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John Filan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Filan
Filan warming-up with Sydney FC
Personal information
Full name John Richard Filan
Date of birth (1970-02-08) 8 February 1970 (age 56)
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 St. George Saints 52 (0)
1991–1992 Wollongong Wolves 23 (0)
1992 St. George Saints 0 (0)
1992–1993 Wollongong Wolves 6 (0)
1993–1995 Cambridge United 68 (0)
1995 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 0 (0)
1995–1997 Coventry City 16 (0)
1997–2001 Blackburn Rovers 64 (0)
2001–2007 Wigan Athletic 184 (0)
2006 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 3 (0)
2008 Sydney FC 0 (0)
Total 416 (0)
International career
1990–1992 Australia U23 14 (0)
1992–1997 Australia 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Richard Filan (born 8 February 1970) is an Australian football coach and former professional player.

As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1989 until 2008 and notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City, Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic, having also been contracted without playing for Nottingham Forest in England's top division. He also played in the Football League for Cambridge United and Doncaster Rovers, and in his native country for St. George Saints, Wollongong Wolves and Sydney FC. He was capped two times by Australia.[2]

Following retirement, Filan has worked as a coach and held a role with Sydney FC before a spell as assistant manager with both Macclesfield Town and Shrewsbury Town.

Early life

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John Richard Filan was born on 8 February 1970 in Sydney, New South Wales.[3]

Club career

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Early career

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Filan began his career playing for St. George Saints and Wollongong Wolves in the old National Soccer League in Australia. He trialled with a number of clubs in England, including Southampton,[4] before joining Cambridge United in 1993 for a fee of £40,000.[5]

Coventry City

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In March 1995, Filan signed for Coventry City for a fee of £300,000.[6] Initially third-choice goalkeeper at the club, he was handed his debut towards the end of the 1994–95 season when first choice keeper Steve Ogrizovic broke his leg, and backup Jonathan Gould was dropped following a poor performance. He retained his place in the starting lineup until Ogrizovic returned from his injury in November 1995.[7]

Blackburn Rovers

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Filan moved on to Blackburn Rovers in 1997, for a fee of £700,000.[8] In August 1997, he suffered a broken arm in a 7–1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, an injury which kept him out of action for most of the 1997–98 season.[9] He was relegated with Blackburn during the 1998–99 season, but received the club's Player of the Year award in recognition of his individual performances.[10] He was replaced as first choice goalkeeper in November 2000, following the arrival of Brad Friedel.[11]

Wigan Athletic

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He joined Wigan Athletic in December 2001 for £600,000.[12] He played all 46 league games in Wigan's Second Division-winning season in 2002–03, which included a run of eight consecutive clean sheets, setting a club record.[13] He was an ever-present again in 2004–05 when the club won promotion to the Premier League, and was awarded a new contract which kept him at the club until 2007.[14] Between his debut and the end of the 2004–05 season, Filan had missed only one league match for the club – a fixture against Wimbledon in April 2004 due to suspension.[15]

He was injured at the start of the 2005–06 season, with Wigan's new signing Mike Pollitt taking his place in the side. He appeared as a substitute for Wigan in the 2006 Football League Cup Final when Pollitt had to come off early in the first half with an injury.[16] In 2006–07, there was further competition in goal following the arrival of Chris Kirkland, and Filan was loaned out to Doncaster Rovers.[17] He returned to the Wigan starting lineup in February 2007 following injuries to both Kirkland and Pollitt,[18] notably saving a Nolberto Solano penalty in a 1–0 win over Newcastle United.[19] On 27 February 2007, he announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, as he was returning home to Australia.[20]

International career

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Filan was a member of the Australian team that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and finished in fourth place. As he has an Irish passport through his ancestry, he once sought to play international football for Ireland. However, FIFA ruled against it in February 1999 because he had played for the Australian Olympic team.[21][22]

Coaching career

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Filan returned to Australia in semi-retirement, resettling in his home town of Sydney. In August 2007 agreed terms with A-League side Sydney FC as backup to Clint Bolton,[23] however the deal fell through citing outside issues.[24] He eventually joined the club a year later as a goalkeeping coach.[25]

He later returned to England, and in 2014 he was appointed as an assistant coach of the under-21 team at his former club Blackburn Rovers.[26]

Filan was appointed as assistant manager to John Askey at League One side Shrewsbury Town in June 2018, having previously worked with Askey during his managerial tenure at Macclesfield Town.[27] This role lasted only five months, with the whole management team departing after only four wins in seventeen league matches.[28]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia[2] 199210
199300
199400
199500
199600
1997 1 0
Total20

Honours

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Blackburn Rovers

Wigan Athletic

Individual

References

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  1. ↑ "John Filan: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 "John Filan". National Football Teams.
  3. ↑ "Australian Player Database: Filan, John Richard". OzFootball. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  4. ↑ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 612. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  5. ↑ "Can you remember Cambridge United's previous foreign goalkeepers?". CambridgeshireLive. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1995). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1995–96. Headline. p. 572. ISBN 978-0-7472-7823-8.
  7. ↑ "Where Are They Now: Oggy's Understudies". Coventry City F.C. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Dalglish tempted by £6m Montella". The Independent. 5 August 1997. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "'I can't wait to get back' says Rovers keeper John". Lancashire Telegraph. 3 March 1998. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "FA Carling Premiership | Rovers on the brink". BBC News. 8 May 1999. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Filan ponders Ewood future". Lancashire Telegraph. 20 November 2000. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Filan joins Wigan". Lancashire Telegraph. 15 December 2001. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Results not records the most important thing for Wigan Athletic boss - 'I've not heard it mentioned'". Wigan Today. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Filan agrees new deal with Wigan". BBC Sport. 20 April 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Salisbury returns to Wigan". BBC Sport. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Man Utd ease to Carling Cup glory". BBC Sport. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Doncaster agree Filan loan deal". BBC Sport. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Wigan sign Preston's Nash on loan". BBC Sport. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Wigan 1-0 Newcastle". BBC. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Filan set for summer Wigan exit". BBC Sport. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Given hoping return to Ewood is a happy one". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  22. ↑ "FIFA rule Leeds must free players". Irish Times. 22 February 1999. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "Oh what a Filan: Sydney get their hands on veteran keeper". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  24. ↑ "Filan's about-face puts Sydney on spot". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  25. ↑ "Filan takes up goalkeeping coach post". Illawarra Mercury. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "John Filan appointed as Blackburn Rovers U21s assistant coach". Lancashire Telegraph. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Shrewsbury Town: John Filan named assistant manager to John Askey". BBC Sport. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  28. ↑ "John Askey: Shrewsbury Town sack manager after five months in charge". BBC Sport. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  29. ↑ "Man Utd ease to Carling Cup glory". BBC Sport. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  30. ↑ David McKechnie (28 April 2003). "Henry lands PFA award". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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