Pat Fenlon facts for kids
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Fenlon in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Fenlon | ||
| Date of birth | 15 March 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bohemians (Director of Football) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tolka Rovers | |||
| Home Farm | |||
| Lourdes Celtic | |||
| Rivermount FC | |||
| 1984–1987 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1987–1991 | St Patrick's Athletic | 84 | (24) |
| 1991–1994 | Bohemians | 88 | (29) |
| 1994–1996 | Linfield | 62 | (18) |
| 1996–1997 | Shamrock Rovers | 31 | (4) |
| 1997–2003 | Shelbourne | 153 | (27) |
| Total | 418 | (102) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988–1992 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 1992 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2002–2006 | Shelbourne | ||
| 2007 | Derry City | ||
| 2007–2008 | Republic of Ireland U23 | ||
| 2008–2011 | Bohemians | ||
| 2011–2013 | Hibernian | ||
| 2014–2016 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 2017–2018 | Waterford (Director of Football) | ||
| 2018–2023 | Linfield (General Manager) | ||
| 2023– | Bohemians (Director of Football) | ||
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Patrick Fenlon (born 15 March 1969) is an Irish football coach and former player. He is known for his successful career both on the field and as a manager.
Fenlon played as a midfielder for several well-known clubs. These included St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Linfield, Shamrock Rovers, and Shelbourne. As a manager, he led his teams to win five League of Ireland titles. These wins were with Shelbourne and Bohemians between 2003 and 2009. During his time with Bohemians, Fenlon also won the FAI Cup in 2008. He also secured the League of Ireland Cup in 2009 and the Setanta Sports Cup in 2010. Fenlon later moved to the Scottish club Hibernian in November 2011. He helped them reach two Scottish Cup Finals.
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Pat Fenlon's Playing Career
Fenlon was born in Dublin, Ireland. He started playing football as a schoolboy with four local clubs. Later, he joined the London club Chelsea as a young trainee. He played as a midfielder.
He returned home and signed with Brian Kerr's St Patrick's Athletic in 1987. Fenlon made his first League of Ireland appearance on 13 September 1987. This match was against Shelbourne at Harold's Cross Stadium.
Fenlon helped St Pats win the League of Ireland championship in the 1989–90 season. In September 1990, he scored a goal against Dinamo Bucharest in the European Cup. After four seasons with St Pats, he joined Bohemians in the summer of 1991. He scored 29 goals in 88 games for Bohemians. He also won the FAI Cup in 1992 and was named PFAI Player of the Year. In February 1992, Fenlon scored for the Republic of Ireland in a 'B' international match against Denmark.
In January 1994, Fenlon signed with Linfield. This was a notable move as he became the first Catholic from Dublin to join the club. Linfield is mainly supported by fans from Belfast's Protestant community. Fenlon won two Irish Cups and one Irish Premier League championship with Linfield. His goal against Glentoran on the final day of the 1993–94 season secured the title for Linfield. He also scored a goal in the 2–0 win against Bangor in the Irish Cup Final a week later.
In June 1996, he joined another Dublin club, Shamrock Rovers. After one season, he moved to Shelbourne. While playing for Shelbourne, he suffered a serious shin injury in a match in February 1999. He recovered and helped Shelbourne win both the league and cup the following season. He also earned his second PFAI Player of the Year award. Fenlon scored the winning goal for Shelbourne in the 1999/00 FAI Cup final replay, beating Bohemians 1–0.
Pat Fenlon's Management Career
Leading Shelbourne to Success
Fenlon began his management career as a player-manager for Shelbourne in 2002. In his first season, he led the club to second place. By 2003, Fenlon stopped playing to focus only on managing the team. This decision quickly paid off. He guided Shelbourne to win back-to-back league titles in 2003 and 2004.
In 2004, Fenlon also led his team through the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League. They beat teams like KR Reykjavík from Iceland and Hajduk Split from Croatia. They reached the third and final qualifying round, where they played against the Spanish team Deportivo la Coruña. Although they didn't advance further, this was a great achievement for an Irish club. After this impressive run, Fenlon received a contract extension. He was the first manager to reach this stage of the competition with an Irish club.
The 2005 season had high hopes for Fenlon and Shelbourne. However, they finished in a disappointing third place. In 2006, success returned. Fenlon guided the club to their third league title in four years. They won on 17 November 2006, with a 2–1 victory over rivals Bohemians. Shelbourne claimed the title based on goal difference.
Time at Derry City
After his success at Shelbourne, Fenlon was linked to Derry City. He resigned from Shelbourne on 5 December 2006 and joined Derry City. In January 2007, Fenlon received the 'Personality of the Year' award for his achievements in 2006. However, his time at Derry City was short. He resigned after just five months. Fenlon also managed the Republic of Ireland under-23 national team for a short period.
Returning to Bohemians
On 22 December 2007, Fenlon was appointed manager of Bohemians. Within a year, in 2008, he led Bohemians to win both the League of Ireland and the FAI Cup. They won the league by a record 19 points. In 2009, he won the league again with Bohemians, beating Shamrock Rovers by four points. Bohemians also won the League of Ireland Cup that year. In 2010, Bohemians won the Setanta Sports Cup.
Managing Hibernian
Fenlon became the manager of Hibernian in Scotland in November 2011. Hibernian was struggling in the Scottish Premier League at the time. Fenlon's first game was abandoned at half-time due to a floodlight fire.
Hibs earned only one point from Fenlon's first five matches. On 14 January 2012, they won their first league game under Fenlon. To improve the team, Fenlon made changes to the squad in January 2012. The team's performance improved, and they started to avoid relegation. A late goal also led Fenlon's side to the 2012 Scottish Cup Final. Hibs secured their safety in the league. However, they lost the Scottish Cup Final 5–1 to their rivals Hearts.
The 2012–13 season started with many new players. Hibs performed well in the first half of the season, even reaching the top of the league. After a dip in form, they finished 7th in Fenlon's first full season. Hibs also reached a second consecutive Scottish Cup final. They lost this final 3–0 to Celtic.
The 2013–14 season began with a tough defeat to Malmö in the Europa League qualifying round. Fenlon apologized to the fans for the results. Despite some good league results, Fenlon faced pressure after a League Cup loss. He resigned on 1 November 2013.
Later Roles
Fenlon was appointed manager of Shamrock Rovers in August 2014.
On 2 January 2017, Fenlon took on a Director of Football role at Waterford. He had worked with Alan Reynolds, the new Head Coach, before at Shelbourne. Waterford achieved promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division under their leadership. Fenlon left Waterford in February 2018 to work as a consultant.
In November 2018, Fenlon was appointed as a general manager for Linfield.
In January 2023, Fenlon returned to Bohemians as their Director of Football.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Shelbourne |  |
26 April 2002 | 5 December 2006 | 135 | 76 | 38 | 21 | 56.30 | |
| Derry City | |
8 December 2006 | 22 May 2007 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36.36 | |
| Republic of Ireland U23 | |
15 October 2007 | 22 October 2008 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67 | |
| Bohemians | |
22 December 2007 | 25 November 2011 | 174 | 106 | 35 | 33 | 60.92 | |
| Hibernian |  |
25 November 2011 | 1 November 2013 | 87 | 31 | 19 | 37 | 35.63 | |
| Shamrock Rovers | |
6 August 2014 | 3 July 2016 | 69 | 36 | 19 | 14 | 52.17 | |
| Total | 478 | 254 | 114 | 110 | 53.14 | ||||
- 1.Includes only league record.
Honours and Awards
As a Player
- St Patrick's Athletic
- League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 1989–90
- Bohemians
- FAI Cup (1): 1991–92
- Leinster Senior Cup (1): 1993
- Linfield
- Irish League (1): 1993–94
- Irish Cup (2): 1993–94, 1994–95
- Shamrock Rovers
- Leinster Senior Cup (1): 1997
- Shelbourne
- League of Ireland Premier Division (2): 1999–00, 2001–02
- FAI Cup (1): 1999–00
As a Manager
- Shelbourne
- League of Ireland Premier Division (3): 2003, 2004, 2006
- Bohemians
- League of Ireland Premier Division (2): 2008, 2009
- FAI Cup (1): 2008
- Setanta Sports Cup (1): 2009–10
- League of Ireland Cup (1): 2009
- Hibernian
- Scottish Cup
- Runners-up (2): 2011–12, 2012–13
Individual Awards
- PFAI Players' Player of the Year (2): 1991–92, 1999–2000
- SWAI Personality of the Year (2): 2004, 2006
