Caolan Lavery

Caolan Owen Lavery (born 22 October 1992) is a former professional footballer who last played as a forward for Doncaster Rovers.

Caolan Lavery

Personal information
Full name	Caolan Owen Lavery[1]
Date of birth	(1992-10-22) 22 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Red Deer Renegades
	Goodyear
2009–2011	Ipswich Town
2012–2013	Sheffield Wednesday
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2016	Sheffield Wednesday	34	(6)
2013	→ Southend United (loan)	3	(0)
2013–2014	→ Plymouth Argyle (loan)	8	(3)
2015	→ Chesterfield (loan)	8	(3)
2015–2016	→ Portsmouth (loan)	13	(4)
2016–2019	Sheffield United	30	(4)
2018	→ Rotherham United (loan)	14	(2)
2018–2019	→ Bury (loan)	23	(5)
2019–2021	Walsall	64	(10)
2021–2022	Bradford City	19	(1)
2022–2023	Scunthorpe United	18	(8)
2023–2024	Doncaster Rovers	12	(1)
International career
2008	Canada U17	1	(0)
2009	Northern Ireland U19	5	(0)
2010–2014	Northern Ireland U21	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:50, 25 March 2023 (UTC)

He also previously played in the English Football League for Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Walsall, Bradford City and Scunthorpe United, as well as on loan at Southend United, Plymouth Argyle, Chesterfield, Portsmouth, Rotherham and Bury.

He has represented both Canada and Northern Ireland at youth international level and is one of only a small number of footballers to have played for both Sheffield clubs.

Club career

Early career

Lavery started his youth career in Canada, playing for the Red Deer Renegades.^[3] He then played with Northern Irish youth side Goodyear while having trials at Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic. A successful trial at Ipswich Town saw him spend two years at the club before rejecting the offer of a new deal in late 2011 and leaving the club after his academy scholarship expired. He went on to have trials at Sunderland and Leicester City in November.^[4][5] In December 2011 Lavery was reported to be in talks with League Two club Bradford City.^[6]

Sheffield Wednesday

2012–13 season

Finally, in the summer of 2012, Lavery signed for Sheffield Wednesday to join their development squad.^[7] On 28 August 2012, Lavery was included in Sheffield Wednesday's first-team squad as an unused substitute for the League Cup tie against Premier League Fulham.^[8] A 1–0 win saw Sheffield Wednesday enter the third round of the competition, but Lavery failed to get on the pitch for that game, against Premier League outfit Southampton.^[9]

After continuing success in Sheffield Wednesday's development squad, Lavery was targeted by clubs for a possible loan deal and, on 25 January 2013, he signed for League Two side Southend United.^[10] He made his professional debut a week later on 2 February when Southend hosted Oxford United.^[11]

2013–14 season

On 10 August 2013, Lavery was named on the bench for Wednesday for the home Football League Championship game against Burnley. This was the second game of the season and Wednesday's first home game. In the second half, with Wednesday trailing 2–1, Lavery made his debut for the club but was unable to help his side to salvage a point.^[12] In November 2013, he joined League Two club Plymouth Argyle on loan until the start of January 2014.^[13] Lavery made his debut against Dagenham & Redbridge the next day,^[14] and scored the first senior goal of his career during his first start against Bury on 21 December.^[15] Five days later, he opened a 3–2 win at former club Oxford with a goal in the first minute of the second half.^[16] The loan was then extended for a month after he scored his third goal in four starts on New Year's Day against Torquay United,^[17] but he was recalled less than a week later.^[18]

Upon his return to Sheffield Wednesday, Lavery was used as a second-half substitute against Leeds United on 11 January 2014. He scored two goals, his first professional goals for Sheffield Wednesday, in their 6–0 home victory against their Yorkshire rivals.^[19] He scored a further brace for the Owls in a 4–1 win over Birmingham City on 15 March 2014.^[20]

2014–15 season

On 2 February 2015, Lavery was loaned to League One team Chesterfield until 7 March, replacing Cardiff City-bound Eoin Doyle.^[21] On 9 March, having scored three goals in seven games including a last-minute winner at Milton Keynes Dons, he extended his loan until the end of the season,^[22] but was recalled by Wednesday only six days later, due to an injury to Will Keane.^[23]

He scored his first Wednesday goal of the season on 21 March, as they came from behind to win 3–2 at South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United.^[24] On 11 April he added a second, opening a 1–1 home draw against Charlton with a volley from Lewis Buxton's cross.^[25]

Sheffield United

On 30 August 2016, Lavery joined Sheffield United after turning down a new contract offer from city rivals Wednesday. His first goal for them was in a 4–0 home win against Swindon Town. On 29 January 2018, Lavery moved to South Yorkshire neighbours Rotherham United, on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.^[26] He was transfer-listed by Sheffield United at the end of the 2017–18 season.^[27] Lavery joined Bury on a season-long loan on 31 August 2018.^[28] He scored his first goal for Bury in a 2-1 EFL Trophy loss against Rochdale on 4 September 2018.^[29]

He was released by Sheffield United at the end of the 2018–19 season.^[30]

Walsall

On 6 August 2019, Lavery signed an undisclosed-length contract with Walsall.^[31]

Bradford City

He signed for Bradford City on 2 August 2021.^[32] Lavery was released by the club after one season.^[33]

Scunthorpe United

On 22 September 2022, Lavery signed for National League club Scunthorpe United on a deal until January 2023.^[34] He made his debut for the club two days later, scoring his side's first goal to start a comeback as Scunthorpe came back from 2–0 down to defeat Dorking Wanderers 3–2.^[35] Lavery scored a hat-trick in Scunthorpe's 3–0 victory over Maidenhead United on 7 January 2023, but was reported likely to leave the club by 22 January due to its financial difficulties,^[36] something confirmed at the end of his contract.^[37]

Doncaster Rovers

On 24 January 2023, Lavery signed for League Two club Doncaster Rovers on an eighteen-month deal.^[38] On 15 May 2024, the club announced he would be released in the summer when his contract expired.^[39]

International career

Lavery is eligible to play for his country of birth Canada and, as both his parents were born there, either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. Before Lavery's move to England he played for Canada U-17 in warm-up games in preparation to qualifiers for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.^[3] However, after playing time in Northern Ireland for Goodyear and then his move to Ipswich Town, he switched to the Northern Ireland national side. He made his debut for Northern Ireland U-21 on 17 November 2010 in a 3–1 loss against Scotland.^[40] He has also made three appearances for the Northern Ireland U-19 team.^[41]

On 21 May 2015, Lavery was given his first call-up to the senior Northern Ireland team ahead of a friendly with Qatar and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Romania. Manager Michael O'Neill had wanted him to feature the previous Summer in a tour of South America, but Lavery was unavailable as he was the best man in his brother's wedding.^[42]

Career statistics

As of 25 March 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield Wednesday	2012–13[43]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2013–14[44]	Championship	21	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	23	4
	2014–15[45]	Championship	13	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	2
	2015–16[46]	Championship	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		34	6	3	0	2	0	0	0	39	6
Southend United (loan)	2012–13[43]	League Two	3	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
Plymouth Argyle (loan)	2013–14[44]	League Two	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
Chesterfield (loan)	2014–15[45]	League One	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
Portsmouth (loan)	2015–16[46]	League Two	13	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	4
Sheffield United	2016–17[47]	League One	27	4	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	30	4
	2017–18[48]	Championship	3	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	6	1
	2018–19[49]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		30	4	3	0	2	1	1	0	36	5
Rotherham United (loan)	2017–18[48]	League One	14	2	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	15	2
Bury (loan)	2018–19[49]	League Two	23	5	1	0	0	0	5[lower-alpha 1]	1	29	6
Walsall	2019–20[50]	League Two	27	4	3	2	1	2	3[lower-alpha 1]	2	34	10
	2020–21[51]	League Two	37	6	1	1	1	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	42	7
	Total		64	10	4	3	2	2	6	2	76	17
Bradford City	2021–22[52]	League Two	19	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	20	1
Scunthorpe United	2022–23[53]	National League	18	8	1	0	—		1[lower-alpha 3]	1	20	9
Doncaster Rovers	2022–23[54]	League Two	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
Career total			246	47	12	3	6	3	16	4	280	57

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in EFL League One play-offs
3. Appearance in FA Trophy

Honours

Club

Sheffield United

• EFL League One: 2016–17^[55]

Rotherham United

• EFL League One play-offs: 2018^[56]

Bury

• EFL League Two runner-up: 2018–19^[57]

References

1. "Professional retain lists & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
2. "Caolan Lavery". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
3. "Lavery playing for Canada". Red Deer Advocate. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
4. "Northern Ireland hotshot and former Spurs target snubs Ipswich for Foxes trial". Daily Mirror. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
5. "Caolan Lavery deal is not done, says Bradford City chairman Mark Lawn". Telegraph and Argus. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
6. Parker, Simon (10 December 2011). "Caolan Lavery deal is not done, says Bradford City chairman Mark Lawn". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
7. "Owls ambitions". www.swfc.co.uk. 7 August 2012.
8. "Owls advance". www.swfc.co.uk. 28 August 2012.
9. "Matchday Live". www.swfc.co.uk. 25 September 2012.
10. "Sheffield Wednesday's Caolan Lavery joins Southend United". www.bbc.co.uk. 25 January 2013.
11. "Southend 1–0 Oxford". www.bbc.co.uk. 2 February 2013.
12. "Owls miss out". www.swfc.co.uk. 10 August 2013.
13. "Caolan Lavery: Plymouth Argyle sign Sheffield Wednesday striker". BBC Sport. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
14. Errington, Chris (23 November 2013). "Plymouth Argyle 2 Dagenham and Redbridge 1: Match report". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
15. Errington, Chris (23 December 2013). "Striker Caolan Lavery keen to extend Plymouth Argyle stay". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
16. "Reid helps Pilgrims down U's". Sky Sports. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
17. Errington, Chris (3 January 2014). "On-loan Plymouth Argyle striker Caolan Lavery expected Sheffield Wednesday recall". Plymouth Herald. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
18. "Lavery Recalled". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
19. "Sheffield Wednesday 6-0 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 11 January 2014.
20. "Sheff Wed 4-1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
21. "Lavery moves to Chesterfield". Sky Sports. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
22. "Lavery extends Chesterfield stay". Sky Sports. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
23. "Lavery exits Chesterfield early". Sky Sports. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
24. "Sheffield Wednesday score two goals in injury time to beat Rotherham 3-2". Sky Sports. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
25. "Sheffield Wednesday 1 Charlton 1: Johann Berg Gudmundsson grabs draw". BBC Sport. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
26. "SIGNING | Millers seal Lavery loan deal". Rotherham United Official Site. 29 January 2018.
27. "Clayton Donaldson: Sheffield United release striker and transfer list seven". BBC Sport. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
28. "Caolan Lavery: Bury sign Sheffield United striker on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
29. "Match Report: Rochdale 2-1 Bury". buryfc.co.uk. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
30. "PPaul Coutts: Sheffield United midfielder among five released". BBC Sport. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
31. "Caolan Lavery: Walsall sign striker from Sheffield United". 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
32. "Bradford sign free-agent forward Lavery" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
33. "SIX BANTAMS TO DEPART". www.bradfordcityafc.com. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
34. "Caolan Lavery signs for the Iron". www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
35. "Scunthorpe United 3–2 Dorking Wanderers". BBC Sport. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
36. Buckingham, Philip; Slater, Matt (13 January 2023). "Special report: Scunthorpe United, a club on the brink". The Athletic. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
37. "Caolan Lavery leaves the Iron". www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
38. "Rovers sign forward Caolan Lavery". www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
39. "Tommy Rowe: Doncaster midfielder one of seven released by club". BBC Sport. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
40. "Caolan Lavery Profile". NIFG. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
41. "Caolan Lavery". UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
42. "Wednesday striker Lavery handed Northern Ireland call-up". BBC Sport. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
43. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
44. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
45. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
46. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
47. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
48. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
49. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
50. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
51. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
52. "Games played by Caolan Lavery in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
53. "C.Lavery: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
54. "Caolan Lavery | Football Stats | Doncaster Rovers | Season 2022/2023 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
55. Anderson, John, ed. (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-1-4722-3397-4.
56. Scott, Ged (27 May 2018). "Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
57. "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    "Bury: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.

External links

• Caolan Lavery at Soccerbase
• Caolan Lavery at Soccerway
• Northern Ireland profile at Irish FA (irishfa.com) at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 June 2015)
• Caolan Lavery at the Canadian Soccer Association