Shay Given

Shay Given

Personal information
Full name	Séamus John James Given
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Manchester City
Number	1
Youth career
1991–1994	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1997	Blackburn Rovers	2	(0)
1995	→ Swindon Town (loan)	5	(0)
1996	→ Sunderland (loan)	17	(0)
1997–2009	Newcastle United	354	(0)
2009–	Manchester City	50	(0)
International career‡
1996–	Republic of Ireland	109	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:05, 24 April 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:20, 17 November 2010 (UTC+1)

Séamus John James "Shay" Given (born 20 April 1976 Lifford in County Donegal) is an Irish footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. After leaving Celtic in 1994 having been deemed surplus to requirements, Given was part of the Sunderland team who won the Football League First Division title in 1995–96, while on loan from Blackburn Rovers.

He was signed by Newcastle United in 1997, and it was there that he began competing to be a first-choice Premier League goalkeeper. Given was part of the teams who came runners-up in the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup campaigns, and was named in the Premier League Team of the Season for 2001–02 and 2005–06. He played in the Champions League and UEFA Cup with Newcastle, and was involved in the club's title challenge in 2001–02. Although he submitted a transfer request during the 2000–01 campaign after losing his position in the starting lineup, it was denied, and Given went on to regain his place. On 1 February 2009, Given transferred to Manchester City for £7 million on a four and a half-year-contract.

He gained his first international cap in 1996, and has since competed in every World Cup qualifying and European Championship qualifying campaign for his national team. He played in goal during every match for his country during the 2002 World Cup campaign, helping them to reach the knockout stages. With 106 national caps, Given is the Republic of Ireland's joint second most-capped player alongside Kevin Kilbane.

Club career

Early career

Given's footballing career began at local amateur side Lifford Celtic where he shot to notoriety for conceding 7 goals on his debut. He was propelled into the limelight when he played in the Football Association of Ireland's Junior Cup for Lifford Celtic in the semi-final in Dundalk. At the age of 14, Given's performances for the club attracted attention from Scottish side Celtic, the club he supports, and he was invited to train with their youth side during a pre-season tour of Ireland in 1991. Given signed for the club a year later, which was at the time managed by fellow Irishman Liam Brady. He spent two years at Celtic in the Scottish League, and despite being named to the substitutes bench for the Old Firm derby against Rangers on 1 January 1994, Given never made a first-team appearance.. His performances for the youth team did, however, bring him to the attention of Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish, and he signed for the English side on a free transfer in the summer of 1994.

Blackburn Rovers

The season after Given's arrival saw Blackburn win the Premier League title and Given was unable to oust first-choice goalkeeper and England international Tim Flowers from the team. He made two loan moves to Swindon Town. Given acted as understudy during his first spell at the Wiltshire club but helped them start their Championship winning Division Two campaign during the 1995–96 season. He played in five games for the Swindon before returning to Blackburn at the end of 1995. Given was sent on loan again in January 1996, this time to Division One side Sunderland. Given kept 12 clean sheets during his 17 games for the club, and formed part of the team who won promotion to the Premier League as champions. His performances on loan again caught the eye of Kenny Dalglish, who had recently been appointed manager of Newcastle United. Given signed for the North-East club in the summer of 1997 for a fee of £1.5 million.

Newcastle United

Given attempting to do the splits during a Newcastle match

Given was one of the first signings of then-newly appointed manager Dalglish. Given made his debut in Newcastle's 2–1 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 9 August 1997 and immediately established himself in the first team, beating fellow goalkeepers Pavel Srníček, Shaka Hislop and Steve Harper to the position. Newcastle advanced to the final of the FA Cup, and Given played the whole match as the team were defeated 2–0 by league champions Arsenal. The club also progressed to the final the following year, but Given was replaced by Steve Harper as Newcastle lost 2–0 in the final, this time to Manchester United.

In November 1997, Given conceived a strange goal against Coventry City, when after collecting a cross, he rolled the ball out in preparation to make a long clearance. However, he forgot that Coventry striker Dion Dublin is still behind him, and Dublin quickly took advantage of the situation by rolling the ball into the empty net. The coincidence of the goalscorer's name quickly led to the popular word game among football fans that Given "is the only Irishman who doesn't know where Dublin is" and the goal itself is still regularly featured on lists compiled of bizarre goals.

Given submitted a written transfer request in December 2000, after failing to regain his place in the first-team from Steve Harper after a thigh injury had ruled him out of a match against Leeds United. Manager Sir Bobby Robson stated at the time: "A lot of clubs have a very good goalkeeper and one who stands by. I think we have two keepers—and Harper is proving that—who can play in the Premiership". The club rejected Given's request, which was then withdrawn by the goalkeeper, who later stated that his "intention was simply to express [his] frustration at being left out of the team," and that he "never had any intention of actually leaving the club." An injury to Harper led to Given being recalled to the first team, and he kept his place for the rest of the season.

In the 2001–02 season, Given played in every Premier League match as Newcastle's previously unexpected title challenge ended in a fourth-place finish in the league. Given was selected in the PFA Team of the Year and Newcastle's league position meant that they would enter the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League the following season.

During the summer he competed in the 2002 World Cup, but could not prevent the Republic of Ireland being eliminated by Spain after a penalty shoot-out.

Given warming up for Newcastle in 2007

Given again found himself competing with Steve Harper during the following season. After a 5–0 qualifying round win, Newcastle progressed to the group stages of the Champions League. He played in the first three group matches, all of which Newcastle lost. Given found himself out of the team for the next two games, as Harper replaced him in goal. Given returned for the final group match against Feyenoord in the Netherlands, and Newcastle's 3–2 win meant that they qualified for the second round. Internazionale scored four times past Given as Newcastle lost 1–4 in their opening match in the second group stage. Newcastle conceded a further three times away to Barcelona, beat Bayer Leverkusen at home and in Germany, and drew with Inter at San Siro, however a 2–0 loss at home against Barcelona meant that the club finished third in their group and failed to qualify for the knockout stages. Given played every game in the second round. Given played all 38 league games for the club, as well as his 12 European appearances, as the team finished in third place in the Premier League, meaning the club would enter the Champions League qualifying round in 2003–04.

Having finished third in the league in May 2003, Given and Newcastle lost 4–3 on penalties to Partizan Belgrade early in the 2003–04 season, meaning that Newcastle failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League. The club instead qualified for the UEFA Cup, where they reached the semi-finals. A fifth-place finish in the league meant that the club qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup competition. Given played in every one of the club's league matches for a third successive season, as well as all 13 European games. The following year saw Graeme Souness replace Sir Bobby Robson as Newcastle manager after an early spell of poor form. Given overtook Alan Shearer as having played in the most European matches for the club on 16 September 2004 in a game against Bnei Sakhnin, and Given's 12 European and 3 FA Cup appearances helped Newcastle reach the UEFA Cup quarter-final and the FA Cup semi-final. Given missed two Premier League games as the club finished in 14th place.

Although the club entered the Intertoto Cup in 2005–06, a defeat by Spanish club Deportivo de La Coruña meant that they did not qualify for further European competition that season. Given played in all of the club's league matches as they finished in seventh position and he signed a new five-year contract with the club in the summer. His performances for Newcastle led to Given being named in the Premier League's Team of the Season. Given played in all of the club's FA Cup games as they reached the quarter-finals, and captained the team for three games during Alan Shearer's absence.

On 17 September 2006, Given suffered a one-centimeter tear in his bowel after a tackle by West Ham United striker Marlon Harewood. Doctors likened the injury to one more likely to happen in a car crash. Then-manager Glenn Roeder signed ex-Newcastle veteran Srníček as cover for Harper, and youth goalkeeper Tim Krul played a full match in Newcastle's 0–1 UEFA Cup win at Palermo on 2 November. Given returned on 18 November for Newcastle's 1–1 Premier League draw at Arsenal, and ended the season with 22 league appearances as the club finished in 13th place, and reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. Given did make his 400th appearance for the club during the season, however, in a New Year's Day match. Given's 2007–08 season was prematurely ended by injury in February when he had an occurrence of an old groin injury in the game with Manchester United.

The opening months of Newcastle's 2008–09 season were blighted by ownership and managerial turmoil, as well as numerous injury problems. This manifested itself on the pitch as the club struggled to direct itself clear of the relegation zone. On 2 January 2009, following the 5–1 defeat at home against Liverpool, the player's lawyer released a statement saying that his client was "considering his future" at Newcastle, and requested permission to talk to representatives of Manchester City on 28 January after the club made a bid of £5 million which was subsequently rejected. Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear had already stated that the club was "not interested at all in selling him", and described the amount on offer for Given as "insulting". However, on 30 January, it was reported that Newcastle had given permission for Given to enter talks with his suitors.. After a transfer fee initially reported to be around £8 million was agreed between the clubs, Given signed for Manchester City on 1 February, with the transfer window set to close the following day. The news was disappointing for Newcastle fans who felt that Given left the club in a poor situation with many thinking that had Given delayed his decision to leave until the summer then Newcastle would have subsequently survived relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship because Given was such a fantastic goal keeper who could have stopped many of the goals that the Toon conceded towards the end of the dreadful campaign. Although the fee for Given was expected to be around £8 million, in February 2009 Newcastle United Managing Director Derek Llambias revealed at a supporters panel meeting that Given had been sold for an initial £5.9 million. Given was 34 games away from breaking Newcastle United's appearance record held by Jimmy Lawrence.

Manchester City

On 1 February 2009, Given signed with Manchester City on a four-half-year-contract for £7 million. He was formally paraded as a Manchester City player on 5 February 2009, and was assigned squad number 37. In the subsequent press conference, he criticised Newcastle's management for not trying hard enough to keep him at the club. He also said that "By coming here I thought I could be at a club that is challenging for honours. I didn't want to finish my career regretting not taking up this offer." Given kept a clean sheet in a man of the match performance in his debut, a 1–0 win against Middlesbrough on 7 February. With Joe Hart leaving the club on loan, Given was given the squad number 1 for the 2009–2010 season. He made his 400th League appearance on 5 October 2009 against Aston Villa. On 5 December 2009 he made an outstanding penalty save from Frank Lampard to deny Chelsea an equalising goal. City went on to win 2–1. The same month, Daily Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter named Given as Premier League Goalkeeper of the Noughties. While team captain Kolo Touré was on international duty, Given was given the captain's armband by manager Roberto Mancini, who described the Donegal-born player as "one of the five best goalkeepers in the world". He dislocated his shoulder during a match against Arsenal on 24 April, ruling him out for the rest of the season. On 14 August 2010, Given was dropped from the Manchester City starting XI for their opening league game against Tottenham and replaced by Joe Hart. After Manchester City drew 0-0 with rivals Manchester United he was asked what the future held for him. He replied "I'm a huge Celtic Fan and always have been. I'm not saying anything yet but if Celtic want me then that's where I want to end up because they are a terrific club."

International career

Although he did not become a regular first team player for Blackburn Rovers, Given's performances while on loan at Swindon and Sunderland led to him being called up to the Republic of Ireland squad in 1996. He made his debut for the national team on 27 March 1996, in a game against Russia, and although Ireland failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup or Euro 2000, Given had established himself as first-choice goalkeeper by 2002, and played in all of his nation's games at the 2002 World Cup. With draws against Cameroon and Germany and a 3–0 win against Saudi Arabia, the team reached the second round of the competition. Meeting Spain in the knockout round, Ireland forced penalties with the score at 1–1 at the end of extra time. Three missed penalties for Ireland ended their participation in the tournament, and Spain progressed to the next round.

Given was part of the team for most of the World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign, however a draw with Switzerland meant Ireland failed to qualify for the finals of the competition in Germany. He equalled Packie Bonner's record of 80 caps against Slovakia on 28 March 2007, and is currently Ireland's second highest capped player and most capped goalkeeper, having played in 100 games for his country. Given obtained his 100th cap against Montenegro at Croke Park, Dublin on 14 October 2009 in a World Cup qualifying game. On 18 November 2009, the Republic of Ireland were controversially denied passage to the 2010 World Cup by France. Ireland were eliminated by a goal scored by William Gallas

On 2 March 2010, Given became the joint most capped player—along with Kevin Kilbane—for the Republic of Ireland, with 103 caps.

Personal life

Given married Jane Cunningham in Hexham, England, in a Catholic ceremony in 2001. The couple received a Papal Blessing from His Holiness Pope John Paul II, himself an amateur goalkeeper in his youth. They have two children: a boy, Shayne, born in 2004, and a girl, Sienna, born in 2007. In 2006 Given was awarded the Freedom of County Donegal in a ceremony in his home town, Lifford.

Given has also helped organize several successful 'Fashion Kicks' fundraising events, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. His mother died of cancer when he was five, so he has continually tried to raise money as it is an issue close to him.

Career statistics

Club

As of 28 March

Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1993–94||Celtic||Premier Division||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1994–95||Blackburn Rovers||Premier League||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0 |- |1995–96||Swindon Town||Second Division||5||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||5||0 |- |1995–96||Sunderland||First Division||17||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||17||0 |- |1996–97||Blackburn Rovers||rowspan="16"|Premier League||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||2||0 |- |1997–98||rowspan="12"|Newcastle United||24||0||4||0||0||0||6||0||34||0 |- |1998–99||31||0||6||0||2||0||1||0||40||0 |- |1999–2000||14||0||2||0||1||0||0||0||17||0 |- |2000–01||34||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||35||0 |- |2001–02||38||0||5||0||1||0||6||0||50||0 |- |2002–03||38||0||1||0||0||0||12||0||51||0 |- |2003–04||38||0||2||0||0||0||13||0||53||0 |- |2004–05||36||0||3||0||1||0||12||0||52||0 |- |2005–06||38||0||4||0||2||0||3||0||47||0 |- |2006–07||22||0||2||0||1||0||8||0||33||0 |- |2007–08||19||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||24||0 |- |rowspan="2"|2008–09||22||0||2||0||2||0||0||0||26||0 |- |rowspan="3"|Manchester City||15||0||0||0||0||0||6||0||21||0 |- |2009–10||35||0||3||0||6||0||0||0||44||0 |- |2010–11||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0 |- Template:Football player statistics 30||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 Template:Football player statistics 4423||0||37||0||20||0||67||0||547||0 Template:Football player statistics 5423||0||37||0||20||0||67||0||547||0 Template:Football player statistics end

National team

Template:Football player national team statistics |- |1996||8||0 |- |1997||6||0 |- |1998||6||0 |- |1999||3||0 |- |2000||3||0 |- |2001||10||0 |- |2002||11||0 |- |2003||8||0 |- |2004||11||0 |- |2005||8||0 |- |2006||4||0 |- |2007||7||0 |- |2008||6||0 |- |2009||11||0 |- |2010||7||0 |- !Total||109||0 |}

Honours

Sunderland

• Football League First Division: 1995–96

Newcastle United

• Premier League Team of the Season: 2001–02, 2005–06
• Intertoto Cup – Winner: 2006–07

External links

• Official site
• Shay Given at Soccerbase
• Official Profile Manchester City FC
• Profile ESPN Soccernet