Name: John Henry Kirwan
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Country:  Ireland
Club: Tottenham Hotspur 1899-1905
Position: *WF
Side: LF/LS
Age: 28-32 years (02/12/1872)
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 66 kg (Approx.)
Attack: 82
Defence: 32
Balance: 71
Stamina: 81
Top Speed: 87
Acceleration: 86
Response: 75
Agility: 84
Dribble Accuracy: 84
Dribble Speed: 85
Short Pass Accuracy: 78
Short Pass Speed: 74
Long Pass Accuracy: 77
Long Pass Speed: 72
Shot Accuracy: 78
Shot Power: 83
Shot Technique: 78
Free Kick Accuracy: 67
Curling: 68
Header: 68
Jump: 72
Technique: 83
Aggression: 85
Mentality: 78
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 72
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 5
Growth type: Standard
CARDS:
S14 - Speed Merchant
P07 - Mazing Run
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Side
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack Minded
Info:
Wicklow, Ireland born outside left Jack Kirwan initially played Gaelic football for Dublin and won an All-Ireland medal with Dublin in 1894 when they defeated Cork by 1-2 to 0-5 after a replay. Although both the Final and the replay finished level, Dublin were awarded the Cup. He started his football career with Lancashire club Kirkdale in 1894 and then joined Southport Central of the Lancashire League where he attracted the attentions of both Everton and Blackburn Rovers. He opted to sign for Everton in July 1898 and was subsequently used to replace John Cameron who had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur. He made his Football League debut for Everton in a goalless draw at Preston North End in September 1898. During his only season with The Toffees he scored 5 goals in 26 appearances before following John Cameron to Tottenham Hotspur where the latter was now manager in the summer of 1899.
He helped the Spurs win the Southern League in 1900 and the FA Cup in 1901, when they beat Sheffield United in a replay at Burnden Park after a 2-2 draw in the Final at The Crystal Palace, Tottenham thus becoming the only club outside the Football League to win the competition. In 1900 Kirwan also became the first Spurs player capped by Ireland when he played in a 2-0 defeat to Wales at The Oval, Llandudno. Between 1900 and 1909 Kirwan won 17 caps for Ireland, scoring twice and was a member of the Ireland team that clinched a share in the 1903 British Home Championship. His final game for Ireland was a 5-0 defeat to Scotland at Ibrox on 15th March 1909.
In May 1905 Kirwan left Tottenham Hotspur and joined newly elected Football League club Chelsea, playing in their inaugural League fixture at Stockport County. Over the next three seasons he made 76 appearances in total for Chelsea and scored 18 goals. In 1907 he helped Chelsea finish runners up in the Second Division and thus gain their first ever promotion. After leaving Chelsea he played a season for Clyde in 1908-09 before returning to the Southern League with Leyton in 1909, playing a further season for the East London club before retiring as a player.
- Jack Kirwan’s six years at the club encompassed more than 350 games and an impressive 97 goals. In his final year in London, his general athleticism and all-round sporting prowess was further illustrated by his role in the winning the 1906 British national baseball championship with the Hotspurs.
- After just one season at Everton, Jack followed John Cameron to Tottenham Hotspur where the latter was now manager. During his six seasons at Tottenham, he played alongside John Brearley and Vivian Woodward. He scored 97 goals in 347 games for the club. This included 23 in games in the FA Cup.
- As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Ireland.
- Jack played the outside-left position and he possessed all the attributes needed to be a top notch winger. He had the speed of a cheetah, was clever on the ball and made plenty of goals. He demonstrated his ability from day one with Everton, scoring eight goals in 24 games for the reserve team before making his first-team debut against Preston in September 1898. By the end of the season, he’d scored six in 26 first-team matches- an undeniably impressive performance in his first season at the highest level. It wasn’t enough to keep Jack at Everton and by the start of the next season he was playing for Tottenham Hotspur, who signed him in June 1899.
Quote: Spurs' quarter-final match put them up against Reading. if Tottenham anticipated an easy match they got a nasty surprise. Reading scored the first goal then defended successfully until well past the eightieth minute of the match. Spurs were looking down and out. Perhaps their day was done, their run was over, but then with time almost gone Jack made a run upfield, charging like the Light Brigade, forward and further forward again, then he fired the perfect shot at the perfect time to score the perfect goal, the goal that saved the day, and saved the game, for the Spurs. Quote: When the game began, Sheffield took the early initiative, and when they scored in the eleventh minute it seemed likely that they would prove the bookies' predictions correct. But Spurs showed their mettle again by fighting their way back into the game with some good attacking moves, while holding it together at the back to prevent any further breach. In the 23rd minute a chance was made and taken and Spurs made it 1-1. The scoreline stayed even until the sixth minute of the second half, and then Jack made his mark on the match. breaking free of his marker he made a sprint, outpacing defenders all the way he went forward with his head held high, searching for any chink of space. Then he found the angle he wanted and played the perfect pass, timed to arrive precisely in the stride of the Tottenham forward who put the ball away into the net for the goal that took the lead. Heaven it was, but for only a short time, as a minute later Sheffield made it 2-2 and that was how it stayed. Quote: In the early stages of the second half, Scotland had the wind at their backs and put remorseless pressure on Ireland and the play went one way and then the other before settling back into a pattern of Scottish dominance. It seemed as if a Scotland equaliser was inevitable, but Jack began to turn on his skills again, earning loud cheers from the crowd for one sweetly zigzagging run and pass that put a striker free and clear to shoot the ball in, but offside was called. Then in the very last minutes of the game, Jack played the ball out to the wing then dashed forward, through the middle this time, showing perfect timing to get into the penalty area at the exact moment the ball was crossed in, then meet it dead on to knock it neatly into the net from close range for his first international goal. Ireland won the game 2-0 and they earned a share of first place in the British Championship, the best they'd ever done. Jack played seventeen matches for Ireland, earning his last international cap in 1909. Quote: Zeldenrijk told Mirror Sport: “The Ajax chairman, Han Dade, felt the club would become more successful by having a professional coach.
“The club was founded in 1900, but didn’t have a professional coach until 1910 - and that was Jack Kirwan.
"In England, Kirwan was well known for being a small player and quiet, except when it came to football.
"He also had a very specific walk and years after his goodbye as a player, people still recognised him because of this walk.
"But he took sport seriously and did not drink or smoke.”
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