Joey O'Brien

Joseph Martin O'Brien (born 17 February 1986) is a retired Irish professional footballer who played as a full-back and defensive midfielder for Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Shamrock Rovers.

O'Brien started his career with Bolton Wanderers in 2004 after starting out his first year scholarships in 2002.

To gain further experience, O'Brien was loaned out to League One team Sheffield Wednesday for the most part of the 2004–05 season, making 15 appearances and scoring two goals, including one on his debut.

After extending his loan spell at the club twice times, O'Brien was named as captain for the last game of his loan spell in honour of his contribution.

Upon returning to Bolton Wanderers from a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday, O'Brien made his Premier League debut on 15 May 2005 against Everton when coming on as a late substitute in place of Fernando Hierro.

He was given his first start in Bolton's colours in their away UEFA Cup 1st Round tie with PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv in September 2005.

In the 2005–06 season, O'Brien was called up by the first team following a defensive crisis of injuries and that moment on, he became a first team regular, making thirty-three appearances in all competition.

Initially playing as a centre-midfielder, O'Brien changed to a right-back role and made an impression, leading to Manager Sam Allardyce described him as a "dominant force at right back in the Premiership".

He was capped five times by the Republic of Ireland at senior level between 2006 and 2012.

O'Brien missed most of the 2006–07 season due to a knee injury.

By October, O'Brien was expected to return from a pitch in a months time, with a help from an American doctor Dr Frank Jarrell, a pioneer in the field of spinal reflex analysis.

However, his recovery was delayed for another 3–4 months, causing him to miss the rest of the season.

Having regained his fitness, it wasn't until on 23 September 2007 when he made his return for Bolton, making his first start and playing the whole game, in a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Since making his return from injury, he played most of the 2007–08 season in his natural midfield role as opposed to the right back position which he had been in two years previous.

Despite further injury concerns, O'Brien went on to make 26 appearances in all competition.

In July 2008 he was given the number 8 shirt previously worn by Iván Campo and started well when he provided two assists against Stoke City and Arsenal.

However, injuries restricted his appearances throughout the 2008–09 season.

O'Brien finished the season, making eight appearances in all competitions.

In the 2009-10 season, O'Brien appeared as an unused substitute three times to the first ten league matches to the season.

However, he suffered a knee injury that required an operation for the second time in twelve months and made no appearances this season.

Despite this, he signed a one-year extension to his contract keeping him at Bolton Wanderers until the summer of 2011.

After making a recovery, O'Brien made his return in a pre-season friendly match against Charleston Battery and after the match, O'Brien stated when he returned to the first team, he determined to make up the lost time.

However, this never happened and it has been reported that O'Brien may need to be loaned out to gain first team football.

On 24 March 2011, O'Brien joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan for a second time until the end of the season, and made his debut two days later in a 1–1 draw at Dagenham & Redbridge.

After making four appearances for the club, O'Brien made four appearances for the club on his second return.

At the end of the season, he was released by Bolton Wanderers, ending his six years association with the club.

In July 2011, O'Brien was handed a trial by West Ham United.

He featured in pre-season friendlies against BSC Young Boys and Basel before being signed on 30 July on a free transfer, after penning a two-year contract.

O'Brien made his competitive debut on 7 August 2011 in 1–0 home defeat to Cardiff City.

He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 4–0 away win against Watford on 16 August 2011, his first goal since January 2005.

He was sent off for the first time in his career in the away match against Reading on 10 December 2011.

Having suffered from injuries during the season, O'Brien went on to make 33 appearances in all competition and the club was promoted back to the Premier League.

O'Brien suffered a hamstring injury on 5 October 2012.

He returned to the squad for a match against Wigan Athletic three weeks later.

He set up the only goal for Kevin Nolan in the game two weeks after making his return, in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United.

This was followed by scoring his first ever Premier League goal on 19 November 2012, which also earned his team a point against Stoke.

He then scored the winning goal in the New Year's Day fixture against Norwich City.

However, O'Brien suffered a hamstring injury.

In the year 2016, O'Brien was among 13 people to be named as a victim of fraud and he testified in court for the trial.

In 2021 he became the assistant manager of Shelbourne.