Introduction
Michael Edward Spillane (born 23 March 1989 in Cambridge, England) is an Irish professional footballer, who plays as a defender or midfielder for Chelmsford City.
Club career
Spillane signed a full, professional, three-year contract with Norwich on 30 June 2006. He had already made his first team debut by this time against West Ham United in the 2006 FA Cup third round, making him the youngest ever player for Norwich City to play in the FA Cup.
Spillane was given his first extended run in the Norwich side by manager Peter Grant towards the end of the 2006–07 season. He got his chance in the centre of midfield due to injuries to Youssef Safri, Simon Lappin and Mark Fotheringham. This was after he initially played at right back under Nigel Worthington.
Spillane signed on loan for Luton Town for the 2008–09 season in August 2008. He scored his first Luton goal in the match against Aldershot Town on 13 September. Spillane made a total of thirty-eight league appearances for Luton, scoring three goals. He was also part of the Luton side that won the Football League Trophy, beating Scunthorpe United 3–2 at Wembley.
In April 2009, Spillane signed a two-year contract extension with Norwich City. Spillane went on to play a bigger part in Norwich's 2009–10 League One winning season playing 13 times and scoring once against Leyton Orient, although he missed around half the season with injury. In July 2010, he transferred to Brentford for an undisclosed fee. In September 2010, he scored his penalty as Brentford knocked Everton out of the League Cup on penalties. Spillane scored his first and what turned out to be only Brentford goal in a 3–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday.
He signed on loan for Dagenham & Redbridge, on 17 November 2011, turning this into a permanent deal on 6 January 2012.
On 17 January 2013, Spillane signed for Southend United.
On 23 August 2013, Spillane signed a one-year-deal with Cambridge United. He left the club on 31 January 2014 by mutual consent and joined Sutton United.
International career
Spillane has represented Republic of Ireland U17s, for whom he was the captain. Spillane also captained the Republic of Ireland U18s to an international tournament win, scoring twice in the Portugal tournament; netting in a 2–2 draw with Belgium and then striking a late winner against Portugal. The squad also recorded a 3–1 win against Georgia.
He has played five times for Republic of Ireland U21s, scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Germany in February 2009. Spillane won the Republic of Ireland Under-19 Player of the Year Award in March 2009.
Honours
- Luton Town
- Football League Trophy
- Champions: 2009 Football League Trophy Final
- Norwich City
- Football League One
- Champions: 2009–10
Career statistics
- As of match played 30 April 2016.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Norwich City | 2005–06 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | League One | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Luton Town (loan) | 2008–09 | League Two | 39 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 49 | 4 |
| Brentford | 2010–11 | League One | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| 2011–12 | League One | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 2011–12 | League Two | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2011–12 | League Two | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13 | League Two | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 5 | |
| Total | 53 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 60 | 9 | ||
| Southend United | 2012–13 | League Two | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Cambridge United | 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Sutton United | 2013–14 | Conference South | 11 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Conference South | 35 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 39 | 3 | ||
| 2015–16 | National League South | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 4 | 0 | 59 | 6 | |||
| Lowestoft Town | 2015–16 | National League South | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 27 | 4 | |
| Career totals | 246 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 290 | 25 | ||