 Delap playing for Stoke City in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rory John Delap | ||
| Date of birth | 6 July 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Sutton Coldfield, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Carlisle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1998 | Carlisle United | 65 | (7) |
| 1998–2001 | Derby County | 103 | (11) |
| 2001–2006 | Southampton | 132 | (5) |
| 2006–2007 | Sunderland | 12 | (1) |
| 2006 | → Stoke City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2007–2013 | Stoke City | 178 | (8) |
| 2013 | → Barnsley (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2013 | Burton Albion | 6 | (1) |
| Total | 504 | (33) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–1998 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 6 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Republic of Ireland | 11 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Derby County U18s | ||
| 2016–2018 | Derby County U21s | ||
| 2019 | Stoke City (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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 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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
- ^ Stoke 2–1 Arsenal Ian Hughes, BBC Sport Online, 1 November 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008 (includes video interview discussing his long throw-in).
- ^ Gilmour, Rod (13 November 2008). "Rory Delap dismisses javelin suggestions for London 2012". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ "Delap: 'U21s Thoroughly Deserve Their Promotion'". Derby County F.C. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.