Lonergan: Andrew Michael (Andy)

2011-2012 and 2017-2018 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Goalkeeper

Born: Preston, Lancashire: 19-10-1983

Debut: v Southampton (a): 06-08-2011

6’2” 13st 7lb (2011)

Preston born and raised Lonergan was an England Schoolboy and Youth International when he signed as a Trainee in August 2000. He did, however play one game for the Ireland Under-sixteen team, before reverting to the England team. He was only sixteen when he made his Deepdale debut on 27th September 2000 in a 1-4 League Cup loss at Coventry City. He made his League debut on 22nd April 2001 in a 3-2 win over Watford at Deepdale. He was loaned out to Darlington on 20th December 2002, supposedly for a month, but after two appearances in a week he was injured and returned to Deepdale. After he recovered he was loaned to neighbours Blackpool on 7th February 2003 but returned to Deepdale on 17th March 2003 not having played a senior game. He was brought into the Preston first team squad towards the end of the 2002-03 season. Jonathan Gould was the first choice keeper but Lonergan was given his chance when Gould was injured early in the following season and he played his first game on 25th August 2003 at West Bromwich Albion and played eight League games. He was capped at Under-Twenty level by England in the 2003-04 season maling ten appearances, three of them being in the World Youth Competition in Dubai, where he played against Japan on 29th November 2003 in a 0-1 loss, Egypt in a 0-1 loss on 2nd December 2003 and Columbia in a 0-0 draw on 5th December 2003. In 2004-05 Lonergan became the established first choice making twenty-three League appearances and on 2nd October 2004 in a Championship match at Leicester City, Lonergan scored with a long clearance from his own penalty area which future Leeds Central Defender Matt Heath allowed to bounce and it went over his head and that of future Leeds loanee goalkeeper, Kevin Pressman, and into the net. Before the home game with Ipswich Town on 19th February 2005 Lonergan ruptured his cruciate ligaments and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Carlo Nash was brought in from Middlesbrough and was an ever-present in the 2005-06 season as Lonergan, who had recovered from his injury was loaned to Wycombe Wanderers for a month from 6th October 2005 to get match practice and in that time he played two League games for the Chairboys, making his League debut for them at Grimsby Town on 7th October 2005 in a 1-0 and then playing at home against Rushden & Diamonds in a 0-0 draw on 15th October 2005. He had a recurrence of his injury when the screw holding his ligaments in place snapped and it was not until late in the 2006-07 season that Lonergan regained his first choice spot and made thirteen appearances, after having been on loan to Swindon Town for the month of November 2006 when Peter Brezovan had broken his arm. He made his debut for the Robins on 4th November 2006 in a 1-2 home defeat by Hereford United but as Preston refused to allow him to play in the F.A. Cup tie at home to Carlisle United and Phil Smith had a good game and was retained for the next match at home to Torquay on 18th November 2006. However, Lonergan suffered from blurred vision in a Wiltshire Premier Shield clash with Salisbury and he was sent back to Preston for treatment and couldn't take his place on the bench. He served his time on the bench until January 2007, when he was chosen for the Fourth Round F.A. Cup tie with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park which was won by 2-0 and Lonergan gave an impressive display. From there it Lonergan became first choice keeper missing only three games in 2007-08 and being ever-present in 2008-09, when Preston narrowly missed out on promotion to the EPL went beaten in the Play-off semi-finals by Sheffield United and in which he was Preston's "Player of the Year". He was appointed club vice-captain in August 2009 and first captained the club on 12th September 2009 in a 2-0 home win over Swansea City. He missed just one League game in 2009-10 season and was again the club's "Player of the Year". In July 2010 it was reported that Preston had turned down three separate bids from West Bromwich Albion for Lonergan and Manager Darren Ferguson put a price-tag of £20 million on him and said he did not want to sell him. 2010-11 was a disasterous season for Preston as they were relegated to League One and Lonergan played twenty-nine League games to bring his total at Deepdale to two hundred and nine starts in the League, ten in the F.A. Cup, eleven in the League Cup and two play-ff games. He played his last game for Preston in a 2-1 home defeat by Leeds United on 8th March 2011. He had been linked with moves to Manchester City and Wigan Athletic during the January 2011 transfer window and subsequently with Blackpool, Aston Villa, Cardiff and Everton. They were joined by Leeds United, after they had surprisingly sold Kasper Schmeichel to Leicester City. There was a clause in Lonergan's £10,000 per week contract which stated that he would be allowed to leave for £100,000, but the Preston Chairman insisted that he would only allow him to go for a minimum of £200,000. On 25th July Lonergan signed a three year contract and was transferred for an undisclosed sum. He made his first appearance for Leeds in a Friendly against Bradford Park Avenue on 27th July 2011 in mostly Reserve and Junior team but four days later he was in the run-on side to take on EPL side Newcastle United in the final pre-season friendly. He was given the No. 1 jersey by Leeds United and wore it for the first time in his League debut at Southampton on 6th August 2011. Lonergan was soon proving his worth with some fine performances behind a sometimes shaky and fragile defence. He was ever-present until he broke a finger and had to be replaced by Paul Rachubka in the seventy-seventh minute at Doncaster Rovers on 14th October 2011. He was ruled out for a minimum of six weeks as an operation was required. During his absence Paul Rachubka was guilty of too many goalkeeping errors which had meant the loss of several points and so Alex McCarthy had been brought in on loan from Reading. He had performed well but not perfectly, but had kept a clean sheet at Leicester, couldn't be faulted in the game at Burnley, had clean- sheets at Nottingham Forest and at home to Millwall, and saved a penalty at Watford as Lonergan watched on at Vicarage Road from the bench and United had dropped just five points in six games. But United's next game was against McCarthy's parent club Reading, who understandably did not want him jeopardising their promotion push. So Lonergan made his return and Maik Taylor was his deputy. He was given precedence over McCarthy for his final, three games of his loan period against Derby County, Burnley and Barnsley and Lonergan went on to remain ever-present until the end of the season. After Jonathan Howson left the club and Patrick Kisnorbo had been ruled out for the rest of the season, Lonergan was appointed club captain on 20th January 2012 but with the appointment of Neil Warnock as Manager Robert Snodgrass took over those duties from 25th February 2012 and Lonergan became vice-captain. Lonergan did put in some outstanding performances and saved penalties from Darius Henderson at Millwall on 24th March 2012 and Nicky Maynard at Bristol City on 17th September 2011. After the signing of Paddy Kenny, he signed for Bolton Wanderers on 17th July 2012 on a three year contract for an undisclosed fee thought to have been £250,000. He stayed with Bolton for the three years starting fifty and once coming on as a substitute in the League as well as starting six F.A. Cup ties and five League Cup ties. He moved to Fulham on a free transfer on 19th June 2015, on a two year contract with an option of a further year. However, after twenty-eight League starts and one as a substitute, and one start in each of the F.A. Cup and League Cup, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on a two year contract with a further one year option. He started nine and was twice a substitute in the League and also started three games in the League Cup. He joined Leeds United on a free transfer on 27th August 2017 on a two year contract. After a series of disasters by first choice keeper Felix Wiedwald, Lonergan was rushed into the first team, making his second Leeds League debut at home to Reading in a 0-1 defeat on 14th October 2017 and played seven consecutive League games, before a series of blunders saw him lose his place to Felix Wiedwald and then Bailey Peacock-Farrell played the final eleven fixtures. He started seven and sat unused on twenty-nine games in the League, started once in the F.A. Cup and once in the League Cup, where he also had one stint unused on the bench. on 5th July 2018 he left Leeds by mutual consent and on 2nd August 2018 he signed for Middlesbrough on a one year contract. He made his debut at the Riverside in a 7-6 (on penalties) win over Notts County on 14th August 2018 and then, a fortnight later he again played a full game in the same competition in a 2-1 home win over Rochdale.