Alan Judge

Alan Christopher Judge (born 11 November 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Judge is currently a free agent.

He is a former Republic of Ireland national team international player.

In 2006, Judge joined the academy at Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.

He turned professional at age 17 and was a part of the reserve team which won the 2006–07 Lancashire Senior Cup.

He made his debut for the senior team as a substitute in a 4–1 League Cup second round win over Grimsby Town on 27 August 2008 and his first start followed in a narrow FA Cup third round victory over Blyth Spartans on 5 January 2009.

Judge joined Championship club Plymouth Argyle on loan on 29 January 2009, for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

He featured regularly in the starting XI for then manager Paul Sturrock's team and scored the first senior goal of his career against Burnley in March.

The season ended with Judge having made 17 appearances in all competitions.

Judge rejoined Argyle on loan for the duration of the 2009–10 season.

He continued to feature regularly in the first-team and scored his first brace in senior football with two goals in an impressive 4–1 win over Reading on 28 December.

The Pilgrims were relegated from the Championship at the end of the season and Judge returned to Blackburn.

He made 40 appearances and scored five goals during his second spell.

Three weeks later, he signed a new contract running until the end of the 2010–11 season.

On 31 August 2010, Judge signed a six-month loan deal with League One club Notts County.

He made 21 appearances and scored one goal during the 2010–11 season.

Judge spent the majority of the following two years away on loan and departed Ewood Park in January 2011.

His loan expired on 1 January 2011, but County re-signed Judge on a further one-month loan so he would be available for forthcoming matches whilst a permanent deal was finalised.

On 14 January 2011, Judge completed a permanent move to Notts County and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club for an undisclosed fee.

Just days after signing, Judge broke a metatarsal bone in his right foot in a match against Hartlepool United.

After a seven-week spell on the sidelines, Judge returned to action against Swindon Town and scored to set County on their way to a 2–1 comeback victory.

Judge scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 3–1 away win against Chesterfield.

His form saw him pick up consecutive player of the month awards for November and December respectively.

He flourished under manager Martin Allen and finished the season with 8 goals and 13 assists.

Judge scooped both the Notts County Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year awards for the 2011–12 season.

Judge scored his first goal in the 2012–13 season in a 2–0 win over Bury on 1 September 2012.

Despite his unrest, Judge's performances throughout the 2012–13 season saw him named in the League One PFA Team of the Year.

He finished the season with 43 appearances and eight goals.

Judge began his career at Blackburn Rovers and returned to the club in 2013 after a two-and-a-half season spell with Notts County.

Judge spent the second half of the 2013–14 season on loan at Brentford in League One, before signing for the club permanently in the summer of 2014.

In 2013, the Plymouth Herald named Judge as Argyle's fifth best-ever loan signing.

In February 2013 and playing under his sixth different manager since arriving at Meadow Lane, Judge revealed he was "sick" of the high turnover of managers and captain Neal Bishop backed up Judge's comments.

On 27 April 2013, it was announced that Judge would depart Meadow Lane upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Judge re-signed for Blackburn Rovers, now in the Championship, on 1 July 2013.

He signed a three-year contract on a free transfer.

He scored his first Blackburn goal in a 3–3 League Cup first round shootout defeat to Carlisle United on 7 August 2013 and made 12 appearances during the 2013–14 season.

Despite manager Gary Bowyer stating that Judge was in his plans, Judge spent the second half of the 2013–14 season away on loan and departed Ewood Park in June 2014, after making just 14 appearances and scoring one goal during four years with the club as a first team player.

Judge represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level and made his senior international debut in March 2016.

Born in Dublin, County Dublin, Judge began his career at St. Joseph's Boys in Sallynoggin and appeared for the club's Senior Boys team.

He stayed at Brentford for 5 years before joining Ipswich Town in 2019.