Noel King

Noel King

Personal information
Date of birth	13 September 1956 (1956-09-13)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1973-1977	Home Farm	78	(8)
1977-1978	Dundalk	?	(3)
1978-1979	Shamrock Rovers	19	(0)
1979-1980	Home Farm	30	(3)
1980-1982	Bohemians	?	(11)
1982-1983	Dundalk	?	(2)
1983-1985	Shamrock Rovers	?	(7)
1985	Valenciennes	7	(0)
1985-1988	Derry City
1988-1991	Shamrock Rovers
1992-1993	Limerick City	15	(0)
1993-1994	Omagh Town	1	(0)
Teams managed
1985-1987	Derry City
1988-1992	Shamrock Rovers
1992-19xx	Limerick
-	Finn Harps
2000-2010	Republic of Ireland (women)
2010-	Republic of Ireland U-21s
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Noel King (born 13 September 1956 in Dublin) is a former footballer and currently is the Republic of Ireland Under 21 manager having being appointed on 19 July 2010.

Playing career

During his career King played for Dundalk (two spells), Shamrock Rovers (three spells), Home Farm, Bohemians, Valenciennes, Derry City, and Limerick.

He was a substitute on Home Farm's FAI Cup winning side of 1975 as a teenager. He signed for Shamrock Rovers in 1977 from Dundalk playing 19 consecutive games and in 1978 he earned his Football Association coaching badge. He then went to Home Farm before linking up with Bohemians for two seasons, and then it was back to Dundalk. His second stint at Milltown saw him link up with Rovers manager Jim McLaughlin, this time as player/coach. His fiery style of play combined with his great coaching abilities won him two League and one FAI Cup medals with the now resurgent Hoops. He made 76 appearances in this second stint including two in the European Cup.

The call for a fresh challenge saw King move to French second division club Valenciennes where he played for the first team and coached their youths side. In November 1985 he left France to become player-manager at Derry. He had his contract terminated in November 1987.

Management career

Club

In July 1988 King was appointed manager of Shamrock Rovers, The club was in a mess after losing Glenmalure Park and Noel was quoted "I have the best job I have ever had in football. It's the biggest tradition, the biggest club, in the country. We don't have the size of Derry's support but we're a bigger club". He was sacked after three years in charge in December 1991 after guiding the club to the 1991 FAI Cup Final.

He then had three different spells at Limerick where he won the League Cup in 1992. In 2001, he replaced Dermot Keely who was on medical rest. He again worked with Shelbourne's management team in 2002, after coaching in the League of Ireland with Drogheda United. He also managed Finn Harps during their play-off battle with fierce local rivals Derry City in 2003.

International

King was appointed the manager of the Ireland Women's senior team in 2000. In 2009, the team missed out on qualification to the European Championships, losing in a play-off to Iceland. In 2010 under his guidance, the women's under-17 team finished runners up at the 2010 UEFA Championship and qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

After his success with the Irish women's squads, King was appointed the Head Coach of the Republic of Ireland under-21 side in July 2010. His first game in charge at Tallaght Stadium ended in a record win.

He was also part of the Republic of Ireland coaching staff, attending the 1990 World Cup as a team coach.

Honours

Player

• League of Ireland: 2
  • Shamrock Rovers 1984/85, 1985/86

• FAI Cup
  • Shamrock Rovers 1985

Manager

• League of Ireland First Division
  • Derry City 1986/87

• League of Ireland First Division Shield
  • Derry City 1985/86

• League of Ireland Cup
  • Limerick 1992

Sources

• The Hoops by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins (ISBN 0-7171-2121-6)
• The Four-in-a-Row Story by Robert Goggins