Rory Delap
Updated: Wikipedia source
Rory John Delap (born 6 July 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he made 11 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team. Delap started his career at Carlisle United and impressed enough to earn a move to Premiership side Derby County in 1998. In 2001, Delap joined Southampton for a club record of £4 million. After spending five years on the south coast, he moved to Sunderland. Following a brief spell on Wearside, Delap was loaned to Stoke City in October 2006. In just his second match for Stoke, against his parent club Sunderland, Delap suffered a broken leg. Despite this, Delap signed a permanent contract for Stoke in January 2007. He went on to become a vital member of the squad and his long throw-ins helped Stoke gain promotion to the Premier League and consolidate their position in the league. After spending six seasons at Stoke, Delap had short spells with Barnsley and Burton Albion before retiring in December 2013. A midfielder by trade, he was renowned for his long throw-in ability. Between the touchlines, he was famed for his fitness and work rate, which gave him a valuable role in breaking up opposition play. Delap was a talented javelin thrower in his youth, and was touted to represent Ireland in the Olympics after his throw-ins shot to prominence following Stoke's promotion to the Premier League. After finishing his playing career, Delap returned to his former club Derby County where he began his coaching career. After coaching the club's under-18 team, he replaced Darren Wassall as the under-21 head coach in February 2016, winning the U21 Premier League 1 Division 2 title in his first season in charge.