Neil Kilkenny

Neil Martin Kilkenny (born 19 December 1985) is a professional footballer who playes for Perth Division 1 side Sorrento.

A midfielder, he began his career in the youth system at Arsenal, and went on to play league football for Oldham Athletic, Birmingham City, Leeds United, Bristol City, Preston North End, Melbourne City, Perth Glory and Western United.

Kilkenny was born in England, has Irish grandparents, and was raised in Australia.

He played youth international football for both England and Ireland before committing to Australia.

In July 2002 he began a two-year scholarship programme in Arsenal's Academy.

By the 2003–04 season, he had graduated to Arsenal's under-19 team and once been an unused substitute for the reserves, and had played international football for Republic of Ireland under-19s, qualifying via grandparents from Sligo, and for England under-18s.

However, he became unhappy at Arsenal, chose to leave the club, and after trials with clubs including Aston Villa, Manchester City and Leicester City, he joined Birmingham City on a free transfer in January 2004.

Kilkenny signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Birmingham.

The club's academy director felt he had "the ability to play at the highest level", and prioritised adding a "work ethic and competitiveness" to his "great technique".

The player travelled with the first team for the game at Charlton Athletic in April 2004, but was not included in the matchday squad.

Perceived as not ready for the first team at Premier League level, he was loaned to League One club Oldham Athletic in November 2004 to gain first-team experience.

He made his debut in the Football League as a second-half substitute in Oldham's 3–2 win at home to Barnsley on 20 November, and scored two goals in his second game, a 3–1 win away to Bradford City, four days later.

He played a full part in Oldham's season: he took the free kick which led to the winning goal against Premier League Manchester City in the FA Cup, and ended up as winner of the club's Players' Young Player of the Season award.

At the start of the 2005–06 season he became part of the Birmingham first-team squad, though manager Steve Bruce warned him that he would not easily find his way into the team.

On 20 September 2005, he made his Birmingham first-team debut in the League Cup away at Scunthorpe United, as a 26th-minute substitute to replace the injured Muzzy Izzet.

Four days later, with six other midfielders unavailable through injury or suspension, he made his full home debut against Liverpool in the Premier League, in which he was sent off late in the game for handling the ball on the goal-line, thus giving Liverpool a penalty and a 2–2 draw.

Despite his dismissal, he received words of encouragement from teammates Mikael Forssell and Mario Melchiot for his performance, and went on to make 25 appearances in all competitions, mainly as substitute, as Birmingham were relegated to the Championship.

The following season Kilkenny's appearances were infrequent; he started only two games, both in the League Cup.

The player became frustrated; while part of the first-team squad, he was rarely part of the first team, yet Bruce was reluctant to allow him out on loan.

It was announced on 30 July 2007 that Kilkenny would again join Oldham on loan until January 2008.

The move was blocked following the collapse of Birmingham's purchase of Hossam Ghaly, but was confirmed a few days later.

His last match before he returned to Birmingham was an influential performance as Oldham beat Leeds United 3–1 to become the first team that season to win a League game at Elland Road.

He has 15 caps for Australia, and competed for the country at the 2008 Olympics.

Born in Enfield, London, Kilkenny moved to Australia with his family at the age of four, and grew up in Brisbane.

A promising schoolboy footballer, he captained the Queensland schools' representative team.

When Kilkenny was eleven, the family returned to England to maximise his chances of making a career in the game.

At twelve, he was invited to join Arsenal's youth development scheme, and while a student at Ravenscroft School, Barnet, he played for Middlesex Schools and appeared for Arsenal's under-17 team.

On 4 January 2008 Kilkenny signed for League One team Leeds United on an emergency loan, with a view to ensuring his availability for the next day's game prior to completing a permanent transfer the following week.

He made his debut in the 3–0 win over Northampton Town, putting in an impressive performance to get the man of the match award.

Kilkenny signed a three-and-a-half-year permanent contract with Leeds on 7 January for a fee of £150,000.

He scored his first goal for the club in their 2–0 win against AFC Bournemouth in March.

Leeds went on to reach the play-off final that season but lost 1–0 against Doncaster Rovers.

He was then called up to the Australian Olympic team during the summer and missed all of pre-season training for Leeds as a result.

After a period out of the team and the sacking of Gary McAllister Kilkenny regained a spot in the Leeds midfield under the stewardship of new manager Simon Grayson late in the 2008–09 season.

His 43rd-minute goal against Yeovil Town on 10 March 2009 was a leading contender for the goal of the season.

He followed this up with goals in the 3–2 win against Crewe Alexandra and the 3–1 win against Tranmere Rovers.

Kilkenny was part of the Leeds team who were knocked out of the play-off semi-final by Millwall; he injured an ankle and was substituted in the first half of the second leg at Elland Road.

Doncaster made their interest in signing Kilkenny public during the summer but Grayson made it clear that he was not for sale.

After again missing pre-season, this time because of ankle trouble, Kilkenny found himself trying to regain fitness and a place on the bench once the season was in full flow.

With seven substitutes required for the 2009–10 season, he was used mainly as an impact substitute in the early part of the season.