Chris Killen

For the Australian cricketer, see Chris Killen (cricketer).

Christopher John Killen (born 8 October 1981) is a former New Zealand international footballer. Killen grew up in Wellington and played club football for Miramar Rangers. After a trial with Manchester City, he joined City's youth academy. His first senior club appearances came during a loan spell at Wrexham in September 2000, and the following season he was loaned to Port Vale. Killen joined Oldham Athletic in July 2002 for £250,000, but failed to match his price tag because of persistent injury, and was eventually released on a free transfer.

Chris Killen

Chris Killen playing for Middlesbrough
Personal information
Full name	Christopher John Killen[1]
Date of birth	(1981-10-08) 8 October 1981 (age 43)[2]
Place of birth	Wellington, New Zealand[2]
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Rongotai College
1995–1998	Miramar Rangers
1998–1999	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2002	Manchester City	3	(0)
2000	→ Wrexham (loan)	12	(3)
2001	→ Port Vale (loan)	9	(6)
2002–2006	Oldham Athletic	78	(17)
2006–2007	Hibernian	25	(16)
2007–2010	Celtic	26	(2)
2009	→ Norwich City (loan)	4	(0)
2010	Middlesbrough	17	(3)
2010–2011	Shenzhen Ruby	35	(17)
2012–2013	Chongqing	46	(23)
Total		255	(87)
International career
	New Zealand U20	4	(2)
2008	New Zealand Olympic (O.P.)	5	(1)
2001–2013	New Zealand[3][4]	48	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In January 2006, Killen joined Hibernian and scored 11 goals in the early part of the 2006–07 season, but a ruptured Achilles tendon prematurely ended his season in January. Killen's contract with Hibernian expired in the summer of 2007, and, after using the Easter Road club's facilities to regain fitness, he then signed for Celtic on a three-year contract, but found first-team opportunities hard to come by, and was loaned to Norwich City during the 2008–09 season. Killen rejoined his former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough in January 2010. Seven months later, he moved to China to play for Shenzhen Ruby. He switched clubs to Chongqing in February 2012.

Killen made his international debut for New Zealand during the 2000 OFC Nations Cup, and was included in the New Zealand U23 squad for their appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics as one of three over-age players. He was also named as part of the New Zealand squad for the 2002 OFC Nations Cup, 2003 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Wellington, Killen grew up in the Wellington suburb of Island Bay.^[5] As a youth he attended Rongotai College. He represented the college in junior grades and was selected to tour Australia with the New Zealand Secondary Schools representative team in 1998, along with future "All Whites" Leo Bertos and Tony Lochhead.

Killen played his club football for Miramar Rangers, whose coach arranged a trial with Manchester City.^[6] The trial was successful. The 17-year-old Killen joined City's youth academy. His first senior club appearances came during a loan spell at Second Division side Wrexham in September 2000, then managed by Brian Flynn. He scored his first league goal on 9 September against Oldham Athletic,^[7] and in total scored three goals in nine appearances for the Welsh club. The following season, he was loaned to Brian Horton's Second Division Port Vale.^[8] He scored on his debut on 25 September, in a 3–1 win over former club Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground.^[8] He scored in a 3–1 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers four days later, before scoring a brace in a 5–0 win over Cambridge United on his home debut at Vale Park on 5 October.^[8] He ended his loan tally with six goals in nine games for the "Valiants".^[8] In November 2001, he was recalled from his loan by manager Kevin Keegan as a number of Manchester City strikers were injured, and played as a substitute in a 2–1 First Division win against Rotherham United.^[9] He made two further substitute appearances that season, and finished as top goalscorer for the reserves.^[10]

Oldham Athletic

He joined Oldham Athletic in July 2002,^[11] after manager Iain Dowie spent £250,000 to acquire the young striker. He scored just four goals in 33 appearances in 2002–03. During the 2003–04 campaign, he featured 13 times, scoring two goals.

Killen was the club's top scorer in the 2004–05 season, with 15 goals in 30 starts.^[12] Killen was "jinxed" by injury, however, and after a further twelve appearances in 2005–06, Oldham allowed him to move to Hibernian on a free transfer.^[12] After Killen had left the club, recently appointed manager Ronnie Moore claimed that Killen had "underachieved" during his time with the club.^[13] The club's managing director also issued a statement on the club website stating that Killen had cost £13,000 per game and £36,000 per goal due to his injury record and expensive contract.^[13]

Hibernian

In January 2006, Killen joined Hibernian (Hibs) on a free transfer.^[14] He made his debut against Hearts on 28 January,^[15] and then scored on his second appearance as he netted the third goal in Hibs' 3–0 defeat of Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup fourth round on 4 February.^[16] Four days later he scored his first goal at Easter Road, the opener in a 7–0 win over Livingston.^[17] He scored five goals for Hibs by the end of the 2005–06 season.

Killen scored the opening goal in a 5–0 win over Latvian club Dinaburg in the UEFA Intertoto Cup second-round game at Easter Road on 2 July 2006.^[18] Following the departure of strikers Garry O'Connor and Derek Riordan, Killen was expected to be an important player for Hibs in the 2006–07 season. By December 2006, he had scored 11 goals, including two in a 2–1 win over Rangers.^[19] During a 2–2 Scottish Cup draw with Aberdeen in January, however, Killen suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon which ended his season.^[20] Killen's contract with Hibernian expired in the summer of 2007 and he rejected the offer of a one-year extension from the Edinburgh club.

Celtic

Killen was expected to sign for Cardiff City,^[21] but he instead signed for Celtic on a three-year contract in May 2007.^[22] Killen made his debut on 5 August, coming off the bench in a goalless draw against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park.^[23] His first goal for the club came on 7 October at Fir Park; with Celtic trailing 1–0 to Gretna, Killen equalised in the 89th minute before Scott McDonald scored the winner for Celtic in stoppage time.^[24] He made his UEFA Champions League debut on 3 October in a shock 2–1 victory over AC Milan at Celtic Park.^[25] He made just three league starts in 2007–08, though came off the bench 24 times.

After that, however, he found chances hard to come by as he found himself behind Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in the pecking order. Killen played mostly for the Celtic reserve team and hardly featured in the first team. On 31 January 2009, Killen joined Championship side Norwich City on loan for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.^[26] He made his first appearance for Bryan Gunn's "Canaries" in a 3–3 draw to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on 3 February, before he returned to training with Celtic after only making four substitute appearances at Carrow Road. At the end of the 2008–09 season, manager Gordon Strachan resigned and was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who had previously managed Killen at Hibernian.

Killen's hopes of regaining a first-team place at Celtic for the 2009–10 season were boosted in pre-season friendly matches, as he scored two goals against Brisbane Roar^[27] and came off the bench to score in a 5–0 win against Al-Ahly.^[28] Killen then started Celtic's following pre-season match against Tottenham Hotspur, and he opened the scoring in this match with a neat headed finish following a pinpoint cross by teammate Paul Caddis.^[29] A further goal against Manchester City ensured he finished pre-season with five goals in five games.^[30] He scored his first league goal at Celtic Park on 20 September, Celtic's first goal in a 2–1 win against Hearts.^[31] Three days later he scored against Falkirk at Falkirk Stadium in a 4–0 win in the League Cup.^[32]

Middlesbrough

Killen returned to England in January 2010 and joined his former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough, along with teammates Willo Flood and Barry Robson.^[33] He scored his first goal at the Riverside Stadium on 9 February, in a 2–1 win over Barnsley.^[34] He scored two further headed goals in Championship games against Reading and Preston North End,^[35][36] but left the club after the end of the season when his contract expired in June 2010.

China

After being released by Middlesbrough, Killen signed a year and half contract with Chinese Super League side Shenzhen Ruby in July 2010, then managed by Siniša Gogić.^[37][38] Killen scored his first goal for the "Youth Army" on his debut against Liaoning Whowin at the Tiexi New District Sports Center on 28 July 2010.^[39] He finished his first half-year at Shenzhen Stadium with eight goals from thirteen matches to help the club to avoid relegation by a two-point margin. The club were relegated in 2011 after finishing bottom of the league under Philippe Troussier, despite Killen's nine goals.

Killen signed a contract with China League One club Chongqing on 17 February 2012; the club play at the 58,680 capacity Chongqing Olympic Sports Center.^[40] He finished the 2012 season as division's fourth highest scorer on 17 goals from 26 starts.

International career

Killen has represented New Zealand at under-20 and under-23 levels, and was included in the New Zealand under-23 squad for their first appearance at the Olympic Games as one of three over age players, alongside Ryan Nelsen and Simon Elliott.^[41]

Killen made his international debut for the New Zealand senior team during the 2000 OFC Nations Cup against Tahiti,^[42][43] three months before his first senior appearance at club level. The "All Whites" finished the tournament as runners-up after losing 2–0 to Australia in the final. He was also in the squad for the 2002 OFC Nations Cup, which New Zealand won after beating Australia 1–0 at the Mount Smart Stadium. He was further named in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup and featured in the defeats to Japan and Colombia at the group stage.^[44][45]

Killen featured in New Zealand's success at the 2008 OFC Nations Cup, though he played just one game – the 2–0 win over Fiji at Churchill Park.^[46] He was named as part of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup New Zealand squad to travel to South Africa.^[47][48] Killen scored twice in their final warm up game, a 4–3 defeat by World champions Italy. In the tournament itself, he played in the defeats to Spain and South Africa, and the draw with Iraq.^[49][50][51]

Killen also featured in the team that beat Bahrain in a two-legged Asia/Oceania play-off to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was named in the New Zealand squad for the finals in South Africa, where New Zealand went unbeaten with three draws against Slovakia, Italy, and Paraguay; Killen played all three games.^[52][53][54]

Personal life

Following his retirement from football in December 2013, Killen launched and became director of Pro Sports Financial Ltd, a financial concierge designed for male and female athletes regarding insurance policies.^[55][56]

In September 2016, Killen admitted to sexually assaulting a young woman in England. After first denying the charge, Killen changed his plea to guilty before he was due to go on trial.^[57][58] Killen received a 12-month jail term but it was suspended for 18 months, he was also ordered to undergo 20 hours of rehabilitation and to perform 200 hours of community service.^[59]

Career statistics

Club statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	1999–2000[60]	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2000–01[61]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2001–02[62]	First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Wrexham (loan)	2000–01[61]	Second Division	12	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	3
Port Vale (loan)	2001–02[62]	Second Division	9	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	6
Oldham Athletic	2002–03[63]	Second Division	27	3	3	0	3	1	0	0	33	4
	2003–04[64]	Second Division	13	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	2
	2004–05[65]	League One	26	10	2	4	2	0	0	0	30	14
	2005–06[66]	League One	12	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	2
	Total		78	17	5	4	5	1	0	0	88	22
Hibernian	2005–06[66]	SPL	7	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	8	4
	2006–07[67]	SPL	18	13	1	1	2	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	1[lower-alpha 1]	24	15
	Total		25	16	2	2	2	0	3	1	32	19
Celtic	2007–08[68]	SPL	20	1	1	0	1	0	5[lower-alpha 2]	0	27	1
	2008–09[69]	SPL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2009–10[70]	SPL	5	1	0	0	2	1	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	8	2
	Total		26	2	1	0	3	1	6	0	36	3
Norwich City (loan)	2008–09[69]	Championship	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Middlesbrough	2009–10[70]	Championship	17	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	3
Shenzhen Ruby	2010[71]	Chinese Super League	14	8
	2011[71]	Chinese Super League	21	9
	Total		35	17
Chongqing	2012[71]	China League One	26	17
	2013[71]	China League One	20	6
	Total		46	23
Career total			255	87	8	6	10	2	9	1	282	96

1. Appearance/s and goal/s in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
2. Appearance/s in the UEFA Champions League.
3. Appearance/s in the UEFA Europa League.

International statistics

New Zealand national team[71]
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	6	2
2001	3	0
2002	4	5
2003	3	0
2006	4	1
2007	1	0
2009	8	2
2010	7	1
2011	3	0
2012	7	3
2013	2	2
Total	48	16

Honours

New Zealand

• OFC Nations Cup: 2002, 2008; runner-up: 2004; third place: 2012

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League: 2007–08

References

1. "Chris Killen". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2001/02". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
3. "A-International Appearances – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
4. "A-International Scorers – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
5. "Soccer: Chris to make a Killen at Celtic". NZ Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
6. "Killen striking the right notes". Scotland on Sunday. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
7. "Wrexham 3–1 Oldham". BBC. 9 September 2000. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
8. "Cult Hero 10: Chris Killen". onevalefan.co.uk. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
9. "Man City 2 Rotherham 1". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
10. "Killen a chart topper". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
11. "Killen for Oldham". BBC Sport. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
12. "Chris Killen Joins Hibernian". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
13. Browne, Gavin (2 February 2006). "Moore: Critical Killen should be thankful". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
14. "All White signs for Hibs". TVNZ ONE Sport. 27 January 2006.
15. "Hearts 4-1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 28 January 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
16. "Rangers 0–3 Hibernian". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 February 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
17. "Hibernian 7–0 Livingston". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 February 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
18. "Hibernian 5–0 Dinaburg Daugavpils". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 July 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
19. "Hibernian 2–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 September 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
20. "Hibs struck by Killen injury blow". BBC. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
21. "Killen closes on Bluebirds move". BBC Sport. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
22. "Celtic in surprise Killen swoop". BBC Sport. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
23. Moffatt, Colin (5 August 2007). "Celtic 0–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
24. Moffatt, Colin (7 October 2007). "Gretna 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
25. Moffatt, Colin (3 October 2007). "Celtic 2–1 AC Milan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
26. "Norwich secure Killen loan deal". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
27. "Hoops too good for Roar". The World Game. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
28. Wilson, Jeremy (24 July 2009). "Wembley cup: Celtic warm up for Dinamo Moscow in style with 5–0 win over Al Ahly". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
29. "Tottenham 0 Celtic 2". STV. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
30. "Manchester City 2–1 Celtic: Journeyman Craig Bellamy Seals Win". goal.com. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
31. Conaghan, Martin (20 September 2009). "Celtic 2 – 1 Hearts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
32. "Falkirk 0 – 4 Celtic". BBC Sport. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
33. "Middlesbrough sign Celtic trio". Celtic FC. 13 January 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010.
34. "Middlesbrough 2–1 Barnsley". BBC. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
35. "Middlesbrough 2 – 0 Preston". BBC Sport. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
36. "Middlesbrough 1 – 1 Reading". BBC Sport. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
37. "Chinese club nabs Killen". TVNZ. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
38. "Chris Killen joins Chinese club". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
39. "Killen shines on Shenzhen debut". TVNZ. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
40. "Kiwis abroad: Nelsen starts for Spurs, new clubs for Killen and Clansey". New Zealand Football. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
41. "Olympic Football Squads Named". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
42. "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
43. "Kill tug of war". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
44. "New Zealand – Japan". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
45. "Colombia – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
46. "Fiji – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
47. "New Zealand – All Whites name Confederations Cup squad". Oceania Football confederation. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009.
48. "2009 Confederations Cup – New Zealand squad". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
49. "Iraq – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
50. "South Africa – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
51. "New Zealand – Spain". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
52. "Paraguay – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
53. "New Zealand – Slovakia". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
54. "Italy – New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
55. Killen, Christopher (27 January 2024). "Chris Killen - Director - Pro Sports Financial | LinkedIn".
56. "Pro Sports Financial :: Home". www.prosportsfinancial.com. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
57. "Ex-footballer Chris Killen admits sex attack". BBC News. Manchester. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
58. "Former All White Chris Killen admits sexual assault in England". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
59. "Judge says sentenced ex-All White Chris Killen had 'problem with binge-drinking'". Stuff.co.nz.
60. "Games played by Chris Killen in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
61. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
62. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
63. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
64. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
65. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
66. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
67. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
68. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
69. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
70. "Games played by Chris Killen in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
71. "Chris Killen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

External links

• Chris Killen – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Chris Killen at Soccerbase
• Player profile on NZ Football official website