Gary O'Neil

At 40 years old, Gary O'Neil has this physical status:

Gary Paul O'Neil (born 18 May 1983) is an English professional footballer who last played for Bolton Wanderers.

O'Neil has played for West Ham United, Portsmouth, where he was named Player of the Season in 2006, Walsall, Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, and Bristol City.

Personal life

Donna Guerin, whom he married in 2006, is O'Neil's wife.

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Club career

O'Neil was born in Beckenham, London. On January 29, 2000, Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but the remainder of the season has kept him out of the spotlight. Both Pulis and his successor Steve Claridge used O'Neil sparingly, but Portsmouth's third manager of a difficult season, Graham Rix, made O'Neil a starter for the final five matches of the season. Portsmouth went into the final game against Barnsley, which required them to win to prevent relegation to what was then the Second Division. They won the game 3–0 and survived, with O'Neil scoring his second goal, his first in professional football.

O'Neil, a youngster who was a teenager in 2001–02, was a key player in a youth team. Despite another poor season for the club, O'Neil's name continued to grow, and he scored a volley against Millwall.

O'Neil was one of the few players not to be moved forward in the squad's reconstruction when Harry Redknapp took over as boss at the end of the 2001-02 season. O'Neil only played 11 league games in Redknapp's first full season, scoring three goals.

The 2002–03 campaign may have been disappointing for O'Neil personally, but the club nonetheless won the First Division title, effectively advancing to the Premier League. In order to gain first team knowledge, he was loaned to Walsall at the start of the 2003–04 season. In November 2003, Terry's outstanding work on the Midlands and Portsmouth's growing injury problems culminated in his recall. In a 6–1 victory, he went straight into the starting eleven for his Premier League debut against bottom of the table Leeds United. Thanks to his appearance, he was held in place for the next match, away from Fulham, but he had to travel to Dubai to captain England Under 20s in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Following his return, O'Neil discovered that Portsmouth's injury problems had been fixed, and he was unable to return to the team for the remainder of the season.

He was loaned to Cardiff City to get more first team action, scoring once against Millwall in the league at the start of the 2004–05 season. In November, he was recalled to Portsmouth, who were also dealing with a medical crisis. In one of the season's biggest games of the season, he returned to the team in a 2–1 loss at Southampton. He was called back to Manchester City for the next game and scored in a 3–1 loss. As this was the last match of Redknapp's reign, it was a turning point in both Portsmouth's history and O'Neil's career. Velimir Zajec, the Pompey midfield's technical director, fired a temporary manager and made O'Neil a regular. Portsmouth dropped from midtable to relegation candidates during Zajec's five-month reign, and Alain Perrin was selected to maintain the team in the Premier League. O'Neil remained a vital part of the Frenchman's career and was one of the principal reasons why Portsmouth were not relegated to the First Division after only two seasons. Liverpool's superb performances at right midfield and center midfield, as well as his goal away from Manchester United's Manchester United goal, were enough to convince European champions Liverpool to pay £5 million for him, a request that was rejected by Portsmouth.

O'Neil made his debut as a regular for Perrin's latest-look team in 2005–06, and he was one of the few players to return from the previous year. Portsmouth was at the bottom of the Premier League by November, and Perrin was fired just seven months after being appointed. Some believed that Redknapp's return to Portsmouth indicated the end of O'Neil's Portsmouth career. Many believed Redknapp did not rate O'Neil, and this suspicion seemed to have been confirmed in 2004 during the controversy between Redknapp and chairman Mandaric, who later claimed that he had vetoed an offer to sell O'Neil to Cardiff. O'Neil retained his place in the team and was chosen on the right of midfield in Redknapp's first match back in charge at Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs' winner conceded the penalty due to O'Neil's late handball. A few games later, O'Neil was moved to central midfield, and Pompey continued their best start of the season, with O'Neil scoring in consecutive home games. O'Neil captained Pompey for the first time in 2006, but O'Neil was disappointed to learn that the game had been rescheduled to allow new signings Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis to form a team in the middle. Pompey lost 1–0 and started a run of form in mid-March that left them nearing relegation, but O'Neil's appearance in a critical 1–1 draw against Bolton Wanderers saw him maintain his position in the starting lineup. Pedro Mendes' last minute victory over Manchester City sparked a comeback two weeks after this draw. Pompey defeated Wigan Athletic's JJB Stadium in 2–1 victory on September 29th, taking 14 points out of the next seven games and securing their survival.

Despite only contributing one goal Portsmouth finished 9th, their highest in the Premier League at the time, O'Neil was a regular at the right of midfield for Portsmouth in 2006–07, and despite only contributing one goal Portsmouth finished ninth, their highest finish in the Premier League at that time.

On August 31, 2007, O'Neil signed for Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, which is estimated to be in the region of £5 million. O'Neil, although he did not score for Middlesbrough during his first season, was considered a success. Gareth Southgate and Boro fans and boss have lauded his energetic performances on the right-hand side of midfield and occasionally in the center. "I think he's done an outstanding job on the right hand side this year, but I think there's more to come from him." He made 26 appearances in the league, three in the FA Cup, and three in the FA Cup during the club's run to the quarter-finals.

According to reports that appeared in May 2008, O'Neil may have continued to go from Middlesbrough after he and his family had failed to settle on Teesside. In Middlesbrough's 2–0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, O'Neil scored his first Middlesbrough goal in the 2008-09 season.

Julio Arca was suspended from the bench for the first matches of the season, starting the 2009–10 season as Southgate's first choice central midfielder. It was soon announced that O'Neil would need a hernia surgery, but the narrator spoke out and said "delay the operation so as to save Boro's midfield crisis." On September 12, his first game after his operation resulted in his first goal. He was apprehended in the box but he was able to loop Marvin Emnes' return ball over the Ipswich Town keeper. Middlesbrough's favor ended 3–1 in the game. He was diagnosed with head injury bleeding against Sheffield on Wednesday and required stitches, so he was kicked off the pitch for assessment and returned minutes later. Boro's midfield dominance ended 3–1, with O'Neil playing a key role in Boro's midfield dominance. Boro's O'Neil had 119 appearances and scored seven goals in total.

O'Neil completed his transfer to West Ham United on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee on January 25, 2011. He made his League Cup semi-final second leg against Birmingham City on Saturday, ending as an 83rd-minute replacement for Luis Boa Morte. In a 1–0 loss at Upton Park on February 6, O'Neil made his Premier League debut for the Hammers against Birmingham City on February 6, 2011 and also completed the full 90 minutes. Following a tackle by Aston Villa's Nigel Reo-Coker during West Ham's 2–1 home loss at Upton Park, his 2010–11 season came to an end early on April 16, 2011. After the contest, O'Neil was carried off on a stretcher. He underwent a two-hour ankle surgery and spent several months out of action, afraid that his football career was in jeopardy. According to O'Neil, the possibility of taking court action against Reo-Coker has been discussed. He had made nine appearances for the Hammers in all competitions by the end of the 2010-2011 season.

In a 4–1 away victory over Blackpool on February 21, 2012, O'Neil scored his first goal and was a key player in the team's end of season form, which culminated in their promotion to the Premier League after defeating Blackpool 21-0 at Wembley in the Championship play-off final. On June 7, 2013, the Premier League announced that West Ham had been released him. Despite being released, O'Neil said that talks surrounding him being offered a new deal and that he was likely to sign a new contract shortly after the new season was announced. On his Twitter account, David Gold revealed that O'Neil had rejected a new contract offer and, consequently, became a free agent.

On August 7, 2013, O'Neil signed with Queens Park Rangers on a one-year contract, reuniting with former boss Harry Redknapp. In a 3–1 victory over Ipswich Town on January 11, he scored his first goal for the club. O'Neil was a member of the Queens Park Rangers team that defeated Derby County in the 2014 Football League Championship play-off Final, 1–0 against Derby County on May 24, 2014. Johnny Russell was suspended in the 60th minute of the game at Wembley for a professional foul.

On August 5, 2014, O'Neil signed Norwich City, a Championship team, to a two-year contract. He left the club at the end of his deal.

On September 9, 2016, O'Neil joined Bristol City, a Championship team, on a two-year contract beginning on July 1, 2016. In a 2–1 loss at Reading on November 26, 2016, he scored his first goal for Bristol City.

At the end of the 2017–18 season, he was released by Bristol City at the end of the 2017-18 season.

Following a fruitful trial stint at the University of Bolton Wanderers, he completed a move to Bolton Wanderers on an initial short-term contract until January 2019. He made his Bolton debut a day after signing, and he made his debut as a second-half replacement for fellow debutant Luke Murphy in a 2–1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.

In 2018, he played in over thirty games for Bolton, Millwall, and Wigan Athletic, but he was unable to prevent the club from being relegated to League One. However, the club's supporters acknowledged his efforts when he received the Player of the Year award.

International career

At every youth level, O'Neil earned caps for England, and captained England at the 2003 FIFA under-20 World Youth Championships. He made nine appearances for the England under-21 team.

Coaching career

O'Neil was named assistant manager to Barry Lewtas for Liverpool's under-23 team in August 2020.

O'Neil joined Bournemouth as their head coach for Championship side Bournemouth until the end of the 2020-21 season, and was named as senior first team coach on February 20, 2021. Following Woodgate's departure at the end of the season, the club was promoted to the Premier League under new manager Scott Parker in 2021-22.

Following Parker's dismissal, O'Neil was placed in caretaker charge by Bournemouth on August 30th, 2022. He took over the team for the first time the following day, in a 0-0 draw against Wolves, before winning by a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on September 3rd.

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