Graham Coughlan

Personal information
Full name	Graham Coughlan
Date of birth	18 November 1974 (1974-11-18) (age 35)
Place of birth	Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Shrewsbury Town
Number	5
Youth career
1993–1994	Cherry Orchard
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1995	Bray Wanderers	11	(0)
1995–1999	Blackburn Rovers	0	(0)
1997	→ Swindon Town (loan)	3	(0)
1999	→ Livingston (loan)	6	(0)
1999–2001	Livingston	50	(2)
2001–2005	Plymouth Argyle	177	(25)
2005–2007	Sheffield Wednesday	51	(5)
2007	→ Burnley (loan)	2	(0)
2007–2008	Rotherham United	45	(1)
2008–	Shrewsbury Town	62	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:00, 12 December 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Graham Coughlan (born 18 November 1974 in Dublin, County Dublin), is an Irish footballer who currently plays as a defender for Shrewsbury Town. His previous clubs include Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday. He is training to become a manager after he has retired from playing and was in charge of Shrewsbury's reserve side which beat Sheffield United 5-0.

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 Plymouth Argyle 1.2 Sheffield Wednesday 1.3 Rotherham United 1.4 Shrewsbury Town 2 Career statistics 2.1 As a player 3 Footballing honours 3.1 As a player 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Playing career

Coughlan started his playing career at Leinster Senior League side Cherry Orchard, he then briefly moved to Football League of Ireland club Bray Wanderers. At 21 he was brought to England by then Blackburn Rovers manager Ray Harford but struggled to earn a place in the Premier League Champions' first team. Loan spells at Swindon Town and Livingston followed before he made a permanent move to the Scottish club in the Summer of 1999 having impressed whilst on loan there.

Coughlan spent two successful seasons at Livingston before moving back to England to Devon club Plymouth Argyle.

[edit] Plymouth Argyle

A highly successful four year spell at the club followed with Graham a permanent fixture, earning his name in the PFA Division Three team of the year for 2001–02 [2] and Plymouth Division Three (where he was top goalscorer) and Division Two League Championships (Where he was named as Division Two's Player of the year). Coughlan was voted the clubs player of the year in 2002 and was also named in the greatest Plymouth Team by fans to mark the clubs first 100 years as a professional club. Coughlan was also Vice Captain of Plymouth and his influence and stature was missed for nearly two seasons in their defence after he was sold to Sheffield Wednesday which they then managed to fill with Krisztián Timár.

[edit] Sheffield Wednesday

In the summer of 2005 he was reunited with former manager Paul Sturrock when he moved back up North to newly-promoted Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee[3]. During his first season at the club Graham has proved to be a hit with the fans and management alike, earning a regular place in the team and also taking over the role of captain from Lee Bullen whilst the Scot's injury problems had regularly kept him out of the team.

On 12 April 2006 Coughlan was named Sheffield Wednesday Player of the Year 2005/06. It was the fifth time Graham has won such an award, having previously being named Player of the Year twice at Livingston and twice at Plymouth.

[4]. However, Coughlan was sent on immediate compassionate leave for the next 5 games. On his return he asked to be sent on loan after failing to feature for the first team under new boss Brian Laws. He immediately managed to agree a deal to stay at Burnley until the end of the season. Burnley bolster backline However he only started one game, the 0-0 draw with Luton Town.

After returning to Sheffield Wednesday he was told by manager Brian Laws that he had no future at the club and was made available for transfer.

[edit] Rotherham United

On 4 July 2007, Coughlan was released by Sheffield Wednesday after being deemed surplus to requirements. After rejecting a deal with Leeds United, Coughlan then signed for Rotherham United on 13 July 13.^[1] He made his debut on 11 August in a 0–0 draw with Hereford United, and was almost ever-present throughout the 2007-08 season.

[edit] Shrewsbury Town

On 30 July 2008, Coughlan signed a two-year contract with Shrewsbury for £130,000.^[2] He scored a goal on his debut, in the 4–0 win over Macclesfield Town on 9 August.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] As a player

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bray Wanderers
	1994–95	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Blackburn Rovers
	1995–96	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1996–97	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swindon Town
	1997–98	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Livingston
	1998–99	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	1999–00	29	0	2	0	2	0	1	0	34	0
	2000–01	21	2	0	0	2	0	4	0	27	2
	Total	56	2	2	0	4	0	5	0	67	2
Plymouth Argyle
	2001–02	46	11	4	0	1	0	1	0	52	11
	2002–03	42	5	4	0	1	0	0	0	47	5
	2003–04	46	7	1	0	1	0	1	1	49	8
	2004–05	43	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	45	2
	Total	177	25	10	0	4	0	2	1	193	26
Sheffield Wednesday
	2005–06	33	4	1	0	2	1	0	0	36	5
	2006–07	18	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
	Total	51	5	3	0	2	1	0	0	56	6
Burnley
	2006–07	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Rotherham United
	2007–08	45	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	49	1
	Total	45	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	49	1
Shrewsbury Town
	2008–09	42	4	1	0	1	0	6	1	50	5
	2009–10	20	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	23	1
	Total	62	5	2	0	2	0	7	1	73	6
Career Total		407	37	19	0	13	1	15	2	454	40

Updated to games played as of 12th December, 2009.^[3]

[edit] Footballing honours

[edit] As a player

Livingston

• Scottish First Division
  • Winner (1): 2000–01

Plymouth Argyle

• Football League Third Division
  • Winner (1): 2001–02
• Football League Second Division
  • Winner (1): 2003–04
• Player of the Year
  • Winner (1): 2001–02
• PFA Third Division Team of the Year
  • Winner (1): 2001–02
• PFA Second Division Player of the Year
  • Winner (1): 2003–04
• PFA Second Division Team of the Year
  • Winner (1): 2003–04

Sheffield Wednesday

• Player of the Year
  • Winner (1): 2005–06

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Graham Coughlan career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Shrewsbury Town F.C. – current squad 1 Garner · 2 Holden · 4 Jackson · 5 Coughlan · 6 Dunfield · 7 Disley · 8 Langmead · 9 Hibbert · 10 Rıza · 11 Robinson · 12 Elder · 14 Bright · 15 Murray · 18 Leslie · 19 Hooman · 20 Gray · 21 Simpson · 22 Arestidou · 23 L. Neal · 24 Sherriff · 26 Devitt · 27 Fairhurst · 28 McIntyre · 30 C. Neal · 31 Richards · 32 D. Taylor · 33 J. Taylor · – Button · Manager: Simpson