Simon Donnelly

For the member of the Irish Republican Army, see Simon Donnelly (Irish republican).
Simon Donnelly

Donnelly with York City in 2016
Personal information
Full name Simon Thomas Donnelly
Date of birth (1974-12-01) 1 December 1974
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 York City (assistant manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Queen's Park 0 (0)
1993–1999 Celtic 146 (30)
1999–2003 Sheffield Wednesday 53 (8)
2003–2004 St Johnstone 36 (8)
2004–2006 Dunfermline Athletic 39 (4)
2006–2013 Partick Thistle 153 (19)
National team
1994–1996 Scotland under-21[1] 11 (3)
1997–1998 Scotland 10 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2011.


Simon Thomas Donnelly (born 1 December 1974) is a Scottish professional footballer and coach. He was last the assistant manager at League Two club York City.

Club career

Donnelly, a wide-sided forward, started his career at Queen's Park but left in 1993 to join Celtic. Donnelly made his league debut towards the end of the 1993–94 season, appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against Hibernian.[2] Playing in the majority of matches from March onwards, Donnelly netted five league goals in 12 appearances. He failed to improve on this tally in the following season as he did not score in 17 outings, although he reached both domestic cup finals, being part of Celtic's Scottish Cup-winning side. In the 1995–96 season, Donnelly became a regular, missing only one league match and scoring six goals, and featured in the majority of the 1996–97 campaign.

The 1997–98 season saw Donnelly's best return of goals, scoring 10 goals in 30 league matches as Celtic won the Scottish Premier Division and Scottish League Cup. The following season, Donnelly netted five goals in 23 appearances in what was his final year at Celtic Park. In July 1999, Donnelly – along with Phil O'Donnell – joined Sheffield Wednesday on a Bosman free transfer.

Donnelly's time at Wednesday was interrupted by a series of injuries and he played only a dozen matches in the Premier League that season, scoring once as Wednesday were relegated. The following season, Donnelly featured in just three matches, although he played in 23 games in the 2001–02 season.[3] In his final season at Hillsborough, Donnelly scored two goals in fifteen league matches before being released.[4] Joining Coventry City on trial,[5] Donnelly instead returned to Scotland with St Johnstone, signing a one-year deal in August 2003.[6] Surprisingly, given his injury history, Donnelly featured in every league match, scoring eight goals before signing for Dunfermline Athletic in July.[7] During his time at East End Park, his injuries returned and he was released two years later having made fewer than forty league appearances.

He joined Partick Thistle in June 2006[8] and played regularly before his release in May 2009. After three seasons as a player at Thistle, Donnelly was initially released at the end of the 2008–09 season. In the pre-season of 2009, Donnelly made a substitute appearance for Greenock Morton in a friendly against Oxford United. However, following the departure of John Henry to Burnley, Donnelly rejoined The Jags as a player-coach, ironically scoring against Morton in a 2–0 win at Cappielow later that season.[9] In a similar pattern, Donnelly was then released at the end of the 2009–10 season but later re-signed on a one-year contract.[10]

International career

At end of the 1996/97 season Donnelly made his Scotland debut, making substitute appearances in the friendly matches against Wales and Malta. The following season Donnelly also featured regularly for Scotland, playing in a number of friendlies ahead of the 1998 World Cup, although Donnelly failed to make an appearance during the tournament. Donnelly won ten Scotland caps during his career, and played for Scotland under-21 before appearing for the senior side.

Coaching career

On 30 January 2013 he joined Dundee United as assistant manager, alongside manager Jackie McNamara. Donnelly left Dundee United in September 2015, following McNamara's departure.[11]

Donnelly was announced as York City's assistant manager two months later, following Jackie McNamara to Bootham Crescent.[12]

Career statistics

As of 7 June 2011[13]
Club Season CompetitionLeague Cup League Cup Other[note 1] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 1993–94 Scottish Premier Division 12 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 5
1994–95 Scottish Premier Division 17 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 19 0
1995–96 Scottish Premier Division 35 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 6
1996–97 Scottish Premier Division 29 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 32 4
1997–98 Scottish Premier Division 30 10 3 0 4 1 2 1 39 12
1998–99 Scottish Premier League 23 5 2 0 1 0 6 1 32 6
Total 146 30 8 0 7 1 8 2 169 33
Sheffield Wednesday 1999-00 FA Premier League 12 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 18 1
2000–01 Football League First Division 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
2001–02 Football League First Division 23 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 25 4
2002–03 Football League First Division 15 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 2
Total 53 8 3 0 6 0 0 0 62 8
St Johnstone 2003–04 Scottish First Division 36 8 1 0 4 2 2 1 43 11
Total 36 8 1 0 4 2 2 1 43 11
Dunfermline Athletic 2004–05 Scottish Premier League 21 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 23 3
2005–06 Scottish Premier League 13 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 1
Total 39 4 0 0 3 0 1 0 43 4
Partick Thistle 2006–07 Scottish First Division 24 4 1 0 2 0 1 0 28 4
2007–08 Scottish First Division 18 1 5 0 2 0 0 0 25 1
2008–09 Scottish First Division 31 1 2 0 3 0 2 1 38 2
2009–10 Scottish First Division 35 8 1 0 2 1 1 1 39 10
2010–11 Scottish First Division 14 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 17 0
Total 122 14 11 0 10 1 4 2 147 17
Career total 396 64 23 0 30 4 15 5 464 73

Honours

Celtic
1997–98
1994–95
1994–95
1997–98

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and Scottish Challenge Cup.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fitbastats.com/scotlandu21/player.php?playerid=243
  2. ↑ "Simon Donnelly". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "Simon Donnelly". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  4. ↑ "Turner wields the axe". BBC Sport. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "Coventry cool on trial duo". BBC Sport. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "Donnelly signs for Saints". BBC Sport. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Donnelly seals Pars move". BBC Sport. 14 July 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  8. ↑ "Donnelly makes switch to Thistle". BBC Sport. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  9. ↑ "Morton 0–2 Partick Thistle". BBC Sport. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Quartet sign on again at Firhill". BBC Sport. 2 July 2010.
  11. ↑ "Dundee United confirm Jackie McNamara exit as manager". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "York City appoint Jackie McNamara as manager after Russ Wilcox exit". The Guardian. The Guardian. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Simon Donnelly career statistics at Soccerbase

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