Shane McFaul

Who is Shane McFaul?

Shane McFaul, born in Dublin on 23 May 1986, is an Irish footballer currently playing with Finnish club, FC KTP in the Ykkönen, Finland's second division.

During his career, he has also played for St Patrick's Athletic, FC Haka, Sporting Fingal, Virginia Beach Mariners, UCD, Notts County and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Shane started out his career with local side C.A.R.C FC before moving on to the notorious schoolboy club Cherry Orchard. He played there in a successful team with the likes of Stephen Quinn, Gary Dicker, Paul Byrne and Derek Doyle.

In 2002 Shane signed a 4-year professional contract with League One side Notts County. After only a short few months at Meadow Lane Shane was given the number 16 squad number as a then 16-year old. He made numerous appearances as an unused substitute during that season. It was the 2003/2004 season where he really came to prominence. Making his debut at 17 as a second half replacement against Swindon Town, filling in at right back. Although losing 4–1 McFaul made a huge impression with his passing ability, energy and drive. More so in fact that he earned a starting spot 2 days later against Peterborough United.

McFaul earned rave reviews after his performance and left the field to a standing ovation. His creativity on the ball and work rate caught the eye and he went on to make 8 more appearances that season. 2004/2005 saw McFaul make 37 first team appearances, filling in for 20 games at right back although performing well it was at his preferred central midfield role where he excelled. 2005/2006 saw McFaul on the way out of Meadow Lane as new manager Guðjón Þórðarson restricted his chances in the first team.