer.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  55. ^ Martin, Laurie (3 February 2022). "Rob Edwards ahead of Newport County at home". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  56. ^ "Kevin Foley – Brackley Town Football Club Brackley Town 1st Team". brackleytownfc.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  57. ^ "Kevin Foley's linkedin". Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  58. ^ "Kevin Foley's linkedin". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  59. ^ "Luton F.C. Press Conference in the BBC". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  60. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  61. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  62. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  63. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  64. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  65. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  66. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  67. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  68. ^ a b "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  69. ^ a b c "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  70. ^ "Games played by Kevin Foley in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  71. ^ "Foley, Kevin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  72. ^ a b c d e "K. Foley". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
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