Paddy Kenny

3.1. Early career

Kenny began his football career at Ovenden West Riding in the West Riding County Amateur League. In August 1997, he joined Bradford Park Avenue, playing semi-professionally while working as an engineer. During the 1997-98 season, he was an ever-present player in the Northern Premier League, featuring in 55 games across league and cup competitions.

After trials with Birmingham City and Bradford City, Kenny signed his first professional contract with Bury in September 1998 for a fee of 10.00 K GBP, following a recommendation from Bradford Park Avenue's manager Trevor Storton. With Dean Kiely as Bury's primary goalkeeper, Kenny was loaned out to Whitby Town in the Northern Premier League in March 1999 to gain first-team experience. Two months later, Kiely was sold, allowing Kenny to become Bury's regular goalkeeper. He made his Division Two debut for Bury on 7 August 1999 in a 2-1 victory over Gillingham at Gigg Lane. He remained an ever-present player in the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 campaigns. Under manager Andy Preece, Bury was relegated to Division Three at the end of the 2001-02 season.

3.2. Sheffield United

In July 2002, Kenny initially joined Neil Warnock's Sheffield United on loan to provide cover for the injured goalkeeper Simon Tracey. He made his debut for the "Blades" on 10 August 2002 in a 2-1 defeat to Coventry City at Highfield Road, quickly establishing himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. After three months, the loan deal was made permanent for a fee of 45.00 K GBP.

On 26 May 2003, Kenny played in the Division One play-off final at the Millennium Stadium, where Sheffield United lost 3-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite the loss, he was voted United's Player of the Season for the 2002-03 campaign, during which the team also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and League Cup, being defeated by Arsenal and Liverpool respectively. Neil Warnock highly valued Kenny's reliability, stating he "wouldn't swap him for David James, Chris Kirkland, Paul Robinson or David Seaman" despite Kenny's ongoing struggles with weight management throughout his career. Warnock considered Kenny "one of the best signings I've ever made" and "one of the best goalkeepers in the game," emphasizing his dependability.

Kenny was sidelined for three months during the 2003-04 season due to injury, but he regained his first-team place from loanee Paul Gerrard upon his recovery. He featured in 48 matches during the 2004-05 season as United finished just outside the play-off positions. Kenny played every minute of United's successful 2005-06 promotion campaign to the Premier League. A notable moment occurred in February 2006 when, with the score tied 1-1 against promotion rivals Reading, Kenny saved Dave Kitson's last-minute penalty, securing a crucial point. His performances during this season earned him the title of Championship Best Goalkeeper.

In November 2006, despite being advised by manager Neil Warnock to maintain a low profile, Kenny became involved in a drunken brawl outside a curry house in Halifax with a former friend who admitted to having an affair with Kenny's wife. The altercation resulted in Kenny having his eyebrow bitten off, requiring 12 stitches, and ultimately led to the end of his marriage. He continued to be a key player for United in their single season in the top flight, but could not prevent the club from being relegated on the final day. In a September 2006 match against Blackburn Rovers, Kenny saved a Lucas Neill penalty in a 0-0 draw, a game notable for his opposite number, Brad Friedel, also saving two penalties.

Back in the Championship, Kenny remained the club's number one goalkeeper for the 2007-08 campaign. Despite the team's struggles, Kenny maintained strong form, though he notably scored an own goal in extra time during an FA Cup fifth-round replay against Middlesbrough in February, which knocked Sheffield United out of the cup.

Towards the end of 2008, Kenny began to express dissatisfaction with his contract situation, leading to him being dropped for the Boxing Day game against Wolverhampton Wanderers after being late for training. He was subsequently placed on the transfer list. However, he returned to the first team after missing two league games and remained an ever-present for the rest of the 2008-09 season, including an appearance at Wembley Stadium in the Championship play-off final, which United lost. Despite missing out on promotion, Kenny agreed to a contract extension a few days later, effectively removing him from the transfer list.

Only weeks after signing his contract extension, it was reported that Kenny had failed a drug test following the previous season's play-off semi-final. Kenny tested positive for ephedrine, a banned substance, which was believed to be contained in an over-the-counter cough medicine he had taken. Following an FA hearing in September 2009, Kenny was banned from all professional football for nine months. He was not permitted to train at Bramall Lane and had to train alone, away from his teammates and coaches. Kenny expressed shock at the length of the ban, stating that "The barrister was adamant I would get three months backdated... So when at the hearing they said 'we agree you've not taken it to enhance performance, but we are hitting you with a nine-month ban for negligence', it was a massive shock." Despite an unsuccessful appeal against his ban, Sheffield United still opted to agree to a new contract extension with Kenny during his enforced absence from first-team football.

3.3. Queens Park Rangers

In June 2010, despite having recently signed an extended deal with Sheffield United, Kenny joined Queens Park Rangers on a three-year contract, reuniting with his former manager Neil Warnock. QPR's bid of 750.00 K GBP met a release clause in his contract, allowing him to leave, and the move doubled his wages to 20.00 K GBP per week. He was voted the club's Player of the Season for the 2010-11 season as the "R's" won promotion as champions of the Championship.

Kenny continued as Rangers' number one goalkeeper in their first season back in the Premier League, making 33 starts and keeping seven clean sheets. QPR secured their Premier League status on the final day of the 2011-12 season. A notable moment occurred in the title-deciding match against Manchester City on 13 May 2012. Kenny made several crucial saves throughout the game, which could have secured the title for Manchester United. However, he conceded two late goals in injury time to Edin Džeko and Sergio Agüero, allowing Manchester City to win the match and the Premier League title. Despite the outcome, Kenny was praised for fulfilling his role as a goalkeeper.

Despite Kenny's strong performances, new manager Mark Hughes decided to sign England goalkeeper Robert Green from West Ham United before the 2012-13 campaign began, effectively signaling Kenny's loss of his first-team place. Consequently, Kenny was made available for transfer. Soon after his departure, QPR sent a formal letter of complaint to Leeds United regarding abusive text messages allegedly sent by Kenny to QPR's technical director Mike Rigg and chairman Tony Fernandes. The texts reportedly mocked the club's poor first result of the season and, in particular, Green's performance, leading to Kenny's Twitter account being deleted.

3.4. Leeds United

In July 2012, Kenny signed a three-year contract with Leeds United, marking his fourth reunion with manager Neil Warnock. He was allocated the number one shirt for the 2012-13 season and made his competitive debut for Leeds in the first game of the season against Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup. On 23 October, he made his 500th senior career appearance against Charlton Athletic. The 2012-13 season concluded with Kenny being Leeds United's only ever-present player in the Championship, playing every minute of all 46 league games.

On 22 February 2014, Kenny missed his first league game since joining Leeds due to an ongoing injury sustained against Nottingham Forest earlier in the 2013-14 season. Leeds responded by signing Jack Butland on loan, who immediately went into the first team. Kenny was subsequently not named in matchday squads, with goalkeeper Alex Cairns being favored as the club's second-choice goalkeeper. On 25 April, Kenny's agents released a statement confirming that he was fit and available for selection despite his absence.

On 30 June 2014, Kenny was notably left out of Leeds' two-week pre-season training camp in Santa Cristina, Italy. On 3 July, the Professional Footballers' Association investigated alleged media reports that Kenny had been dropped because his birthdate fell on the 17th of a month. This was linked to Leeds owner Massimo Cellino's deep superstition regarding the number 17. However, Kenny's agent, Paul Masterton, dismissed these claims. On the same day, Leeds signed goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, further fueling speculation about Kenny's future at the club.

On 1 August 2014, Kenny was not assigned a squad number for the 2014-15 season, with new signing Marco Silvestri taking his previous number 1 shirt. On 18 August, Kenny officially left Leeds by mutual consent.

3.5. Later Career

On 19 September 2014, Kenny signed a short-term deal with Bolton Wanderers to provide competition for Andy Lonergan after Ádám Bogdán was injured. After two months at the Macron Stadium where he remained an unused substitute, Kenny was loaned to Oldham Athletic as manager Lee Johnson lost faith in Paul Rachubka. He played four matches for Oldham across all competitions, with his final game for the club being a 7-0 defeat by Milton Keynes Dons on 20 December 2014, which turned out to be his last appearance in professional football. On 19 January 2015, Bolton confirmed Kenny's departure upon the expiration of his contract.

On 20 January 2015, Kenny joined Ipswich Town on a short-term deal but did not feature in the 2014-15 season as Bartosz Białkowski retained his first-team place. In August 2015, he began training with Port Vale, managed by former teammate Rob Page, to maintain his fitness, and was considered for a short-term contract due to an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Chris Neal. On 6 November 2015, Kenny rejoined Bury on a short-term contract. However, he canceled his contract after just 13 days due to a calf injury, stating he did not wish to take money from the club if he was unable to play.

In February 2016, Kenny was signed by Neil Warnock for the fifth time in his career, joining Rotherham United on a deal until the end of the 2015-16 season. After leaving Rotherham, Kenny reunited with former teammate Rob Page in the summer of 2016, joining Northampton Town as a player-goalkeeping coach. In January 2017, Kenny left Northampton after new manager Justin Edinburgh appointed David Kerslake as his new assistant manager.

In August 2017, Kenny joined Maltby Main of the Northern Counties East Football League. He made his league debut on 12 August in a 1-0 loss at Worksop Town, starting the match but being substituted due to injury in the eleventh minute. He made one further appearance for Maltby Main in the FA Vase, again being substituted after starting the match.

7.1. Club

7.2. International