Tag: Roy Keane

Respected Rosenior a dedicated student of the game

LIAM ROSENIOR is one of the most articulate footballers to pull on Brighton’s stripes.

He wasn’t a bad player, either, making nearly 450 appearances for seven clubs in a 17-year career, usually as a full-back.

The son of former Fulham, QPR and West Ham striker Leroy, Liam joined Albion in the summer of 2015, brought in as one of Chris Hughton’s first signings of that transfer window, and went on to make 51 appearances for the Seagulls.

Arguably his best days were behind him when Hughton signed him on a free transfer from Hull City, but he quickly endeared himself to the Albion faithful, bringing his top-level experience to a squad looking to rise to the Premier League and appreciated for his passion, best demonstrated by his chin-up gesture as the Seagulls came close but narrowly missed out on promotion.

A year later, Rosenior was part of the Albion squad which celebrated the club’s promotion to the Premier League.

Rosenior could talk a good game as well as play it so it was no surprise he was in demand as a football pundit on TV and radio, and in the final year of his playing career he wrote a weekly column for The Guardian. His views on the politics of the game and wider issues – such as racial abuse – have been sought by many news outlets.

Rosenior flanked by Darren Bent and Keith Andrews, both of whom also played for the Albion

As a student of the game, he didn’t waste time in getting his coaching badges and, when his playing career at Brighton came to a close in 2018, he was appointed to assist under 23s coach Simon Rusk, although he’d already been involved on an informal basis.

Hughton told the Argus: “Liam has played a huge part in our achievements over these few seasons. Unfortunately, over that time, he’s had a couple of injuries that kept him out for periods but at this moment he is in good shape.

“His value has not only been on the pitch but also off the pitch. He has also made a small contribution to the success of the under-23s. Because he wants eventually to be a coach and a manager, he’s had an involvement with them. That has been great for them and for us as a club.”

It seemed only a matter of time before he would step up to first team management but, in 2019, just such an opportunity was presented first by Derby County, and he left to become part of the small group supporting Phillip Cocu.

Rosenior’s contribution to the Seagulls was recognised in glowing terms by chairman Tony Bloom, who thanked him for “his superb service and consummate professionalism as both player and coach” and remarked: “Liam has become a firm favourite here at the club since he joined us from Hull City.

“He played a crucial role in our promotion to the Premier League and was an important part of the squad during our first-ever season at that level.”

Bloom continued: “Liam has made no secret of his desire to coach at first-team level, and so, while we are very sorry to see Liam leave the club, we fully understand the opportunity which is available to him and the reasoning behind why he has chosen to join Derby County.”

Rosenior told the Derby Telegraph: “I have always wanted to coach, and coach at the highest level.

“I gained my pro-licence when I had just turned 32. It is something I have always been interested in and something I have always done,” he said.

“My dad was a manager and a coach. I used to go with him to games, and to training sessions, and I think that is why at a relatively young age in terms of coaching I have got quite a lot of experience.

“I was working with soccer schools when I was 11 years old, taking sessions.”

After becoming caretaker co-manager of Derby with Wayne Rooney last November, Rosenior explained in an extended interview with The Athletic’s Dominic Fifield how he always saw becoming a manager as his destiny.

 “I’d be with my dad while he prepared his team-talk, in the dressing-room as he delivered it, and in the dug-out during the game. You see old pictures of Brian Clough on the bench with his son, Nigel. Well, it was the same with me. I’d be shouting at the players from the sidelines when I was 10. It’s always been in my blood.”

As a child, he even drew a picture of himself on the touchline as a manager. “That’s why, to me, it feels like my calling, my goal in life. And not just to be a manager, but a successful manager.

“I’ve studied for 26 years to ensure I’m the best coach I can be, to understand people as well as I possibly can. If I was injured or out of the team at Hull or Brighton, I’d annoy the stewards by watching the game from the mouth of the tunnel so I could practise making snapshot decisions from the touchline.”

Rosenior declared: “I want to show that a young black coach — and I want to do it young — can be successful in a position of authority at the very highest level.”

On 15 January 2021, Rosenior was appointed as assistant manager when Rooney was confirmed as the new Derby boss.

Born in Wandsworth on 9 July 1984, Rosenior started out in the youth team at Bristol City (another of his dad’s former clubs) and became a professional in April 2002. In 19 months at City, he made only four starts but was a sub on 24 occasions.

The most memorable of those was when he entered the action at the 2003 Football League Trophy Final in the 62nd minute, with Danny Wilson’s City a goal to the good against Carlisle in front of a 50,000 crowd at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Rosenior scored a decisive second goal for the Robins in the 89th minute.

Premier League Fulham paid £55,000 to sign him in November 2003 but it was 10 months before he made his first team debut. Still only 19, he went on loan between March and May 2004 to Third Division Torquay United, a side his dad was managing, making nine starts plus one as a sub.

Rosenior’s first full season at Fulham was quite an eye-opener: an ignominious start under Chris Coleman saw him sent off on his debut (in a Carling Cup game against Boston United in September 2004), then awarded Sky Man of the Match when he made his league debut aged 20 in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United three months later. He also saw red in the last game of that season.

Rosenior made 86 appearances (plus five as a sub) for Fulham during his time there and despite signing a new four-year deal in 2006, moved on to Reading for £1.5m on August deadline day in 2007.

Rosenior signed a three-year contract with Steve Coppell’s Royals but in his final year he joined Ipswich Town on a season-long loan, making 28 starts plus three substitute appearances in what was Roy Keane’s first season in charge at Portman Road.

Released by Reading in the summer of 2010, Rosenior eventually linked up with Hull City where he spent five years, making the largest number of appearances (128 + 33 as sub) across his various different clubs.

They included starting in the 2014 FA Cup Final alongside former Albion loanee Paul McShane when Hull lost narrowly (3-2) to Arsenal at Wembley.

Rosenior in action in the 2014 FA Cup Final

At the end of the following season, after City had been relegated from the Premier League, Rosenior was one of six players let go by Steve Bruce (McShane and goalkeeper Steve Harper were also released).

His experience in winning promotion from the Championship with Hull in 2013 was seen as a key ingredient in Hughton’s decision to sign him.

In May 2020, Rosenior took on another responsibility when he was appointed tothe FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB), set up in 2013 to increase diversity within the game.

After parting company from Derby in September 2022, Rosenior was not out of work long because two months later he returned to Hull City as head coach.

He was in charge for 18 months and only narrrowly missed out on the Championship play-off places in 2024, but falling short cost him his job.

Once again, though, he was not unemployed for long. In July 2024, he was appointed head coach of French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, replacing the departing Patrick Vieira. At the end of his first season with Strasbourg, he steered them to UEFA Conference League qualification.

Among the young players in his side was Albion loanee Valentin Barco, who subsequently made the move permanent.

Halford’s timely role in helping Albion avoid the drop

TIME was of the essence when utility player Greg Halford agreed to make a temporary move to Brighton.

He penned a deal to join the Seagulls temporarily at Nottingham Forest’s training ground at 12.30pm and then got in his car to drive to Brighton for 6pm in time to be involved in the squad for that evening’s game at the Amex against Wigan Athletic.

It was 4 November 2014 and he was Sami Hyypia’s sixth loan signing – even though only five were eligible to play in any matchday squad (emergency loan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi only played one game).

Regular centre backs Gordon Greer and Lewis Dunk were perilously close to suspension and deputy Aaron Hughes was sidelined with an ankle injury, so Hyypia moved to bring in an experienced back-up.

Albion hadn’t registered a win in the previous 11 league matches but the 29-year-old Halford proved to be a lucky charm as the side finally reacquainted themselves with the taste of victory. Fellow loanee Gary Gardner got the only goal of the game and Halford made an appearance off the bench towards the end of the game.

“I wasn’t really expecting to get any game time. I thought I’d just be in and around the lads, to get a feel for how everything works,” he told the club programme. “But I’m glad I got a few minutes at the end.”

Halford explained how he’d agreed to join the Seagulls because he’d been frozen out at Forest after Stuart Pearce took over as manager.

The player said he was familiar with the south coast having previously played for Portsmouth.

Asked what he could bring to the side, he added: “I can add a bit of height, I can score goals and obviously I can defend, which is my main attribute. I’m here to help the team and manager in any way I can.”

It wasn’t long before he was helping out a different manager as the side’s run of poor form brought a premature end to Hyypia’s brief time in charge.

Halford, though, hung around at the Amex, his loan extended by Hyypia’s successor, Chris Hughton, and he had made 14 starts and five substitute appearances by the season’s end, when the Seagulls narrowly escaped the drop back to the third tier.

Born on 8 December 1984 in Chelmsford, Essex, Halford began his professional career at nearby Colchester United. I well remember a Chelmsford-based work colleague telling me about this talented young footballer who’d been head and shoulders the best player in a local schoolboy football team his son had played for.

That player was Halford, who progressed from Colchester’s youth team and made his first team debut in April 2003. Loan spells at non-league Aylesbury Town and Braintree Town were part of his development, but he eventually made his mark at Colchester and was named in the PFA League One team of the year in 2005-06.

Played mainly at right-back, Halford’s speciality was his ability to deliver searching long throws which led to a good proportion of goals for Colchester.

After playing more than 150 games in five years for the Us, Halford wanted to prove himself at the highest level. He got a move to Premier League Reading in January 2007 but he couldn’t make the breakthrough there and ended up switching to Sunderland, signed by Roy Keane.

Just six months later, Sunderland made him available on loan and he joined Championship side Charlton until the end of the season. Then he spent the whole of the 2008-09 season on loan to Sheffield United, featuring in 49 of their 56 games that season.

His personal highlight was scoring the only goal of the game as United beat Preston to reach the 2008-09 play-off final.

Unfortunately, United lost the final 1-0 to Burnley, and that summer Halford was on the move again, this time to newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers. Although he featured in 20 games, a regular starting berth eluded him and, in October 2010, he joined Championship side Portsmouth. Initially on loan, he eventually joined Pompey on a permanent basis but relegation to the third tier brought with it the need to trim budgets and in July 2012, they offloaded Halford to Nottingham Forest.

GH ForestUnder Billy Davies, Halford was generally deployed as a striker but when Pearce took over at the City Ground, he didn’t get close to the first team. On his return from Brighton at the end of the 2014-15 season, he was released by Forest and joined Rotherham United on a free transfer.

Manager Steve Evans appointed him captain but, after a winless run of five games, he was deposed and only played one more game for the Millers before joining Birmingham City on loan.

GH CardThat spell was also brief and although he returned to Rotherham and played 15 games for them in the 2016-17 season, he then joined Cardiff City and made 33 appearances in two seasons for Neil Warnock’s side.

Without a club for six months, in February 2019, he joined Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen as defensive cover but only made two appearances.

Cup Final was highlight for Irish rookie Gary Howlett

HowlettGARY HOWLETT is probably the least well remembered player of Brighton’s 1983 FA Cup Final side.

There were plenty of other characters, goalscorers and headline makers to detract from the contribution of a quiet lad from Dublin who almost sneaked into the side under the radar.

That Wembley appearance was only his 11th senior appearance in the Albion first team. Can you imagine?

And as the history books now tell us, he actually only made 26 more appearances for the Seagulls before being transferred to Bournemouth.

Born in Dublin on 2 April 1963, Howlett’s football career began at the famous Dublin-based Home Farm club, which produced dozens of footballers who went on to make names for themselves in England and Ireland; players like Paddy Mulligan, Mick Martin and Ronnie Whelan.

Howlett followed suit and had Manchester United and Coventry City keen to sign him. He chose Coventry because manager Gordon Milne made him feel more welcome. Unfortunately, just when he thought he had the chance of a first team breakthrough, Milne was sacked and his replacement Dave Sexton let him go as part of a cost-cutting measure that saw a dozen players leave the club.

In May 1982, he was back home in Dublin watching the FA Cup Final between Spurs and QPR on TV. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine just a year later he would be playing in what was then a showpiece occasion watched by a worldwide audience.

Coventry’s youth team manager, John Sillett, had tipped off Mike Bailey about Howlett’s availability and the Albion took him on. Howlett was soon involved in first team training and believed he was on the verge of making the team away at Coventry, of all places, in early December 1982. But Bailey was sacked and it wasn’t until the beginning of March that Howlett finally made the step up.

He was a non-playing substitute for successive away games against Swansea City and West Ham and then, on 22 March 1983, newly-appointed manager Jimmy Melia gave him his first start, at home to Liverpool. And what a debut! The youngster scored as the Seagulls held the league leaders to a 2-2 draw.

With fellow Irishman Gerry Ryan sidelined by injury, Howlett kept his place in the team for a couple more games, sat out two, and then returned to the starting line-up.

Because Ryan was not 100 per cent fit, it was Howlett who got the nod for the FA Cup semi final match against Sheffield Wednesday. He then retained his place for the remaining six league games before being picked for the Cup Final itself.

That momentous match on 23 May 1983 was only 13 minutes old when the young Dubliner made a telling contribution to the game.

It was his chipped diagonal pass over Manchester United centre back Kevin Moran that found Gordon Smith, who arched a header past Gary Bailey to put the Seagulls in dreamland.

Howlett told the press after the match: “I saw Gordon at the back of the goal and just dipped it over Moran.

“I was dying to do something good out there and when the goal came I couldn’t believe it.”

Howlett told the Argus he wasn’t overawed by the occasion but had felt nervous when the national anthem was played.

“Until then all the lads were laughing and joking. It was a great atmosphere beforehand – very relaxed,” he said.

With Albion snatching a replay, Howlett, aged just 20, got to play on the hallowed turf a second time five days later, thus getting the sort of opportunity that eludes the vast majority of players throughout their entire careers.

He was subbed off on 74 minutes (Ryan replacing him) but the game was dead and buried by then anyway.

For Gary Stevens, that Cup Final was the stepping stone to a glittering career. Unfortunately for Howlett, it was the pinnacle and his career never subsequently reached such heights.

Interestingly, in a matchday programme interview with Spencer Vignes in 2004, Howlett reflected that he should have worked harder to ensure he built on that early success.

“Gary Stevens was only a year older than me. After the cup final, he knuckled down and said ‘I want more of this’. I just thought it was going to happen naturally. I didn’t realise I was going to have to work at it.

“That’s the difference between the likes of me and the real pros, people like Roy Keane. Nothing will get in their way.”

Only five years after those two appearances at Wembley, Howlett was turning out in front of 2,500 crowds at York City’s Bootham Crescent.

There had been one brief bright spot, though, and that came when he represented his country.

On 3 June 1984, he earned a full international cap as a 55th minute substitute in a 1-0 win against China.

That Republic of Ireland team also included Brighton teammates Tony Grealish and Ryan. Mick McCarthy was in central defence and the side was captained by Frank Stapleton.

In the season leading up to that, Howlett managed just 17 appearances, plus two as sub, and in the first part of the 1984-85 season he appeared just six times.

In December 1984, Melia’s replacement, Chris Cattlin, sold Howlett for £15,000 to the then Division 3 Bournemouth, where Harry Redknapp was the manager.

Among his teammates at Dean Court were future multi-club manager Tony Pulis and the much-travelled striker Steve Claridge.

Howlett spent four years with the Cherries, making 60 appearances, although he said he was never the same player after damaging his knee ligaments. In his final year, he was sent out on loan to Aldershot and Chester City. At Aldershot, former Seagull Michael Ring was among his temporary teammates.

Howlett at Aldershot

In January 1988, he made a permanent move to York City, and in three years playing in Division Four with the Minstermen, Howlett played a total of 119 games and contributed 13 goals.

He left them in 1991 and went back to Ireland to play for Shelbourne. He also played for Crusaders and was on the coaching staff of Bohemian FC.

Howlett spent nine seasons as manager of Drumcondra in the Leinster Senior League, before switching to their rivals Killester United in 2016.

1 howlett2 howlett prog cover3 Howlett cooks by Tony Norman4 howlett now

  • Pictures show Gary Howlett’s entry in the Cup Final programme, on a matchday programme cover, Tony Norman’s shot of him cooking at home and a screen grab of him following a recent managerial appointment. Also, a montage of other headlines and action pictures.