Jamie O'Hara (footballer)

This article is about the footballer. For the singer, see Jamie O'Hara (singer).

Jamie O'Hara

Personal information
Full name	Jamie Darryl O'Hara
Date of birth	25 September 1986 (1986-09-25)
Place of birth	Dartford, England
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	24
Youth career
1998–2003	Arsenal
2003–2005	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2011	Tottenham Hotspur	34	(2)
2006	→ Chesterfield (loan)	19	(5)
2007	→ Millwall (loan)	14	(2)
2009–2010	→ Portsmouth (loan)	26	(2)
2011	→ Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan)	14	(3)
2011–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	17	(2)
National team‡
2008–2009	England U21	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 June 2009

Jamie Darryl O'Hara (born 25 September 1986) is an English footballer of Irish descent who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

O'Hara came through Arsenal F.C. Academy to then sign for Tottenham Hotspur to become a first-team player during the 2007-08 season. He has had several loan spells, including a stint at Portsmouth that saw them reach the 2010 FA Cup Final.

Club career

Early career

As a schoolboy, O'Hara trained with the Arsenal Academy before moving to Tottenham Hotspur's academy in 2003. In 2004–05 he featured in every game in the FA Youth Cup, scoring once against Everton from a free kick in addition to playing in fourteen Under-18 matches and eighteen reserve matches.

In January 2006 it was announced he had joined Chesterfield on a three month loan agreement. His Football League debut came on 14 January 2006 at Doncaster Rovers in a 1–1 draw. He scored five goals during his loan spell during 19 appearances.

He went out on loan for a second time in August 2007 when he joined League One club Millwall on a month-long loan deal which was subsequently extended to December. He made 15 appearances in total for the Lions.

Tottenham

O'Hara subsequently returned to Spurs after his successful loan spell at Millwall which attracted the attention of new manager, Juande Ramos, and made his début as a substitute against Portsmouth on 15 December 2007, assisting in the game's winning goal. He made his full début a week later in the North London derby against former club Arsenal.

He became a regular player for the remainder of the season, scoring his first Tottenham goal on 21 February 2008 in a UEFA Cup tie against Slavia Prague at White Hart Lane, and his first Premier League goal on 22 March 2008, against future club Portsmouth. At the end of the season, he was named the One Hotspur Junior Young Player of the Year and was presented with the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust Breakthrough Award for his performances.^{[citation needed]} He was further rewarded by a new three-year deal.

The arrival of Harry Redknapp as manager during the next season saw O'Hara gradually lose his regular starting place in the league. He did however make a vital contribution in the club's League Cup semi-final tie against Burnley, as he scored one goal and helped create two more in a 4–1 first leg victory that helped see them through to the final. Unlike the previous year, O'Hara was included in their squad for the final. Coming on as a substitute, he also stepped up to take the first penalty kick in the shootout against Manchester United, after the match finished goalless; his effort was saved by Ben Foster as Spurs lost 1–4 on spotkicks. O'Hara signed a new contract in August 2009, keeping him at White Hart Lane until 2013.

Loan spell at Portsmouth

After penning a new deal with Tottenham, O'Hara joined Portsmouth on loan until January 2010, with an option to remain at Fratton Park until the end of the season.

He was a regular starter for Pompey during this time, but returned to Tottenham in January 2010 despite Portsmouth wanting to extend his loan and Tottenham agreeing to this, as Portsmouth were subject to a transfer embargo. Following the lifting of Portsmouth's transfer embargo weeks later, he returned to Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season.

His loan spell created a conflict of interests when Portsmouth were drawn to play the winners of the Tottenham/Fulham tie in the FA Cup semi-finals. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp gave a stern reminder to O'Hara that his ultimate loyalties lie with Tottenham after the midfielder admitted he hoped Spurs lost to Fulham as he would not be eligible to play against Tottenham. Tottenham did indeed progress to the semi-final, meaning O'Hara was denied a chance to play in the Wembley match. However, Portsmouth won the game 2–0 giving him a chance to play in the FA Cup Final where Chelsea defeated them 1–0 to win the trophy. At end of the season, O'Hara was voted Portsmouth's Player of the Season for 2009–10.

Having sustained a stress fracture during the 2009–10 season, it was announced in August 2010 that O'Hara was to undergo back surgery. This kept him out contention for any first team football until the New Year.

Loan spell at Wolves

On 30 January 2011, O'Hara joined Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the 2010–11 season, with view to a permanent deal. O'Hara made his Wolves debut as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers three days later. He made his first start for Wolves on 5 February 2011, against fellow Premier League side Manchester United, playing 60 minutes and winning the game 2-1 at Molineux. He scored his first goal for Wolves against local rivals West Bromwich Albion on 20 February 2011. He made it two in two for Wolves, as O’Hara struck a low shot into the bottom left hand corner against Blackpool, winning the game 4-0 at Molineux. O’Hara picked up his 3rd goal on the final day of the season, scoring in the 3-2 defeat against Blackburn, helping Wolves avoid relegation. He ended the season by picking up the Goal of the Season Award, for his strike against local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Wolves

On 21 June 2011, it was announced that O'Hara had signed a five-year contract with Wolverhampton Wanderers for a undisclosed fee, but believed to be around £5million. It was later revealed that the actual fee Wolves paid for O'Hara was £3.5m, not the £5m quoted. He decided to move to Wolves permanently after missing out on first team football for Tottenham.

International career

O'Hara was called up to the England Under-21 squad for their game against Republic of Ireland on 5 February 2008, but did not take the field. He did gain his first U21 cap on 25 March 2008, in a 0–0 friendly against Poland. In total he won seven caps at this level.

On 21 February 2011, O'Hara admitted that he would seriously consider playing international football for the Republic of Ireland if he got the call. O’Hara has played at the England Under-21 level but has never been selected for the senior squad and with Irish grandparents, he could now make the switch. Former Wolves manager Mick McCarthy also expressed that he too wished O'Hara to make the switch to Ireland.

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

• League Cup runner-up: 2008–09.

Portsmouth

• FA Cup runner-up: 2010

Individual

• Portsmouth 'Player Of The Year': 2009–10

Personal life

O'Hara has been with former Miss England model Danielle Lloyd since April 2009. On 1 December 2009, the couple announced their engagement. In March 2010, the couple announced Danielle was expecting their first child; the baby was born on 12 July 2010, a boy named Archie O'Hara. On 13 July 2011, Lloyd gave birth to their second child, ten weeks early, naming him Harry James O'Hara.

External links

• Jamie O'Hara career stats at Soccerbase
• Player Profile