James McNulty (footballer)
Encyclopedia
James "Jimmy" McNulty is an English footballer who plays for Barnsley
. McNulty is a versatile defender
, who prefers to play in the left-back position.
, Merseyside
, McNulty had trials at both Liverpool
and Everton
as a schoolboy before choosing to join the latter's academy set-up. McNulty then signed for Wrexham after being released. After several years at Wrexham, he became their reserve team captain. However, he made only one senior appearance for the team as a substitute for Steve Roberts against Stockport County
in the Football League Trophy
on 5 November 2003; Wrexham lost the game in a 5–4 defeat. In February and March 2004, after leaving Wrexham, McNulty spent five matches at Bangor City
in the League of Wales
. He joined another League of Wales side, Caernarfon Town
, in summer 2004. He made 63 appearances for the club over two seasons, scoring twice, whilst also reaching the position of captain.
In July 2006 McNulty signed for League Two
club Macclesfield Town
. On 21 November his first goal for the club sealed a 1–0 win in a FA Cup
1st Round replay against Walsall
at the Bescot Stadium
. On 29 November it was announced that McNulty had broken his leg and would be out of action for several months.
On 2 January 2008 McNulty signed an eighteen month contract with fellow League Two side Stockport County
, after rejecting a new contract at Macclesfield. McNulty scored his first Stockport goal at Leyton Orient
on 13 September. He played as a central defender for Stockport as they won promotion with a 3-2 play-off victory over Rochdale
at Wembley
.
During the January 2009 transfer window, McNulty attracted attention as Stockport looked to bring in money to solve financial difficulties. Stockport accepted an undisclosed offer from Brighton & Hove Albion, allowing McNulty to open contract negotiations with the club, however he refused the opportunity on 22 January, explaining that he did not wish to move to Brighton. On 31 January he was pulled out of the matchday squad for Stockport's game against Hereford after being given permission to talk to an unnamed team.
On 2 February, it was revealed that McNulty had a change of heart and agreed to join Brighton & Hove Albion
, signing a 3-and-a-half year contract.
McNulty ruptured a kidney
during Brighton's
4-0 home defeat to Crewe Alexandra
on 28 February 2009, and the injury ruled him out of action for the foreseeable future. On 23 March, it was announced that McNulty had an operation to remove his right kidney
and that he would be ruled out of action for approximately six months. McNulty made his first appearance for Brighton since suffering the horrendous injury in a 2–0 pre-season friendly victory at Scunthorpe United
, coming on as a second-half substitute. McNulty made his competitive comeback for Brighton during the 1–0 defeat at Leyton Orient
in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy
competition on 6 October 2009. After making another 10 competitive appearances since his horrific injury, the last being in the 3–2 defeat to Aston Villa
in the FA Cup
during January 2010, McNulty was allowed to join Championship
side Scunthorpe United
on an initial one-month loan to furthermore help his comeback to professional football by manager Gus Poyet. During his short spell at Glanford Park
, McNulty made 3 appearances for the Iron before returning to Brighton at the conclusion of the Championship season
.
During July 2010, he re-signed for Scunthorpe on a further six months' loan deal, however after suffering an ankle injury requiring surgery, McNulty returned to Brighton on 5 December 2010.
On 24 June 2011, McNulty signed for Championship
side Barnsley
on a two year contract.
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
. McNulty is a versatile defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, who prefers to play in the left-back position.
Career
Born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, McNulty had trials at both Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
as a schoolboy before choosing to join the latter's academy set-up. McNulty then signed for Wrexham after being released. After several years at Wrexham, he became their reserve team captain. However, he made only one senior appearance for the team as a substitute for Steve Roberts against Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
on 5 November 2003; Wrexham lost the game in a 5–4 defeat. In February and March 2004, after leaving Wrexham, McNulty spent five matches at Bangor City
Bangor City F.C.
Bangor City Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992....
in the League of Wales
League of Wales
The Welsh Premier League is the national football league for Wales. It has both Professional and Semi-Professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 2002, the league was known as the League of Wales, but changed its name as part of a sponsorship deal...
. He joined another League of Wales side, Caernarfon Town
Caernarfon Town F.C.
Caernarfon Town F.C. is a football team, playing in the Cymru Alliance. The club ia nicknamed The Canaries because of its yellow and green strip. Caernarfon Town plays at The Oval, Caernarfon, Gwynedd.-History:...
, in summer 2004. He made 63 appearances for the club over two seasons, scoring twice, whilst also reaching the position of captain.
In July 2006 McNulty signed for League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...
. On 21 November his first goal for the club sealed a 1–0 win in a FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
1st Round replay against Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
at the Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
. On 29 November it was announced that McNulty had broken his leg and would be out of action for several months.
On 2 January 2008 McNulty signed an eighteen month contract with fellow League Two side Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
, after rejecting a new contract at Macclesfield. McNulty scored his first Stockport goal at Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
on 13 September. He played as a central defender for Stockport as they won promotion with a 3-2 play-off victory over Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
.
During the January 2009 transfer window, McNulty attracted attention as Stockport looked to bring in money to solve financial difficulties. Stockport accepted an undisclosed offer from Brighton & Hove Albion, allowing McNulty to open contract negotiations with the club, however he refused the opportunity on 22 January, explaining that he did not wish to move to Brighton. On 31 January he was pulled out of the matchday squad for Stockport's game against Hereford after being given permission to talk to an unnamed team.
On 2 February, it was revealed that McNulty had a change of heart and agreed to join Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
, signing a 3-and-a-half year contract.
McNulty ruptured a kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
during Brighton's
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
4-0 home defeat to Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
on 28 February 2009, and the injury ruled him out of action for the foreseeable future. On 23 March, it was announced that McNulty had an operation to remove his right kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
and that he would be ruled out of action for approximately six months. McNulty made his first appearance for Brighton since suffering the horrendous injury in a 2–0 pre-season friendly victory at Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
, coming on as a second-half substitute. McNulty made his competitive comeback for Brighton during the 1–0 defeat at Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
competition on 6 October 2009. After making another 10 competitive appearances since his horrific injury, the last being in the 3–2 defeat to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
during January 2010, McNulty was allowed to join Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
on an initial one-month loan to furthermore help his comeback to professional football by manager Gus Poyet. During his short spell at Glanford Park
Glanford Park
Glanford Park is a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and the current home of Scunthorpe United. It is the smallest stadium by capacity in the Championship ....
, McNulty made 3 appearances for the Iron before returning to Brighton at the conclusion of the Championship season
2009–10 Football League Championship
The Football League Championship season 2009–10 is the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format...
.
During July 2010, he re-signed for Scunthorpe on a further six months' loan deal, however after suffering an ankle injury requiring surgery, McNulty returned to Brighton on 5 December 2010.
On 24 June 2011, McNulty signed for Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
on a two year contract.