Michael O'Neill
| Date of birth | 05 July 1969 |
| Place of birth | Portadown |
| Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Weight | 72 kg |
| Height | 1.80 m |
| Position | Midfielder |
Signed for a record fee from a Northern Ireland club as a teenager, Michael was almost inevitably dubbed the new George Best. His tricky play brought an initial favourable response but was soon hit by injury and illness.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coleraine | 01 Jul 1984 | 23 Oct 1987 | |
| Newcastle United | 23 Oct 1987 | 15 Aug 1989 | |
| Dundee United | 15 Aug 1989 | 20 Aug 1993 | |
| Hibernian | 20 Aug 1993 | 26 Jul 1996 | |
| Coventry City | 26 Jul 1996 | 18 Sep 1998 | |
| Aberdeen | 04 Jan 1998 | 26 Feb 1998 | L |
| Reading | 02 Mar 1998 | 04 May 1998 | L |
| Wigan Athletic | 18 Sep 1998 | 17 Aug 2000 | |
| St Johnstone | 17 Aug 2000 | 01 May 2001 | |
| St Johnstone | 18 Aug 2000 | 16 Sep 2000 | T |
| Portland Timbers | 02 May 2001 | 04 Oct 2001 | |
| Clydebank | 16 Nov 2001 | 31 May 2002 | |
| Glentoran | 01 Jul 2002 | 30 Jun 2004 | |
| Ayr United | 01 Jul 2004 | 31 May 2005 |
Club stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | Newcastle United | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 1987-88 | Newcastle United | League Division One | 19 | 2 |
12 |
||
| 1988-89 | Newcastle United | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 1988-89 | Newcastle United | League Cup | 2 | ||||
| 1988-89 | Newcastle United | League Division One | 17 | 10 |
3 |
||
| 1996-97 | Coventry City | Premier League | 1 | ||||
| 1997-98 | Coventry City | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1997-98 | Coventry City | Premier League | 2 | 2 |
|||
| 1998-99 | Wigan Athletic | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1999-00 | Wigan Athletic | League Cup | 4 |
1
|
|||
| 2000-01 | St Johnstone | Scottish FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | St Johnstone | Scottish League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | St Johnstone | Scottish Premier League | 7 | 3 |
1
|
||
| 2001-02 | Clydebank | Scottish Division 2 | 13 | 3 |
1
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | Northern Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1987-88 | Northern Ireland | International Friendly | 3 | ||||
| 1988-89 | Northern Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | 3 |
1 |
||
| 1988-89 | Northern Ireland | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 1988-89 | Northern Ireland | Under-23 | 1 | ||||
| 1989-90 | Northern Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 1990-91 | Northern Ireland | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 1991-92 | Northern Ireland | International Friendly | 2 |
||||
| 1991-92 | Northern Ireland | UEFA European Championship | 1 |
||||
| 1992-93 | Northern Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 5 | 1 |
|||
| 1993-94 | Northern Ireland | B International | 1 | ||||
| 1993-94 | Northern Ireland | UEFA European Championship | 1 |
||||
| 1993-94 | Northern Ireland | Under-21 | 1 | ||||
| 1994-95 | Northern Ireland | UEFA European Championship | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 1995-96 | Northern Ireland | International Friendly | 2 | ||||
| 1995-96 | Northern Ireland | UEFA European Championship | 2 | 3 |
|||
| 1996-97 | Northern Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 2 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1988 | Greece v Northern Ireland | L | 3-2 | International Friendly | |
| 23 Mar 1988 | Northern Ireland v Poland | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 27 Apr 1988 | Northern Ireland v France | D | 0-0 | International Friendly | |
| 21 May 1988 | Northern Ireland v Malta | W | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 14 Sep 1988 | Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 19 Oct 1988 | Hungary v Northern Ireland | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 21 Dec 1988 | Spain v Northern Ireland | L | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 08 Feb 1989 | Northern Ireland v Spain | L | 0-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 11 Apr 1989 | Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland | L | 3-0 | U23 | |
| 26 Apr 1989 | Malta v Northern Ireland | W | 0-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 26 May 1989 | Northern Ireland v Chile | L | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Sep 1989 | Northern Ireland v Hungary | L | 1-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 11 Oct 1989 | Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland | L | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 6 |
| 05 Feb 1991 | Northern Ireland v Poland | W | 3-1 | International Friendly | |
| 11 Sep 1991 | Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland | W | 0-5 | UEFA European Championship | Group 4 |
| 19 Feb 1992 | Scotland v Northern Ireland | L | 1-0 | International Friendly | |
| 02 Jun 1992 | Germany v Northern Ireland | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 09 Sep 1992 | Northern Ireland v Albania | W | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 17 Feb 1993 | Albania v Northern Ireland | W | 1-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 31 Mar 1993 | Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland | L | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 28 Apr 1993 | Spain v Northern Ireland | L | 3-1 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 25 May 1993 | Lithuania v Northern Ireland | W | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 02 Jun 1993 | Latvia v Northern Ireland | W | 1-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 3 |
| 22 Mar 1994 | Northern Ireland v Romania | D | 0-0 | U21 | |
| 20 Apr 1994 | Northern Ireland v Liechtenstein | W | 4-1 | UEFA European Championship | Group 6 |
| 10 May 1994 | England v Northern Ireland | L | 4-2 | B International | |
| 12 Oct 1994 | Austria v Northern Ireland | W | 1-2 | UEFA European Championship | Group 6 |
| 16 Nov 1994 | Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland | L | 0-4 | UEFA European Championship | Group 6 |
| 11 Oct 1995 | Liechtenstein v Northern Ireland | W | 0-4 | UEFA European Championship | Group 6 |
| 15 Nov 1995 | Northern Ireland v Austria | W | 5-3 | UEFA European Championship | Group 6 |
| 27 Mar 1996 | Northern Ireland v Norway | L | 0-2 | International Friendly | |
| 24 Apr 1996 | Northern Ireland v Sweden | L | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
| 31 Aug 1996 | Northern Ireland v Ukraine | L | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Group 9 |
| 05 Oct 1996 | Northern Ireland v Armenia | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Group 9 |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.