Joe Gormley (footballer)

Joseph Anthony Gormley (born 26 November 1989) is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays for Cliftonville in the NIFL Premiership. Gormley played for amateur side Crumlin Star, before making the move to Cliftonville. On 14 June 2015, Gormley made the transition to professional football, signing for Football League One side Peterborough United. After suffering a serious knee injury, Gormley moved on loan to Scottish club St Johnstone in August 2016. After becoming "disillusioned" with professional football, Gormley cancelled his contracts with Peterborough and St Johnstone. After much speculation, it was announced in January 2017 that Gormley would rejoin Cliftonville for the 2017/18 season.

Joe Gormley

Personal information
Full name	Joe Anthony Gormley[1]
Date of birth	(1989-11-26) 26 November 1989
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Cliftonville
Number	19
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2009	Cliftonville	4	(0)
2009–2011	Crumlin Star
2011–2015	Cliftonville	133	(85)
2015–2016	Peterborough United	5	(0)
2016	→ St Johnstone (loan)	1	(0)
2017–	Cliftonville	104	(63)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:17, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Gormley began his career at Cliftonville, making four appearances before being released in 2009. He joined Crumlin Star, where he scored 61 goals in the 2010–11 season before re-joining Cliftonville in 2011.[2]

Cliftonville

He was top goalscorer in Northern Ireland in 2013–14, when he became the first player in the club's history to score over 30 goals in two separate seasons, and was named as Ulster Footballer of the Year and Northern Ireland Football Writers' Player of the Year for 2013–14.[2][3][4] He holds the club record for most goals scored in a domestic season in a Cliftonville shirt, amounting 41 in the season of 2014–15; breaking his own previous record of 37 goals the season before.

Peterborough United

On 14 June 2015, it was confirmed that Peterborough United had signed Gormley on a three-year deal, and he would officially join the club on 1 July 2015.[5]

On 25 September 2015 he was sidelined for the rest of the season by a serious knee injury. Gormley was loaned to Scottish club St Johnstone in August 2016.[6] After two months with St Johnstone, Gormley became "disillusioned with football" and decided to return to his native Northern Ireland.[7] Gormley, Peterborough and St Johnstone applied to FIFA for permission to cancel his contracts outside the normal transfer windows.[7]

Career statistics

Correct as of 28th January 2020.[8]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cliftonville	2007–08	Irish Premier League	0	0					–				0	0
	2008–09	IFA Premiership	4	0					–				4	0
	2011–12		30	10	1	0	3	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	2	39	12
	2012–13		30	17	4	3	4	6	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	41	26
	2013–14	NIFL Premiership	36	27	2	2	4	6	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	2[lower-alpha 4]	0	46	35
	2014–15		37	31	2	2	3	6	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	4[lower-alpha 5]	1	47	40
Peterborough United	2015–16	EFL League One	4	0	0	0	2	0	–		0[lower-alpha 6]	0	6	0
	2016–17		1	0	0	0	0	0	–		0[lower-alpha 6]	0	1	0
St Johnstone (loan)	2016–17	Scottish Premiership	1	0	0	0	1	0	–		–		2	0
Cliftonville	2017–18	NIFL Premiership	37	23	4	6	3	0	–		4[lower-alpha 7]	4	46	35
	2018–19		37	23	0	0	2	2	2[lower-alpha 1]	1	4[lower-alpha 8]	4	45	30
	2019–20		26	16	1	1	3	3	4[lower-alpha 1]	1	4[lower-alpha 4]	2	38	23
	Cliftonville total		233	147	14	14	22	23	13	2	22	23	307	211
Career total			239	147	14	14	25	23	13	2	22	23	316	211

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in Setanta Sports Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in County Antrim Shield
5. 1 appearance in the NIFL Charity Shield & 3 appearances in County Antrim Shield
6. Appearances in EFL Trophy
7. 2 appearances, 2 goals in the Europa League Playoffs & 2 appearances, 2 goals in County Antrim Shield
8. 2 appearances, 2 goals in the Europa League Playoffs & 2 appearances, 2 goals in County Antrim Shield

Honours

Cliftonville

• NIFL Premiership (2): 2012–13, 2013–14
• Northern Ireland Football League Cup (3): 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• County Antrim Shield (3): 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20

Individual awards

• Ulster Footballer of the Year (1): 2013–14
• Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year (1): 2013–14

References

1. "Retained List 2015–16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
2. Joe Gormley up there with cream of the crop
3. Cliftonville FC Latest News: Reds are the write choice
4. Cliftonville striker Gormley wins writers player of year award
5. http://www.theposh.com/news/article/gormley-2492555.aspx
6. "Joe Gormley: St Johnstone sign Peterborough striker on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
7. "Joe Gormley: Peterborough United striker, on loan at St Johnstone, quits pro football". BBC Sport. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
8. "J.Gormley". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 December 2018.