Mark Delaney (footballer)

Mark Anthony Delaney (born 13 May 1976) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played for Carmarthen Town, Cardiff City and Aston Villa as a right back. He is also a former member of the Welsh national team, gaining 36 caps during his career. In doing so, he became the first player to progress from the Cymru Premier to the senior national side.[2]

Mark Delaney
Personal information
Full name Mark Anthony Delaney[1]
Date of birth (1976-05-13) 13 May 1976
Place of birth Haverfordwest, Wales
Position(s) Right Back
Youth career
–1994 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1998 Carmarthen Town 58 (3)
1998–1999 Cardiff City 28 (0)
1999–2007 Aston Villa 158 (2)
Total 244 (5)
International career
1999–2006 Wales 36 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2022 Aston Villa (academy coach)
2021 Aston Villa (stand-in)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Delaney was raised in Goodwick, Pembrokeshire by his parents Mike and Angelina. He is of Italian descent, with his maternal grandparents having moved to Wales after World War II.[3] He attended Ysgol Bro Gwaun (located in Fishguard). He is a fluent Welsh speaker.

Club career

As a youngster, Delaney played in the youth system at Manchester United but was released after he was deemed too small.[3] After playing for local amateur side Goodwick United,[4] Delaney joined League of Wales side Carmarthen Town in 1996, later becoming club captain at 20 years of age.[2] He was spotted by Cardiff City manager Frank Burrows and joined the club on 1 June 1998 on a free transfer. He made 40 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff, scoring once in the FA Cup against Chester City on 14 November 1998,[5] between his purchase and his sale to Aston Villa eight months later on 9 March 1999 for £500,000.[6] Delaney had been travelling to an away match with Cardiff against Brighton & Hove Albion when he was informed of the transfer by manager Frank Burrows on their arrival.[7]

Aston Villa

The day after his transfer was completed, Delaney's father drove him to Birmingham and he travelled with the first-team for their match against Derby County. One month later, Delaney was handed his Premier League debut by manager John Gregory, replacing Steve Stone in the final ten minutes of a 3–1 victory over Nottingham Forest on 24 April 1999.[7] He made just one further appearance for the club during the final matches of the 1998–99 season, during a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal. After a full pre-season with Villa, Gregory promoted Delaney to first choice right-back ahead of Steve Watson at the start of the following season. Delaney credits Gregory with improving his performances during his early career with Villa, Gregory singling out Delaney during his seventh appearance for the side, describing him as "playing like a tart" during the half-time team talk. Delaney went on to score the only goal of the game in the second half of the match as his side defeated Watford 1–0.[7]

During his first season at Villa Park, the club finished in sixth place in the league, reached the semi-final of the League Cup and the final of the FA Cup, Delaney playing the full match as Villa lost 1–0 to Chelsea.[7] He made 193 first appearances for Aston Villa in all competitions, with two goals coming against Watford on 24 August 1999 and Everton on 26 December 2005. He has also gained 36 international caps with the Wales national team.

Delaney's Aston Villa career was tempered with knee injuries, which he attributes to his willingness to fly into tackles as a youngster hoping to impress.[7] Delaney travelled to see noted American knee specialist Richard Steadman in an attempt to end the injuries,[8] but was informed by the surgeon that it was unlikely that Delaney would return to playing football following extensive surgery.[7] Delaney was out of contract at Aston Villa in summer 2007 and was hoping to impress Martin O'Neill enough to win a new contract.[9] However, on 15 August 2007, he announced his retirement from football due to the above injury problems.[10]

Coaching career

On 5 September 2007, Delaney stated he is hoping to go into coaching,[11] and in 2008, Delaney re-joined Aston Villa as a youth coach. In 2015, Delaney was named head coach of the Aston Villa F.C. Under-23s squad.[12]

On 8 January 2021, Aston Villa were forced to name a squad full of academy players for an FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Villa's Bodymoor Heath Training Ground. First team coach Dean Smith was unable to attend as he had to self-isolate, so Delaney acted as first team coach for that game.[13] Aston Villa lost the game 4–1, but were praised for the performance of their young, inexperienced side.[14]

On 20 May 2022, it was announced that Delaney had left Aston Villa, after 14 years at the club in various coaching roles.[15]

On 7 September 2023, Delaney was appointed lead professional development phase coach at Coventry City, who will take charge of the under 18s.

Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[nb 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Carmarthen Town 1996–97[16] League of Wales 242000000242
1997–98[16] 341000000341
Carmarthen Town total583000000583
Cardiff City 1998–99[5] Third Division 280512050401
Aston Villa 1998–99[17] Premier League 2000000020
1999–2000[18] 281503000361
2000–01[19] 190001010210
2001–02[20] 300001080390
2002–03[21] 120001040170
2003–04[22] 250005000300
2004–05[23] 300101000320
2005–06[24] 121301000161
2006–07[25] 0000000000
Aston Villa total1582901301301932
Career total 24451411501802916
  1. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Welsh Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Honours
Aston Villa

Individual

References
  1. "Mark Delaney". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. "Hall of Fame: Mark Delaney". S4C. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. "'Marco' knows when home town fans are watching". Wales Online. 18 October 2002. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  4. Terry Phillips (12 April 2013). "Mark Delaney backs former team for Premier League push". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive: Cardiff City F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData Publications. pp. 98–99. ISBN 1-899-46817-X.
  6. Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 49. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  7. Paul Brown. "The Big Interview: Delaney - Southgate thought I was a mascot!". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  8. "Delaney to see US knee specialist". BBC Sport. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  9. "Villa door left open for Delaney". BBC Sport. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  10. "Injury forces Delaney to retire". BBC Sport. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  11. "Delaney planning career as coach". BBC Sport. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  12. Cusack, Richard (8 January 2021). "Who is Mark Delaney? The Aston Villa stand-in coach for Liverpool FA Cup tie". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  13. Coleman, Tom (8 January 2021). "The unknown Aston Villa team forced to play Liverpool tonight with a rookie Welshman in charge amid huge Covid-19 outbreak". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  14. Wilson, Amie (9 January 2021). "Liverpool send classy message to Aston Villa youngsters after FA Cup tie". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  15. "Mark Delaney departs Academy". Aston Villa Football Club. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. "Mark Delaney". welsh-premier.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  17. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  18. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  19. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  20. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  21. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  22. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  23. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  24. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  25. "Games played by Mark Delaney in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  26. "Villa nourished by Angel delight". The Guardian. 22 August 2001. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  27. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1999). The 1999–2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-85291-607-7.
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