Rory John Delap (born 6 July 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he made 11 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Delap started his career at Carlisle United and impressed enough to earn a move to Premier League side Derby County in 1998. In 2001, Delap joined Southampton for a club record of £4 million. After spending five years on the south coast, he moved to Sunderland. Following a brief spell on Wearside, Delap was loaned to Stoke City in October 2006. In just his second match for Stoke, against his parent club Sunderland, Delap suffered a broken leg. Despite this, Delap signed a permanent contract for Stoke in January 2007. He went on to become a vital member of the squad and his long throw-ins helped Stoke gain promotion to the Premier League and consolidate their position in the league. After spending six seasons at Stoke, Delap had short spells with Barnsley and Burton Albion before retiring in December 2013.
A midfielder by trade, he was renowned for his long throw-in ability.Stoke 2–1 Arsenal Ian Hughes, BBC Sport Online, 1 November 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008 (includes video interview discussing his long throw-in). Between the touchlines, he was famed for his fitness and work rate, which gave him a valuable role in breaking up opposition play. Delap was a talented javelin thrower in his youth, and was touted to represent Ireland in the Olympics after his throw-ins shot to prominence following Stoke's promotion to the Premier League.
After finishing his playing career, Delap returned to his former club Derby County where he began his coaching career. After coaching the club's under-18 team, he replaced Darren Wassall as the under-21 head coach in February 2016, winning the U21 Premier League 1 Division 2 title in his first season in charge.
Club career
Carlisle United He was one of several promising players who came through the ranks at Brunton Park during the mid-1990s, alongside Matt Jansen, Scott Dobie and Lee Peacock. In 1997, he was part of the side which gained promotion to Division Two and defeated Colchester United on penalties to win the Football League Trophy at Wembley Stadium.
Derby County Delap was signed by Derby County manager Jim Smith for £200,000 in February 1998, and went on to make 13 appearances during the remainder of the 1997–98 season. Despite failing to score a league goal during the 1998–99 season, he did manage to find the net in a second round League Cup tie with Manchester City. During the 1999–00 season he was Derby's top scorer with eight goals. His first goal of the campaign came during a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal. After scoring his second goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, his third came during a 3–3 stalemate with his future club Southampton. A 3–1 home victory over Chelsea saw Delap score two goals and increase his tally to five, while it was just two games later when he scored against eventual champions Manchester United in a 2–1 loss at Pride Park. Later that season, Delap scored and assisted a goal in a 3–0 win over Leicester City – a game in which Stan Collymore broke his leg. His eighth and final goal of the campaign came after just 22 seconds of a 4–4 draw with Bradford City, although he was later sent off for conceding one of four penalties. During the 2000–01 season, Delap once again scored against both Leicester and Bradford. He scored his final goal for Derby in a 1–0 victory over Ipswich Town on 2 December 2000, which brought his total league tally to 11.
Southampton On 10 July 2001, Southampton signed Delap for a fee of £4 million. In the process he not only became Stuart Gray's first signing since replacing Glenn Hoddle as manager, but also Southampton's record transfer – a tag he held onto for almost 11 years, before they signed Jay Rodriguez from Burnley for £7 million on 10 June 2012. Prior to Delap's arrival, his former club Carlisle received £700,000 from the deal. Delap's first goal for Southampton came during a 3–1 victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on 2 March 2002. It was later that month when he scored his first goal at St Mary's in a 1–1 draw with Fulham.
Although Delap failed to score during the 2002–03 campaign, he made a total of 30 appearances in all competitions and helped Southampton reach the 2003 FA Cup Final, despite missing the game due to an ankle injury. Although they narrowly lost to Arsenal after Robert Pires scored the only goal of the game, the Gunners had already qualified for the Champions League after finishing second in the Premier League, therefore Southampton qualified for the UEFA Cup. Their UEFA Cup campaign was short-lived, after a 1–1 draw with Steaua București at St. Mary's was followed by a 1–0 away defeat on 15 October 2003. Delap played in both legs.
Delap's third goal for Southampton and arguably the best of his career, was a spectacular bicycle kick in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 27 March 2004. The 64th-minute strike ended a near two-year goal drought. Seven months later he scored two headers in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal at Highbury. Both goals came in the last ten minutes of the game, and would have secured three points for Southampton had it not been for Robin van Persie's last-minute equaliser, which maintained Arsenal's position at the top of the Premier League.
Sunderland From Southampton, Delap was signed by Mick McCarthy for Sunderland in the 2005–06 season. He made six appearances for the club that season before injury struck. On 8 April 2006, under caretaker manager Kevin Ball, he clashed heads with teammate George McCartney during his side's league game with Fulham, a game that was subsequently abandoned. In doing so, he broke his nose and underwent an operation to adjust it correctly after being selected to play at Manchester United only to withdraw after suffering a nose bleed during the warm-up. Thus he was ruled out for the remainder of the season and Manchester United relegated Sunderland, and ended their own title hopes, with a 0–0 draw. He scored once in the league during his spell at Sunderland, a crucial equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Everton on 1 April 2006.
Stoke City
Having become a marginal figure when Roy Keane took over as manager of Sunderland, Delap was loaned to Stoke City in October 2006. He made his debut in the 4–0 thumping of Leeds United at Elland Road. A week after signing on loan, Delap made his home debut for Stoke against his parent club Sunderland on 17 October 2006. However, after a challenge from Robbie Elliott, he sustained fractures to his tibia and fibula early in the game, resulting in a broken leg. Although the injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2006–07 season, Stoke manager Tony Pulis signed Delap on a permanent basis on 9 January 2007.
2007–08 On 15 July 2007, Delap made his comeback in a pre-season friendly with Newcastle Town. On 15 September 2007, Delap scored his first goal for Stoke in a 1–1 draw with Hull. On 22 September 2007, Richard Cresswell scored from Delap's throw in a 3–1 win over Queens Park Rangers. On 1 January 2008, in a second 1–1 draw with Hull, Delap assisted Leon Cort with another long throw. On 9 February 2008, Delap scored his second goal of the season in a 4–2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Delap made a total of 46 appearances in the league, as Stoke finished 2nd and were promoted to the Premier League on the final day of the season. They had been away from the top-flight for 23 years.
2008–09 The potency of the "Delap Special" reached new heights as Stoke City began their debut Premier League season. Of their first 13 goals, seven were credited as Delap assists. Stoke's first Premiership goal from a Delap throw was Mamady Sidibe's injury-time winner against Aston Villa on 23 August 2008. His throws continued to cause further problems for Stoke's opposition throughout the season, and would have earned the Potters a point against Everton on 14 September, had it not been for Tim Cahill's 77th-minute header. The game finished 2–3, with both Stoke goals coming from Delap throws. Tony Pulis suggested his absence was a crucial factor in Stoke's 2–0 defeat to Chelsea on 27 September. He returned the following week to face Portsmouth, and despite helping to create Ricardo Fuller's goal from a throw-in, Stoke lost the game 2–1. It was just one game later when Delap scored his first goal of the season and only his third in a Stoke shirt. He met Sidibe's cross at the far post to give his side an important 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Delap was sent off in Stoke's 1–0 win over Manchester City for fouling and kicking out at Shaun Wright-Phillips.
2009–10 Delap's throw-ins quickly caused problems at the beginning of the 2009–10 season. In Stoke's opening game against newly promoted Burnley, Delap's throw-in forced an own goal from Stephen Jordan in a 2–0 win. On 31 October 2009, Delap's throw-in created another goal for Stoke. Although Christophe Berra of Wolverhampton Wanderers attempted to clear the ball, it fell to Matthew Etherington, who volleyed it into the top corner. Delap then gave away two penalties within three games, against both Portsmouth and Arsenal. Portsmouth's Aruna Dindane was struck in the head by Delap's boot, while Andrei Arshavin was tripped up by Delap's leg. Both penalties were saved by Thomas Sørensen.
Delap proved crucial in Stoke's 2009–10 FA Cup campaign. His throw-ins created two goals in a third-round win over York City, helping Stoke come from behind within just two minutes. Daniel Parslow headed the first into his own net, before Ricardo Fuller put Stoke ahead after York failed to clear the second. Just 70 seconds into their fourth-round tie with Arsenal, Fuller gave Stoke the lead from Delap's swirling throw-in. Stoke won the game 3–1. In their fifth-round tie against Manchester City, Fuller converted yet another Delap throw-in to cancel out an early goal from Shaun Wright-Phillips. Several pundits drew comparisons to Fuller's goal against Arsenal in the previous round. A replay was required after the game finished 1–1. The replay finished 1–1 over 90 minutes, meaning extra-time was required. Just five minutes into extra-time, Ryan Shawcross beat Shay Given to the ball and headed in from Delap's throw-in. Tuncay later added to the scoring, ensuring Stoke made it to the quarter-finals. Stoke were defeated 2–0 by holders Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Delap in-directly assisted two more goals from throw-ins during the remainder of Stoke's league campaign. Danny Pugh scored in a 3–1 defeat to Arsenal on 27 February 2010, while Tuncay scored a header in a 1–1 draw with Burnley on 10 March 2010. Stoke finished the season in 11th place with 47 points, one place and two points higher than the previous season.
2010–11 On 13 September 2010, Delap made his 300th Premier League appearance against Aston Villa, becoming the 82nd player to reach the landmark. On 16 October 2010, Delap ended a 21-month goal drought against Bolton Wanderers. Although his goal was the equaliser, Stoke lost 2–1 during injury-time, with Ivan Klasnić's winner ironically occurring from a long throw-in. Just a few minutes after Klasnić's goal, he received two yellow cards in quick succession, with the second coming after catching Delap in the face while challenging for a header. He scored another rare goal against West Bromwich Albion in February 2011.
While Delap's throw-ins were becoming much less effective in the Premier League, they were decisive throughout Stoke's 2010–11 FA Cup campaign. They created goals against Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham and Bolton Wanderers, helping Stoke reach their first ever FA Cup Final. Stoke lost 1–0 to Manchester City in the final, but as City had already qualified for the Champions League through the league, Stoke qualified for the Europa League.