Graham Kavanagh
Graham Anthony Kavanagh (born 2 December 1973) is an Irish football manager and former professional player. Kavanagh had a 19-year-long career and played for Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle United. He also played 16 games for the Republic of Ireland national football team, scoring once. Club career Kavanagh began his career at Home Farm, before joining Middlesbrough in 1991 but struggled to ever hold down a first team place and was sold to Stoke City in 1996, after a short loan spell at the club, for £250,000. In 1996–97 he made 41 appearances scoring four goals including the final goal at the Victoria Ground against West Bromwich Albion. Kavanagh also had the honour of scoring Stoke's first goal at the Britannia Stadium in a League Cup match against Rochdale. He scored 10 goals in 1997–98 as Stoke suffered relegation to the third tier. In 1998–99 he top-scored with 13 goals as failed mount a sustained promotion challenge under Brian Little in 1998–99. In 1999–2000 Kavanagh scored 10 goals as Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to Gillingham. He also played and scored in the 2000 Football League Trophy final as Stoke beat Bristol City 2–1. He was again a regular in 2000–01 as Stoke again failed in the play-offs this time losing to Walsall. He left Stoke in the summer of 2001 after making 244 appearances scoring 45 goals. He joined Cardiff City in July 2001 for £1 million, and went on to score fifteen times in his first season at the club and help them to promotion the following year when they beat Queens Park Rangers in the Second Division play-off final. He scored one of Cardiff's goals as they memorably knocked out then Premiership Leeds United in the FA Cup third round in 2002. He also scored the winning goal in the FAW Premier Cup final against rivals Swansea During the 2004–05 season Cardiff chairman Sam Hammam revealed that the club was in serious financial trouble and as such a number of players left the club to attempt to regain losses, including Kavanagh who signed for Wigan Athletic for a fee close to £400,000. Whilst at Wigan he started in the 2006 Football League Cup Final. On 31 August 2006, he signed a three-year deal with Roy Keane's Sunderland for £500,000. During that season he played 14 games, scoring one goal against Leeds, before he was ruled out for the majority of games due to lingering injury problems. He joined Sheffield Wednesday on 21 September 2007 on a loan deal to regain his fitness where he played seven games, scoring one goal against Watford on 2 October. On 29 December, Leicester City made a bid for Kavanagh, together with Márton Fülöp. However, on 31 January 2008 Kavanagh again joined Wednesday on a loan deal until the end of the season. Kavanagh joined League One side Carlisle United on a month's loan on 10 October 2008. This loan was extended for