Alan Judge (Irish footballer)

Alan Judge

Alan Judge playing for Brentford in 2015.
Personal information
Full name Alan Christopher Judge[1]
Date of birth (1988-11-11) 11 November 1988
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 5 ft 6 ½ in (1.69 m)[2]
Playing position Midfielder, winger
Club information
Current team
 Brentford
Number 18
Youth career
2005–2006 St Joseph's Boys
2006–2008 Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
2009 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 17 (2)
2009–2010 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 37 (5)
2010–2011 → Notts County (loan) 12 (0)
2011–2013 Notts County 89 (16)
2013–2014 Blackburn Rovers 11 (0)
2014 → Brentford (loan) 22 (7)
2014– Brentford 75 (17)
National team‡
2004–2005 Republic of Ireland U17 5 (2)
2005–2006 Republic of Ireland U18 3 (0)
2006–2007 Republic of Ireland U19 11 (1)
2007–2010 Republic of Ireland U21 13 (2)
2008 Republic of Ireland U23 4 (0)
2016– Republic of Ireland 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:06, 2 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:42, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

Alan Christopher Judge (born 11 November 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brentford. Judge began his career at Blackburn Rovers and returned to the club in 2013 after a two-and-a-half season spell with Notts County. He spent the second half of the 2013–14 season on loan at Brentford in League One, before signing for club permanently in the summer of 2014. Judge represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level and made his senior debut in March 2016.

Career

Blackburn Rovers

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Judge began his career at St. Joseph's National School in Dún Laoghaire, appearing for the school's Senior Boys team.[3][4] In 2006, Judge joined the academy at Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.[5] He turned professional at age 17 and was a regular in the reserve team during the 2007–08 season,[6] scoring seven goals. He made his debut for the senior team as a substitute in a 4–1 League Cup second round win over Grimsby Town in August 2008 and his first start followed in a narrow FA Cup third round victory over Blyth Spartans in January 2009.[7] Shortly afterwards, he signed a new contract running until the end of the 2010–11 season.[8] Judge spent the majority of the following two years away on loan and departed Ewood Park in January 2011.[9]

Plymouth Argyle (loans)

Judge joined Championship club Plymouth Argyle on loan on 29 January 2009, for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.[10] He featured regularly in the starting XI for then manager Paul Sturrock's team and scored the first senior goal of his career against Burnley in March.[11] The season ended with Judge having made 17 appearances in all competitions.[7]

Judge rejoined Argyle on loan for the duration of the 2009–10 season.[12] He continued to feature regularly in the first-team and scored his first brace in senior football with two goals in an impressive 4–1 win over Reading on 28 December.[13] The Pilgrims were relegated from the Championship at the end of the season and Judge returned to Blackburn.[14] He made 40 appearances and scored five goals during his second spell.[13] In 2013, the Plymouth Herald named Judge as Argyle's fifth best-ever loan signing.[15]

Notts County (loan & permanent signing)

Judge playing for Notts County in 2012.

On 31 August 2010, Judge signed a six-month loan deal with League One club Notts County.[16] His loan expired on 1 January 2011, but County re-signed Judge on a further one-month loan so he would be available for forthcoming matches whilst a permanent deal was finalised.[17] He made 14 appearances during his loan spell and scored no goals.[18] On 14 January 2011, Judge completed a permanent move to Notts County, signing a two-year deal with the club.[19] Just days after signing, Judge broke a metatarsal bone in his right foot in a match against Hartlepool United.[20] After a seven-week spell on the sidelines, Judge returned to action against Swindon Town.[18] He scored the equaliser, before setting up Lee Hughes to give County the three points in a 2–1 victory.[21] He made 21 appearances and scored one goal during the 2010–11 season.[18]

Judge scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 3–1 away win against Chesterfield.[22] His form saw him pick up consecutive player of the month awards for November and December respectively.[23] He flourished under manager Martin Allen and finished the season with 8 goals and 13 assists.[22][24] Judge scooped both the Notts County Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year awards for the 2011–12 season.[25]

Judge scored his first goal in the 2012–13 season in a 2–0 win over Bury on 1 September 2012.[26] In February 2013 and playing under his sixth different manager since arriving at Meadow Lane,[27] Judge revealed he was "sick" of the high turnover of managers and captain Neal Bishop backed up Judge's comments.[28] Despite his unrest, Judge's performances throughout the 2012–13 season saw him named in the League One PFA Team of the Year.[29] He finished the season with 43 appearances and eight goals.[26] On 27 April 2013, it was announced that Judge would depart Meadow Lane.[30]

Return to Blackburn Rovers

Judge re-signed for Blackburn Rovers, now in the Championship, on a three-year deal on 1 July 2013.[31] He scored his first Blackburn goal in a 3–3 League Cup first round shootout defeat to Carlisle United on 7 August 2013.[32] He made 12 appearances during the 2013–14 season, scoring one goal.[33] Despite manager Gary Bowyer insisting that Judge was in his plans,[34][35] Judge departed Ewood Park for a second time on 2 June 2014,[36] after making just 14 appearances and scoring one goal during four years with the club as a first team player.[9]

Brentford (loan & permanent signing)

On 8 January 2014, Judge joined League One side Brentford on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.[6] He featured as a regular starter and scored his first Bees goal on his fourth appearance, netting the second in a 3–1 win over Bristol City on 28 January.[37] On 18 April, Judge scored the penalty which saw Brentford beat Preston North End 1–0 at Griffin Park, to confirm the Bees' promotion to the Championship with three games to spare.[38] He scored his seventh goal of the campaign in a 2–0 win over Stevenage on the final day.[39] He made 22 appearances during his spell with the Bees and on 2 June 2014, Judge signed for Brentford permanently on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[33][36]

Judge began the 2014–15 Championship season in a defensive midfield role alongside Jonathan Douglas, with Alex Pritchard having assumed his attacking role on the left side of midfield.[40] He scored his first goal of the season on his twentieth appearance, sliding home the opener in a 4–0 demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Griffin Park on 29 November.[41] Judge missed his first league game of the season on 10 January 2015, having been forced off with a knee injury during the previous week's 2–0 FA Cup third round defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.[42][43] After over four months without a goal, Judge scored a free kick to help send the Bees on the way to a 4–1 victory over West London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on 3 April.[44] A successful season ended in defeat to Middlesbrough in the playoff semi-finals, with Judge having made 41 appearances and scored three goals.[43]

With speculated transfer interest from Bristol City, it was reported on 11 August 2015 that Brentford had offered Judge a contract extension.[45] He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season on 15 August,[46] cancelling out Jonathan Kodjia's opener to send Brentford on the way to a 4–2 comeback victory over Bristol City and he was retrospectively credited with a second goal in the same match.[47] Three goals and four assists in a four-match winning run in October won Judge the Championship Player of the Month award.[48] Another six goals through to January 2016 led him to a nomination for the Football League Player of the Year award at the 2016 London Football Awards.[49][50] Judge's season came to a premature end on 9 April,[51] when he suffered a double lower-leg fracture after being "felled by sickening challenge" from Ipswich Town's Luke Hyam.[52] He scored a seasonal-best 14 goals during the 2015–16 season and also provided 11 assists.[53] At the 2016 Football League Awards Judge was shortlisted for the Championship Player of the Year award and was named in the Football League Team of the Year, in addition to being named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year at the PFA Awards.[54][55] He won the Brentford Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year awards.[56]

International career

Youth

Judge made his international debut with the Republic of Ireland U17 team in October 2004, winning five caps and scoring two goals during the team's failed 2005 European U17 Championship qualifying campaign.[57] He represented the U18 side at the 2005 European Youth Olympic Festival in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy. A 4–2 victory over Switzerland in the third-place playoff saw the U18s win the bronze medal.[58] Judge made his U19 debut in a 2–1 friendly win over Ukraine at Terryland Park on 15 August 2006.[59] He was a regular for the U19s during their qualifying campaign for the 2007 European U19 Championship and scored his first goal in a 2–1 qualifying win away to Macedonia on 6 October 2006.[60] Judge appeared in all three of the U18s' elite qualification games,[61] but despite victories over Bulgaria and Hungary, defeat to Germany saw the Germans qualify for the finals. Judge also represented the U19s in the 2007 Oporto Tournament in Portugal, but went home without any silverware.[62]

Judge made his U21 debut in a 3–2 friendly victory over Sweden on 12 October 2007, coming on as a substitute for Jim O'Brien after 68 minutes.[63] Judge made two appearances during the U21s' unsuccessful 2009 UEFA U21 Championship qualifying campaign. He appeared in all of the qualifying games for the 2011 UEFA U21 Championship, with an early goal scored in a 1–1 draw with Georgia being the sole highlight of a campaign which saw the U21s finish bottom of their group. He won 13 U21 caps and scored two goals.[64] Judge made four appearances for the U23s in the 2008 Inter Continental Cup, but came away without the trophy.[64]

Full

Judge's form in the Championship with Brentford saw him named in provisional Republic of Ireland squads in May,[65] August and October 2015 and he was finally named in a matchday squad for a crucial Euro 2016 qualifying playoff first leg match versus Bosnia and Herzegovina on 13 November 2015.[66][67] He was an unused substitute during the 1–1 draw.[68] Judge made his debut with a start in a friendly versus Switzerland on 25 March 2016, playing the full 90 minutes of the 1–0 victory.[68]

Style of play

Judge is known for his energy and his driving runs, as well as his ability to score spectacular long range goals.[69] This has led to him being nicknamed "The Irish Messi" by players, fans and pundits.[69] Brentford teammate Maxime Colin commented that Judge "feels the football and he has a really good kick, good cross. He never gives up. He gives a lot of strength and power. He's not afraid".[70]

Personal life

Judge's father Dermot played for Shamrock Rovers and captained Bray Wanderers to success in the 1990 FAI Cup Final.[71][72]

Honours

Club

Brentford

International

Republic of Ireland U18

Individual

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2016.
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Blackburn Rovers 2008–09[7] Premier League 001010—20
2010–11[18] 00—00—00
Total 001010—20
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2008–09[7] Championship 172———172
2009–10[13] 3752010—405
Notts County 2010–11[18] League One 191101000211
2011–12[22] 43741001[lower-alpha 1]0488
2012–13[26] 398301000438
Total 1011681201011217
Blackburn Rovers 2013–14[33] Championship 1100011—121
Brentford (loan) 2013–14[33] League One 227———227
Brentford 2014–15[43] Championship 37310102[lower-alpha 2]0413
2015–16[49] 38 14 1 0 0 0 — 39 14
2016–17[73] 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Brentford Total 972420102010224
Total 26247131613018549
  1. ↑ Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in Football League play-offs

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 226. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ "Alan Judge". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. ↑ St. Joseph's Boys SeniorsInfoTijdlijnInfo. "St. Joseph's Boys Seniors – Info". Facebook. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bray Wanderers Afc". Braywanderers.com. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Blake, Ben. "'It was the most nervous I've ever been' – Dubliner Alan Judge on scoring promotion-winning penalty".
  6. 1 2 "Alan Judge Joins Brentford". Brentford FC. 8 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2008/2009 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Alan Judge".
  9. 1 2 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Age 26 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Alan Judge – Brentford | Player Profile | Sky Sports Football
  11. ↑ "Alan Judge". espnfc.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Plymouth Argyle – Alan Judge loan – Western Morning News sport – West Briton". West Briton. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  13. 1 2 3 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2009/2010 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Plymouth Argyle Home Page for the 2009-2010 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Plymouth Argyle's Top 10 loan signings". Plymouth Herald. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  16. ↑ "Notts County seal loan deal for Blackburn's Alan Judge". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  17. ↑ "Judge extends loan deal at Notts". 7 January 2011 – via bbc.co.uk.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alan Judge | Football Stats | Blackburn Rovers | Season 2010/2011". Soccer Base. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Notts County seal permanent deal for Blackburn's Alan Judge". Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  20. ↑ "Notts County midfielder Alan Judge expects to return from a broken foot before the end of March – Nottingham Post". Nottingham Post. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  21. ↑ "Alan Judge". espnfc.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2011/2012 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  23. 1 2 "Judge Voted POTM Again". Notts County FC. January 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  24. ↑ "Judge reveals pep talk from boss Allen has give him greater self-belief". Nottingham Post. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  25. 1 2 3 "Judgey Wins The Silverware". 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  26. 1 2 3 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2012/2013 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  27. ↑ "Managers". www.nottscountyfc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  28. ↑ "Notts County: Alan Judge 'sick' of manager sackings".
  29. 1 2 "BBC Sport – Gareth Bale wins PFA Player of Year and Young Player awards". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  30. ↑ "Judge: I've enjoyed every minute". 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  31. ↑ "Championship: Chris Taylor and Alan Judge agree Blackburn deals". Sky Sports.
  32. ↑ "BBC Sport – Carlisle 3–3 Blackburn (4–3 on pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2013/2014 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  34. ↑ Murtagh, Jacob (31 March 2014). "Judge assured over Blackburn Rovers future". Get West London. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  35. ↑ Jacob Murtagh (1 May 2014). "Judge's Blackburn future in the balance". getwestlondon. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  36. 1 2 "Alan Judge: Brentford sign Blackburn Rovers forward". BBC Sport. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  37. ↑ "Alan Judge Player Profile – ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  38. ↑ "BBC Sport – Brentford 1–0 Preston North End". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  39. ↑ "BBC Sport – Brentford 2–0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  40. ↑ Tim Street (3 September 2014). "Brentford midfielder goes on the defensive". getwestlondon. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  41. ↑ "BBC Sport – Brentford 4–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  42. ↑ Jacob Murtagh (10 January 2015). "Brentford boss explains Judge absence against Rotherham". getwestlondon. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  43. 1 2 3 "Alan Judge – Football Stats – Brentford – Season 2014/2015 – Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  44. ↑ "BBC Sport – Fulham 1–4 Brentford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  45. ↑ Street, Tim. "Brentford to offer Judge a new deal". Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  46. ↑ "Bristol City 2–4 Brentford". BBC. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
  47. ↑ Brett, Ciaran. "Alan Judge credited with Brentford's second goal in 4–2 win over Bristol City". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  48. 1 2 "Alan Judge named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  49. 1 2 "Alan Judge | Football Stats | Brentford | Season 2015/2016 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  50. ↑ "The London Football Awards 2016 | Celebrating the very best of London Football". londonfootballawards.org. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  51. ↑ "CONFIRMED: Alan Judge will miss Euro 2016 after suffering nasty double leg break - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  52. ↑ FC, Brentford. "Brentford v Ipswich Town team line-ups and match report". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  53. ↑ "Alan Judge Player Profile - ESPN FC". www.espnfc.com. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  54. 1 2 League, Football. "Brentford midfielder Alan Judge runner-up in 2016 Sky Bet Championship Player of the Year shortlist". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  55. 1 2 Fennessy, Paul. "4 Irish players feature in the 2016 PFA Teams of the Year". The42. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  56. 1 2 3 Brett, Ciaran. "Alan Judge picks up Supporters' Player of the Year Award". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  57. ↑ "Statistics: Rep of Ireland [Powered by tplSoccerStats]". www.soccerscene.ie. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  58. 1 2 "Ireland Under 18s Win Lisbon Tournament".
  59. ↑ "Statistics: Rep of Ireland Under 19". Soccerscene.ie. 15 August 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  60. ↑ "Statistics: Rep of Ireland Under 19". Soccerscene.ie. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  61. ↑ "Statistics: Rep of Ireland Under 19". Soccerscene.ie. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  62. ↑ "Statistics: Rep of Ireland Under 19". Soccerscene.ie. 5 April 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  63. ↑ "Republic of Ireland U-21 3–2 Sweden U-21 – RTÉ Sport". RTÉ.ie. 12 October 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  64. 1 2 Trevor Scallan. "Greens on Screen". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  65. ↑ Moore, Tom. "Alan Judge among six cut from Republic of Ireland squad". Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  66. ↑ "O'Neill reduces Ireland squad to 28 - Football Association of Ireland".
  67. ↑ "Republic cut Euro qualifiers squad". BBC. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  68. 1 2 Brett, Ciaran. "Alan Judge makes his Republic of Ireland debut in their 1-0 win over Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium Dublin". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  69. 1 2 "Magpies in party mood as Judge has centre stage". 30 April 2012. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  70. ↑ Moore, Tom. "Brentford new boy amazed by how talented team-mate is". Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  71. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Aidan (30 April 2012). "Hughton hails Doyle as play-off place secured". Evening Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  72. ↑ "Club History League of Ireland 1985–2000". Bray Wanderers A.F.C. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  73. ↑ "Alan Judge | Football Stats | Brentford | Season 2016/2017 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.

External links

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