Conor Downey

Conor Downey (born 12 March 1982 in Belfast) is a professional footballer from Northern Ireland and plays for Donegal Celtic.

Conor Downey
Personal information
Full name Conor Downey
Date of birth (1982-03-12) 12 March 1982
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Centre midfield
Club information
Current team
 Donegal Celtic
Number 16
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
–2000 Carrick Rangers
2000–2003 Cliftonville
2003–2004 Lisburn Distillery
2004–2007 Cliftonville
2007–2008 Linfield
2008–2010 Cliftonville
2010–2011 Newry City 21 (1)
2011–2012 Ballymena United 21 (0)
2012– Donegal Celtic 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Downey played for Carrick Rangers before joining Cliftonville in 2000. In his first spell at the club he played largely as a striker, alongside Chris Scannell. He was allowed to leave the club to join Lisburn Distillery in March 2003 on a free transfer,[1] but returned in August 2004, reportedly only beating the transfer deadline by a matter of hours.

Upon his return to Solitude, manager Liam Beckett decided that to deploy Downey as a midfielder, and since then he has made the position his own. After a good season in 2005/06, helping Cliftonville to a 5th-placed finish, Downey attracted the interest of the likes of Glentoran and Portadown. He rejected their advances however, and opted to stay with the Reds. In January 2007 however, the BBC reported that Linfield and Derry City had made approaches for the player,[2][3] at the same time he was also linked with English sides Oldham Athletic and Peterborough United F.C. and Gretna F.C. from the Scottish First Division.[4]

Downey joined Linfield later that month[5] and his first game for the Blues was against Portadown F.C. on 20 January 2007.[6] Part of the deal taking him to Linfield was that Cliftonville would be allowed to use Linfield's Windsor Park ground for European games. This in turn enabled Cliftonville to obtain a UEFA licence in April 2007.[7] He quickly established himself in the Linfield side, earning a place in the Irish League side that beat the England semi-professional side in February 2007.[8] However, on 7 March 2007 he was ruled out for the rest of the season after a cruciate ligament injury picked up in the Setanta Cup game against Glentoran two days previously.[9]

Rejoined Cliftonville in September 2008.[10]

References
  1. Kelly out of cup semi-final. BBC News (2003-03-26). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  2. Reds' star Downey ponders future. BBC News (2007-01-08). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  3. Candystripes hope to land Downey. BBC News (2007-01-11). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  4. Oldham express interest in Downey. BBC News (2007-01-12). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  5. Downey joins champions Linfield. BBC News (2007-01-19). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  6. Linfield 0–0 Portadown. BBC News (2007-01-20). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  7. Six clubs granted UEFA licences. BBC News (2007-04-21). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  8. Irish League 3–1 England National Game XI. BBC News (2007-02-13). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  9. Injured Downey faces long lay-off. BBC News (2007-03-07). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
  10. BBC SPORT | Football | Irish | Downey makes Cliftonville return. BBC News (2008-09-01). Retrieved on 2012-03-10.
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