Andy O'Brien

Andrew James O'Brien (born 29 June 1979) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

His talent as a defender was spotted by Bradford City and joined their junior ranks in 1994.

He made his senior debut in October 1996 against Queens Park Rangers.

He soon became a regular in the Bradford City first team, and helped the Bantams to promotion to the FA Premier League during the 1998–99 season.

He was a regular in the Bradford City side during its two years in the Premier League, forming a partnership with club captain David Wetherall in central defence.

In 2000–01, City were in financial difficulties and facing relegation when Newcastle United bid for O'Brien.

Born in England, he won 26 caps for Republic of Ireland between 2001 and 2006 and was a member of Ireland's 2002 World Cup squad.

After 133 league appearances he moved to St James' Park in March 2001 for a club record £2 million fee, equalling the same fee Des Hamilton had also left Bradford City to Newcastle.

He quickly became a central figure in the Magpies defence, making more than 170 league and cup appearances in the ensuing four years.

His performances also earned O'Brien a call-up to the Republic of Ireland national football team.

One of his first games saw him score an equaliser in a north-east derby with Sunderland, while in his first full season the club secured a place in the Champions League qualifiers.

The following season the club bought defenders Titus Bramble during the summer and Jonathan Woodgate in the January transfer window and it looked like O'Brien would be third choice but over the following year manager Bobby Robson settled on O'Brien and Woodgate as his central defensive partnership.

Despite several years as a solid defender at Newcastle, O'Brien suffered from poor form in the latter part of the 2004–05 campaign, as Newcastle finished a disappointing 14th in the Premier League.

However, his reputation was such that Portsmouth paid £2 million to bring him to Fratton Park.

O'Brien was Alain Perrin's first signing for Portsmouth.

Although he started the season poorly, his form improved as the campaign wore on.

However injury forced him to miss the conclusion of his first season.

He fell down the Portsmouth first-team list with the arrival of Sol Campbell and the good form of club captain Linvoy Primus.

There were rumours that Sunderland's Irish boss Roy Keane would sign the centre back.

This came after Keane signed many Irish players to represent Sunderland.

He retired from international duty in 2006.

Born in Harrogate, England, O'Brien began his footballing career at St John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate, under the stewardship of his manager, Max Mills.

He joined Leeds United's academy and played in the same youth side as Harry Kewell and Jonathan Woodgate, however O'Brien was released by Leeds at the age of 14.

Instead he signed for Bolton on 13 August 2007.

O'Brien quickly settled at the Reebok Stadium and impressed the fans in his first few appearances as part of the Wanderers squad including a dominating performance in the UEFA Cup tie against FK Rabotnicki and in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur.

O'Brien after captaining the team in a Uefa Cup game against Sporting Lisbon he said that he is having the time of his life at Bolton.

In May 2008, his efforts were recognised by Wanderers supporters when he was named as The Bolton News Player of the Season following a poll held by the newspaper.

On 7 October 2008, O'Brien signed an extension to his contract at Bolton until 2011 and once again reaffirmed his happiness at the Reebok Stadium.

On 11 April 2009, O'Brien scored his first goal in four and a half years, and his first goal for Bolton, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

After being a regular starter under Gary Megson, O'Brien found himself on the substitutes bench when Owen Coyle took over, with Gary Cahill and Zat Knight the preferred central defender partnership.

After Middlesbrough offered to loan O'Brien from Bolton, Owen Coyle rejected the loan move preferring to keep O'Brien as backup

During the 2010–11 season, O'Brien picked up a hamstring injury for Bolton in the Premier League game against Aston Villa.

O'Brien joined Leeds United on an initial one month's loan on 29 October 2010.

Manager Simon Grayson said of the move "Andy has had a fantastic career, and has great experience. He's a leader and will be a valuable member of the squad for the next [month]."

The move saw O'Brien re-join the club he started his career at, he was released by Leeds 17 years earlier as a 14-year-old.

O'Brien was given squad number 40 and made his debut for against Scunthorpe United.

In November 2010, O'Brien revealed that he would be interested in possibly making his loan move to Leeds permanent.

O'Brien scored his first goal for Leeds with a header against Hull City.

On 24 November, the loan was extended until 4 January 2011.

After a two-game spell on the sidelines with injury, O'Brien returned to Leeds' starting lineup against Leicester City.