SEAMUS COLEMAN: The story so far

THE Premier League is home to some of the best players in the world but there's a precocious talent emerging in the shape of Séamus Coleman.

Photo courtest of Kevin Finn

Five years ago nobody could have expected that the Donegal native would have gone from a local star to the nation’s brightest footballing prospect. Séamie's footballing career goes back to the small coastal town of Killybegs, where he played junior football with local side St. Catherine's. It didn't take long for his talents to earn him recognition. He was named the 2005 Senior Player of the Year for his local side at the age of 17. In 2006, St. Catherine's Killybegs lined up for a friendly with Sligo Rovers who were undergoing pre-season preparations at the time. During the match, manager Sean Connor noticed the young right back, and wasted no time in bringing him to his recently promoted side. Coleman spent much of the season in the youth team or amongst the substitutes until injuries to several first team players saw him fill in at right back against Drogheda United. Unfortunately, it would be a night to forget, as he managed to head the ball past his own goalkeeper, the final score being 3-2 to the men from Co. Louth.

The 2007 season saw Coleman feature more regularly. When current manager Paul Cook took over in April, Coleman soon hit the top form that we all know him for today. Skinning any defender that stood in his way, Coleman's atacking prowess became a major factor in Paul Cook enjoying a good first season in charge at The Showgrounds. 

2007 was also a breakthrough year on the international stage for Coleman. He, along with fellow defender Gavin Peers, were called up to the inaugural U-23 Republic of Ireland side by Pat Fenlon for a Group stage game with Slovakia. Both players played a part in the 2-0 victory, but it would prove to be a night to remember for Peers as he headed in a debut International goal. Bohemians' Killian Brennan also scored.

Photo from jonathanhill.ie

2008 proved to be a successful season for the Bit O' Red, as they claimed a Europa League spot thanks to finishing 4th place. Coleman's massive contribution was once again a major factor in Rovers' season. Coleman finally hit the back of the net (at the right end) on the 17th May, 2008, when he scored a superb solo effort against Bray Wanderers at the Showgrounds. He took the ball from his own half, before playing a 1-2 with Faz Kudozovic before hitting it over The Seagulls' goalkeeper Chris O' Connor. Kudozovic and Matthew Judge also scored on the night. You can see the goal in the video below:

This would prove to be his last season wearing the red and white of Sligo Rovers, as the club announced in January 2009 that they had accepted an offer from Premiership side, Everton for £60,000 plus add-ons. Former Sligo Rovers manager, Willie McStay, who led Sligo Rovers to an historic treble in 1994 recommended him to former team-mate David Moyes. Coleman's departure naturally disappointed supporters, but many felt it was the right time for him to move to further his bright and promising career. 

Coleman made an early jump from the reserves to the first team, but his debut ended in disappointed when the Toffee's lost 5-0 in the Europa League to Portuguese side Benfica. Coleman was filling in for the injured Leighton Baines on the night. 

It wasn't until December 2009 when Coleman first raised a few eyebrows in England. He came on in the 15th minute for the injured Joseph Yobo against Tottenham Hotspur and after he set up goals for Louis Saha and Tim Cahill, to help Everton fight back from a 2-0 deficit to pick up a deserved point. Coleman was also named Man of the Match in this game.

Loaned out to Blackpool in the January transfer window, Coleman was brought in by Ian Holloway to help his team to promotion from the Championship. Acquiring the services of Coleman proved beneficial to the Seasiders push for Premiership football, becoming a key figure for them. Coleman made 11 starts, as many as 7 assists and 1 goal in a 4-2 win over Scunthorpe. Most importantly, he helped Blackpool gain promotion to the Premiership via a play-off Final 3-2 victory over Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium.

In August, Coleman returned to Sligo for a friendly against his old team. Despite the lack of Premier League stars playing for the Toffees, most of the 4000 in attendance had come to see Coleman grace the pitch once again where his senior career began. Due to International duties, Coleman only played for 10 minutes, but was met with a resounding applause from all sections of the ground. The match ended 2-0 to Sligo Rovers, boyhood Everton supporter John Dillon and the recently returned Romauld Boco with the goals.

The team returned to Merseyside to prepare for the first game of the season. Coleman began to feature more regularly, and got his first goal in September in the Carling Cup against Brentford. As the season progressed, Moyes started using Coleman more on the right wing. This proved to be a wise move. Taking the defensive duties off Coleman allowed him the freedom to attack and it didn't take him long to become Everton's most influential player during the season, much of the successful attacks included him either supplying the killer pass or getting on the end of a ball to score.

His first Premiership goal came against Blackpool, the team where he spent the 2nd half of the previous season on loan. He snuck by his marker to run into the box before slotting it past Matt Gilks. Coleman has now gone and scored 5 goals throughout the season, and has been rumoured to be worth as much as £10 million and has recently signed a 4 and a half year contract.

The latest chapter in Seamus Coleman’s career was his recent, long awaited debut for the Republic of Ireland. Giovanni Trapattoni named him in his starting 11 for the opening Carling Nations Cup match against Wales, Coleman played for 60 minutes in the 3-0 victory over Gary Speed’s Welsh side.

Photo from Sportsfile.com

After making his debut, he spoke about how it was a dream come true to pull on the green jersey. “Yeah, it was fantastic, a dream come true to put on my jersey at last and get my first cap, it was great”. When also asked about Sligo Rovers, he spoke of his delight to hear that they had won the FAI Cup. “It was fantastic, I still support Sligo Rovers and see how they get on and that, and to see them win it was fantastic and hopefully they can push on again this year.”. In past few weeks, Rovers have received money through add-ons in his contract, and Coleman is happy to be still helping out the club in some way. “ Yeah its good, Sligo was very good to me, to helped me lot and for them to get a few quid is always nice.”.

Coleman gives his post match interview                                           

 
Photo courtesy of Donagh Corby

An exciting talent of the Premiership, who's career has moved so rapidly in a short space of time, one can’t help but feel there’s so much more to come from Coleman yet. He’ll certainly be one to watch for years to come in the Premiership and on the International stage.