Cian Bolger

Cian Thomas Bolger (born 12 March 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Larne.

Cian Bolger
Bolger playing for Southend United in 2014
Personal information
Full name Cian Thomas Bolger[1]
Date of birth (1992-03-12) 12 March 1992[2]
Place of birth Celbridge, Ireland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Larne
Number 18
Youth career
2004-2008 Celbridge Town
2008–2010 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Leicester City 0 (0)
2011 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 6 (0)
2011–2012 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 39 (2)
2012–2013 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 4 (0)
2013–2014 Bolton Wanderers 0 (0)
2013 → Colchester United (loan) 4 (0)
2014 → Southend United (loan) 1 (0)
2014–2016 Southend United 45 (1)
2016 → Bury (loan) 9 (0)
2016–2019 Fleetwood Town 85 (9)
2019–2020 Lincoln City 45 (1)
2020–2021 Northampton Town 26 (1)
2021– Larne 66 (2)
International career
2010 Republic of Ireland U19 2 (0)
2013 Republic of Ireland U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2023

Club career

Leicester City

Bolger was born in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland,[4] and was Leicester City's academy Player of the Year in 2009.[5]

Loans to Bristol Rovers

He made his debut in the Football League while on loan at Bristol Rovers, when he came on as a 78th-minute substitute for Carl Regan in a 6–1 defeat to Walsall on 29 January 2011.[6] Bolger was sent off for the first time in his senior career on 8 February 2011, after a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Rochdale player Chris O'Grady.[7] On 11 July, Bolger returned to Bristol Rovers on a 6-month loan deal.[8] On 24 September 2011, Bolger scored the first professional goal of his career.

On 31 August 2012, Bolger was loaned to Bristol Rovers for a third time, until 1 January 2013. On 8 September 2012 he sustained a cruciate ligament injury in a 2–2 draw against Aldershot Town, which prevented him from playing for over 3 months.[9] He made his comeback on Boxing Day, coincidentally in another 2–2 draw against Aldershot, playing the full 90 minutes.

Bolton Wanderers

On 31 January 2013, Bolger signed for Bolton Wanderers.[10][11] On 28 March, he scored the winner for Bolton Wanderers Reserves in a 3–2 win over Stoke City Reserves. He is a former captain of the Bolton Development squad but didn't make any appearances for the first team squad during his time at Bolton.

Colchester United (loan)

In October 2013 Bolger signed a one-month loan deal with Colchester United[12] and made 4 league appearances.

Southend United (loan)

On 21 February 2014, Bolger joined League Two side Southend United on a 28-day loan,[13] but his loan spell was cut short after just one appearance due to an ankle injury on 24 February 2014.[14]

Southend United

On 5 August 2014 Bolger signed a two-year permanent deal with Southend United.

On 14 April 2015, Bolger scored his first goal for Southend United in the 45th minute against Newport County with a towering header. Bolger scored Southend's final penalty in the shoot-out in the play-off final on 23 May 2015, Southend were promoted winning 7–6.

Fleetwood Town

Bolger signed for Fleetwood Town on 22 May 2016, and went on to make over 100 appearances for the club.[15] He scored his first goal for Fleetwood in an FA Cup tie against Southport on 15 November 2016.[16]

Lincoln City

Bolger signed for Lincoln City on 17 January 2019.[17]

Northampton Town

Bolger signed a one-year contract at Northampton Town on 21 August 2020 ahead of the 2020–21 campaign.[18]

Larne

After a single season at Northampton, Bolger signed for NIFL Premiership club Larne on 5 July 2021.[19]

Career statistics
As of 9 May 2021
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leicester City 2010–11 Championship 000000-00
2011–12 Championship 000000-00
Leicester total 000000-00
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2010–11[20] League One 6000000060
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2011–12[21] League Two 382201000412
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2012–13[22] League Two 4000001[lower-alpha 1]050
Bolton Wanderers 2012–13[22] Championship 0000000000
Colchester United (loan) 2013–14[23] League One 4000000040
Southend United (loan) 2013–14[23] League Two 1000000010
Southend United 2014–15[24] League Two 23100003[lower-alpha 2]0261
2015–16[25] League One 220101010250
Southend total 451101040511
Bury (loan) 2015–16[25] League One 9000000090
Fleetwood Town[26] 2016–17 League One 33561103[lower-alpha 3]0436
2017–18 League One 41352102[lower-alpha 1]1496
2018–19 League One 11120202[lower-alpha 1]0171
Fleetwood total 859133408011012
Lincoln City[27] 2018–19 League Two 171000000171
2019–20 League One 280102020330
Lincoln total 451102020501
Northampton Town[27] 2020–21 League One 261002030311
Career total 2631417310017130718
  1. Appearance in the Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in the League Two play-offs
  3. Two appearances in the Football League Trophy and one in the League One play-offs

Honours

Southend United

Lincoln City

Larne

Individual

References
  1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. "Cian Bolger". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. "Cian Bolger - Defender - First Team Squad - Northampton Town". www.weareimps.com. Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. "Player Details: Cian Bolger". English National Football Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. "Bristol Rovers sign Leicester defender Bolger on loan". BBC Sport. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  6. "Walsall 6 – 1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  7. "Rochdale 3 – 1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 8 February 2011.
  8. "Leicester City's Cian Bolger returns to Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  9. "Bristol Rovers defender Cian Bolger ruled out for three months". BBC Sport. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  10. "Bolton: Medo Kamara, Cian Bolger & Steve De Ridder sign". BBC Sport. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  11. "Bolger deal confirmed". Bolton Wanderers FC. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  12. "Colchester United sign Bolton's Cian Bolger". BBC Sport. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  13. "News: Cian Bolger joins Southend United". Southend United FC. 21 February 2014.
  14. "Bolton Wanderers: Cian Bolger's Southend United loan ends". BBC Sport. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  15. "Cian Bolger: Fleetwood Town sign former Southend United centre-back". BBC Sport. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  16. "Fleetwood 4–1 Southport". BBC Sport. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  17. "Imps sign Irishman from The Cod Army". weareimps.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  18. "Northampton Town Complete the Signing of Cian Bolger". Northampton Town F.C. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  19. "Who is Cian Bolger? All you need to know about League One man who has signed for Larne". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  20. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  21. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  22. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  23. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  24. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  25. "Games played by Cian Bolger in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  26. Cian Bolger at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  27. "Republic of Ireland - C. Bolger - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  28. Shepka, Phil (23 May 2015). "Southend United 1–1 Wycombe Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  29. "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
    "Lincoln: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  30. "Larne secure historic first Irish League title". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 April 2023.
  31. "Co Antrim Shield: Impressive Larne see off Linfield in gripping final to retain trophy". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  32. "County Antrim Shield final: Larne complete hat-trick with shootout win after lengthy injury delay". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  33. "Ni Football Awards Team of the Year".
  34. "Fan and Sponsor Award Evening a great success". Fleetwood F.C. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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