Neal Eardley

Neal Eardley
With Birmingham City in 2013 pre-season
Personal information
Full name Neal James Eardley[1]
Date of birth (1988-11-06) 6 November 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth Llandudno, Wales
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
Blackpool (U-18s coach)
Youth career
Oldham Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Oldham Athletic 113 (10)
2009–2013 Blackpool 104 (2)
2013–2016 Birmingham City 14 (0)
2015–2016Leyton Orient (loan) 1 (0)
2016–2017 Hibernian 2 (0)
2017 Northampton Town 10 (0)
2017–2020 Lincoln City 122 (3)
2020–2021 Burton Albion 10 (0)
2021Barrow (loan) 19 (0)
2021–2022 Connah's Quay Nomads 19 (1)
Total 414 (16)
International career
2003–2004 Wales U17 3 (0)
2005 Wales U19 1 (0)
2006–2010 Wales U21 10 (1)
2007–2011 Wales 16 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Neal James Eardley (born 6 November 1988) is a Welsh former international footballer who last played for Cymru Premier champions Connah's Quay Nomads. He represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before winning the first of his 16 senior caps in August 2007. Eardley is now a coach for former club Blackpool.[3]

He began his career at Oldham Athletic, and made his first team debut in May 2006. He turned professional four months later and quickly became a regular first team player before he was named in the 2008–09 League One PFA Team of the Year. He was signed by Blackpool in August 2009 for a reported fee of £350,000. Blackpool were promoted out of the Championship via the play-offs in 2010, and he played 31 Premier League matches in their 2010–11 relegation campaign. He spent a further two seasons at Blackpool, before he moved on to Birmingham City in July 2013. He struggled with injuries throughout his three-year stay at Birmingham, playing just 21 matches, as well as one appearance on loan at Leyton Orient in January 2015. He joined Scottish club Hibernian on a short-term deal in September 2016, and then returned to England to play for Northampton Town in January 2017. He signed a short-term contract with Lincoln City in August 2017. On 4 August 2020, Eardley signed for League One Burton Albion. He was released at the end of the 2020–21 season.

  1. ^ "Neal Eardley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference OAFC bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ FC, Blackpool. "Neal Eardley Appointed Professional Development Phase Coach". Blackpool FC. Retrieved 6 November 2022.