Liam Buckley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 April 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1979 | Shelbourne | 32 | (8) |
| 1979–1981 | Shamrock Rovers | 52 | (20) |
| 1981 |
Vancouver Whitecaps | 8 | (2) |
| 1981–1984 | Shamrock Rovers | 74 | (46) |
| 1984–1986 | K.S.V. Waregem | 25 | (5) |
| 1986–1987 | Racing de Santander | 35 | (5) |
| 1987–1989 | FC Montreux-Sports | ? | (5) |
| 1989–1992 | Shamrock Rovers | 13 | (1) |
| 1992–1997 | St Patrick's Athletic | 55 | (11) |
| 1997 | Sligo Rovers | 5 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Athlone Town | ? | (?) |
| International career | |||
| 1979–1984 | League of Ireland XI | 4 | (0) |
| 1981 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1984 | Republic of Ireland | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–1998 |
Athlone Town | ||
| 1998–1999 | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 2000–2002 |
Athlone Town | ||
| 2002–2004 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 2008–2010 | Sporting Fingal | ||
| 2012–2018 | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| 2018–2022 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 2023 | Cork City (sporting director) | ||
| 2023 | Cork City (interim) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Liam Buckley (born 14 April 1960), is an Irish former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made two appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Playing career
Buckley began his League of Ireland career with
On 30 April 1980 he represented the League of Ireland against Argentina at the River Plate Stadium where Diego Maradona scored in a 1–0 defeat.
Buckley played for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team in 1981.
Following a spell with
In April 1983 he played for the League of Ireland XI U21s against their Italian League counterparts who included Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in their team.[2]
The 1983–84 season ended in triumph as Rovers won their first League title in twenty years. Buckley had scored 13 League goals before he broke his collar-bone against Waterford at Milltown on 26 February. However, he returned to action less than six weeks later to score the winner in the FAI Cup semi final replay against Shelbourne.
He made five appearances in European competition for the Hoops.
Buckley was capped at full international level against Poland and in July was transferred to Belgian club K.S.V. Waregem (4451). While there he gained his second international cap against Mexico. With Waregem he reached the semi-finals of the 1985–86 UEFA Cup. He made 25 league appearances, scoring five goals.
He was transferred to Racing de Santander on loan for the 1986–87 season and made his debut at the Camp Nou on 30 August. It's a game he fondly remembers: "Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes were making their debut for FC Barcelona and there I was making my debut for Santander. There was a crowd of around ninety thousand and the atmosphere was tremendous and although they beat us 2–0 I think that occasion is the highlight of my career". He later moved to FC Montreux-Sports (November 1987–89) where he spent two seasons.
He came home and signed for Rovers again in 1989 but injuries prevented him from establishing a regular first team place. In his final season in the Hoops in 1991–92 he scored once in eleven appearances.
He then transferred to
Management career
Buckley guided Athlone to the FAI Cup semi final in 1998 in his first season as player-manager.
After guiding St. Pat's to the League in 1998 Pat Dolan stepped down after one game of the 1998/99 season and appointed Buckley as manager. Pats retained their league title but two bad defeats in Europe followed by indifferent domestic form saw Buckley sacked in December 1999.[3]
He then had another spell as Athlone's manager before being appointed Shamrock Rovers manager in April 2002.[4]
In his first season, he guided Rovers to the FAI Cup Final and 3rd spot thus ensuring European football again after the
Famous wins over
However Rovers form dropped alarmingly after the UEFA Intertoto Cup games and a seventh-place finish had the fans worried. In the 2004 season with practically a new team Rovers again struggled and Buckley was sacked in September 2004.[6]
[7] In 2008 Buckley took on the role of manager of
In January 2010 he was awarded the SWAI Personality of the Year.[10]
Buckley was appointed
In September 2018 Liam Buckley resigned from St.Patrick's Athletic after a 3–1 loss to Bohemians.
He took over as manager of Sligo Rovers in October 2018.[12] Buckley left the club by mutual consent on 22 May 2022 after securing qualification to European football in back to back seasons in his final 2 years at the club. In total he took charge of 118 games with the club.[13]
On 3 May 2023, Buckley was named as sporting director of Cork City, with his role focusing primarily on player recruitment, along with supporting management on all football related matters.[14] With manager Colin Healy stepping down on the same day as Buckley's appointment, he took interim charge of the club while the club searched for a new manager, while he ruled out himself taking up the position on a permanent basis.[15] On 28 September 2023, it was announced that Buckley would step back from the interim manager role in order to step back to his Sporting Director role, with Richie Holland taking over as manager on an interim basis.[16] On 24 November 2023, it was announced he had left his role as Sporting Director following the club's relegation to the League of Ireland First Division.[17]
Managerial statistics
Competitive games only – correct as of 28 September 2023.
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Athlone Town | 1997 | 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 1998 | December 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| Athlone Town | 2000 | 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| Shamrock Rovers | 25 April 2002 | 7 September 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | — |
| Sporting Fingal | January 2008 | 9 February 2011 | 133 | 70 | 36 | 27 | 169 | 110 | +59 | 52.63 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2 December 2011 | 25 September 2018 | 319 | 160 | 60 | 99 | 511 | 355 | +156 | 50.16 |
| Sligo Rovers | 26 October 2018 | 22 May 2022 | 118 | 44 | 28 | 46 | 145 | 137 | +8 | 37.29 |
| Cork City (interim) | 3 May 2023 | 28 September 2023 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 34 | −8 | 36.36 |
Honours
As a player
- League of Ireland: 2
- Shamrock Rovers – 1983–84
- 1995–96
- Leinster Senior Cup
- Shamrock Rovers – 1982
- Dublin City Cup
- Shamrock Rovers – 1983–84
- Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year: 2
- Shamrock Rovers – 1981–82, 1982–83
As a manager
- League of Ireland Premier Division: 2
- FAI Cup: 2
- Sporting Fingal – 2009
- St Patrick's Athletic – 2014
- League of Ireland Cup: 2
- FAI President's Cup: 1
- 2014
- Leinster Senior Cup: 1
- 2014
- SWAI Personality of the Year: 2
- 2009
- St Patrick's Athletic – 2013
- Phillips Sports Manager of the Month: 1
References
- ^ "Irish Times – 11 March 1983 – Page 3". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Irish Times – 1 December 1983 – Page 3". The Irish Times.
- ^ "St. Pat's sack Buckley and Tracey managerial team". RTÉ. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ "Buckley named as Shamrock Rovers manager". The Irish Times. 4 April 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ "European Record 1957 to Date". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ "Buckley and Rovers part company". RTÉ. 7 September 2004. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ Buckley, Liam. "Liam Buckley resigns from St Patrick's Athletic". buzz.ie. buzz.ie sport. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Bray Wanderers 2–2 Sporting Fingal". RTÉ Sport. 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ "O'Neill dreams come to a head". The Herald. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ "Home". 25 October 2013.
- ^ "Saints Appoint New Manager".
- ^ Liam, Buckley. "St Patrick's Athletic have parted company with manager Liam Buckley". buzz.ie. Buzz.iesport. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Sligo Rovers announce departure of manager Liam Buckley".
- ^ "Liam Buckley Appointed Sporting Director – Cork City Football Club".
- ^ "Liam Buckley will manage City on Friday but rules out permanent touchline role". 4 May 2023.
- ^ "Richie Holland Takes Charge of First Team". Cork City FC Shop.
- ^ "Tim Clancy appointed as Cork City manager while Liam Buckley departs sporting director role". Independent.ie. 24 November 2023.