Steven Blaney (footballer)

Steven Blaney
Personal information
Full name Steven David Blaney[1]
Date of birth (1977-03-24) 24 March 1977
Place of birth Orsett, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
1996–1997 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 West Ham United 0 (0)
1998 Brentford 5 (0)
1998–1999 St Albans City 0 (0)
1999–2001 Billericay Town 0 (0)
1999Heybridge Swifts (loan) 0 (0)
2000Grays Athletic (loan) 0 (0)
2001 St Albans City 16 (4)
2001 Aveley 0 (0)
2001St Albans City (loan) 3 (1)
2001–2002 Braintree Town 7 (0)
2002–2003 Harlow Town 0 (0)
2003–2004 East Thurrock United 0 (0)
2004–2005 Nerja 0 (0)
2005–2006 Barking & East Ham United 0 (0)
2006 Redbridge 2 (0)
National team
England Schools' U15 0 (0)
1996 Wales U21 3 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Steven David Blaney (born 24 March 1977 in Orsett, England) is a retired English professional football defender. He began his career in the academy at Premier League side West Ham United and made his professional debut whilst with Brentford in 1998. Upon his release from West Ham United, Blaney embarked on a career in Non-League football and is now a tutor and coach at Harlow College. He represented Wales U21 at international level.[1]

Career

West Ham United

Blaney was discovered by Frank Lampard while playing for his district team and entered the academy at West Ham United.[2] Blaney began his career as a right back and signed a professional contract in July 1995, but he left the Hammers in March 1998, having failed to win a call into a first team squad.[3]

Brentford

Blaney joined Division Two side Brentford on 27 March 1998, on a contract until the end of the 1997–98 season.[3] Blaney made his professional debut in a 2–2 draw at Wrexham on 4 April 1998, replacing Glenn Cockerill on 61 minutes.[4] He made his first start in the following game, a 2–1 win at Blackpool and played the full 90 minutes.[4] Blaney started the relegation crunch match versus Bristol Rovers on the final day of the season and was brought off after 23 minutes for Kevin Dennis.[4] A 2–1 defeat saw the Bees suffer relegation to Division Three.[5] Blaney made five appearances for Brentford and scored no goals.[4]

Non-league football

Blaney made one appearance for Isthmian League Premier Division side St Albans City early in the 1998–99 season, scoring in a 6–2 Herts Charity Cup second round win over Berkhamsted Town on 6 August 1998.[6] Blaney signed a three-year contract with Isthmian League Premier Division side Billericay Town in November 1998, having made appearances for the club on non-contract terms.[7] He was loaned out to fellow Premier Division sides Heybridge Swifts and Grays Athletic during his time with the club.[8][9] Blaney returned to St Albans City in early 2001 and made 17 appearances during the second half of the 2000–01 season, scoring four goals.[10] He departed the club in the summer of 2001 and joined Isthmian League Division Three side Aveley.[11] Blaney rejoined St Albans City for a third time on a one-month loan in September 2001, making four appearances and scoring one goal.[12][13] He made 22 appearances and scored six goals across his three spells with the Saints.[14]

Blaney signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side Braintree Town in December 2001 and made seven league appearances before dropping down a division to sign for Harlow Town in March 2002.[15][16][17] Blaney dropped down another division to sign for East Thurrock United in September 2003.[17] In 2004, Blaney moved to Spain to play for Regional Preferente de Málaga side Nerja.[18][19] Blaney's Spanish dream ended in January 2005, when he returned to England to sign for Southern League Division One East outfit Barking & East Ham United.[20] He was released in April 2005,[21] but signed again for the 2005–06 season. After defeat in the end-of-season-playoffs, Blaney signed for Isthmian League Division One North side Redbridge in the summer of 2006.[22] He made only five appearances for the club, the last of which coming in a 3–1 defeat to AFC Hornchurch on 19 September 2006.[23]

International career

Blaney represented England Schools' U15 and played in the same side as Danny Murphy, Phil Neville, Michael Black, David Beresford and Neil Cutler.[24] In 1996, Blaney changed his national allegiance and received a call up to the Wales U21 team for a 1998 European U21 Championship qualifier at home to San Marino on 30 August 1996.[25] He played the full 90 minutes of the 4–0 win. Blaney played the full 90 minutes in a creditable 1–0 away with over the Netherlands in another qualifier on 8 November.[26] Blaney's final appearance came in a 3–0 defeat to Turkey on 13 December.[27] He was brought off after 63 minutes for Aled Rowlands.

Coaching career

Blaney is a UEFA 'B' licence holder.[28] He is a football coach and a Senior Tutor in Sport at Harlow College.[24][28] Together with former Cambridge United trainee Matt Waldron, Blaney led the Harlow College Academy team to the Essex County Council League title in the 2010/11 season.[24] Blaney also coaches at a Player Development Centre in Harlow for Norwich City[28] and is an academy coach and scout for West Ham United.[29][30] He has also been on the staff for the Pathways Plus Academy and Eurotech Soccer Camps.[29][30]

Personal life

Blaney has a Sports Coaching/Education degree.[30]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Steven David Blaney". 11v11.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  2. "theyflysohigh". Theyflysohigh.piczo.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-04. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 429. ISBN 9781906796723.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Steven Blaney | Football Stats | No Club | Season 1997/1998 | 1996–2011". Soccer Base. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  5. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  6. "Statistics: St Albans City [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". Sacfc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  7. "Older News". Reocities.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  8. "Soccer: North Essex non-league preview (From Gazette)". Gazette-news.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  9. "Steve Blaney (Barking & East Ham United) – Tottenham Hotspur FC – SpursMAD". Tottenhamhotspur-mad.co.uk. 24 March 1977. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  10. "Statistics: St Albans City [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". Sacfc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  11. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. 20 September 2001. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  12. "Statistics: St Albans City [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". Sacfc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  13. "Statistics: St Albans City [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". Sacfc.co.uk. 22 September 2001. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  14. "Statistics: St Albans City [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". Sacfc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  15. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. 21 December 2001. Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  16. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". Soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  17. 1 2 "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. 24 March 1977. Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  18. "C.D. Nerja Senior :: Fútbol de Andalucía ::". Lapreferente.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  19. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  20. Untitled Document
  21. Terry Gilbert. "Past News l April 2005". Barking-fc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  22. "NonLeagueDaily.com". Oldnonleaguedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  23. "ZoomInfo Cached Page". Zoominfo.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 [http://web.archive.org/web/20100701191232/"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  25. "Wales v San Marino, 30 August 1996 – 11v11 match report". 11v11.com. 30 August 1996. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  26. "Netherlands v Wales, 08 November 1996 – 11v11 match report". 11v11.com. 8 November 1996. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  27. "Wales v Turkey, 13 December 1996 – 11v11 match report". 11v11.com. 13 December 1996. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  28. 1 2 3 "Canaries build new nest in Harlow | Harlow Sport | Sports News | Fixtures, Results, Scores & Players". Harlow Star. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  29. 1 2 "Pathways Plus Football Academy". Pathways-plus.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  30. 1 2 3 "Eurotech Camps". Eurotechsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.