5'10"  11st.11lb.
b. Birmingham 28 February 1974
 

Debut  3 April 1999 (25y 34d) Final Game 18 November 2000 (26y 263d)
First Goal 13 August 1999 Final Goal 19 September 2000
CAREER: Cockshutt Hill Technology School;Derby County Jul'92[122+16-5];Blackburn Rovers Mar'99 (£3,300,000);Coventry City Dec'00 (£2,500,000)[46+1-4]; Everton Feb'02 (£1,950,000) [153+13-12]:Birmingham City May’08 (free)[44+4-2];Coventry City Jul’10 (free)[25];Monica Star '14.
INTERNATIONALS     Republic of Ireland 27 + 12 apps
’98 v Rus,Bel,Bel(s),Cze,Arg,Mex.’99 v Cro(s),Mlt(s),NIr,Mac.’00 v Yug(s),Cro,Mlt,Tur,Fin(s).
’01 v Fin(s).’02 v Cro,Cyp(s),Rus(s),Sau(s).’03 v Fin,Gre,Sco(s),Geo,Alb,Nor(s),Alb(s),Geo.’04 v Rus.’07 v Cze,SaM,SaM,Wal,Svk.’08 v Svk,Cze,Ger,Wal,Bra.
SQUAD NUMBER  15 Mar’99 - 6 Aug’99 - 23 Aug’00.
 

PL/FL   40 + 6 apps      10 gls   - 3 wdn                                               13 ns
FAC       4 apps               1 gl     - 2 wdn
FLC        4 apps               1 gl     - 1 wdn                                                 1 ns
Total   48 + 6 apps       12 gls   - 6 wdn   + 117m - 254m et 30m   14 ns
Penalty record T 9 Sc 8 M 1
Sent off  1

Of Irish extraction (his grandmother came from Dunmanway in County Cork) and raised in the tough Sheldon area of Birmingham he made a reputation at Derby as a hard working, tough tackling player who performed the predictable with strength and enthusiasm. His initial performances with the Rovers were not impressive (he was brought in to provide the bite that had been lacking since McKinlay was a regular) but the following season he became popular as one of the few bright spots in a dreadful season. He also became the club's first reliable penalty taker since Alan Shearer had left. After relegation he antagonised  the fans by demanding a transfer on the grounds that he belonged in the Premiership and there was a certain amount of satisfaction when his new club, Coventry, was relegated and Blackburn promoted. Ultimately Carsley was proved right because he did not remain outside the Premiership, Everton stepping in and took him to Merseyside where he displayed an ability to play wide right as well as centre midfield. A model professional, who successive managers believed in, raising a son who has Down's Syndrome appears to have focused him on the important issues in life and apart from leaving Blackburn he has never been involved in controversy or histrionics. After playing with Birmingham he played his final season back at Coventry after which he became their youth team coach. He left to join Sheffield United in the summer of 2013. He took over the development squad at Brentford in 2014 and in September 2015 was named as head coach to the first team after the dismissal of Dijkhuisen. He left in December but was appointed by the FA as a coach to the England age group teams. He then moved to Manchester City where he worked under Jason Wilcox, in charge of the Under 18s. In 2017 he left to take charge of the Birmingham City youth scheme, a position he was able to combine with working again of the FA. He recommenced playing in his forties  with Monica Star in the Birmingham Sunday League.