Paul_Hanlon

Paul Hanlon

Paul Hanlon

Scottish footballer

Paul Thomas Hanlon (born 20 January 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian, where he is the current club captain, and the Scotland national team. He began his senior career with Hibernian, making his debut in 2008, and has gone to make over 500 appearances for the club. He also briefly played for St Johnstone on loan during the 2008–09 season.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Hanlon represented Scotland at the under-19 and under-21 levels, and made his full international debut in October 2020.

Club career

Hanlon played for the well known Edinburgh youth football club Hutchison Vale, along with future Hibs teammate Danny Galbraith.[5] Hanlon was an attacking midfielder who scored plenty of goals in youth football, but was converted to a defensive position after he signed for boyhood club Hibs.[5] He played his first senior game for Hibs on 12 January 2008, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup, due to injuries sustained by David Murphy and Lewis Stevenson.[6] Hanlon played for Hibs on a regular basis over the next seven months, and he agreed a five-year contract with the club.[7]

During the 2008–09 season, however, Hanlon was replaced by Ian Murray as Hibs' regular left back.[7] Hanlon was loaned out to St Johnstone in December 2008, initially for one month.[7] St Johnstone wanted to extend the loan arrangement, but Hibs refused to allow this.[8] Hanlon went straight back into the Hibs team after returning from St Johnstone, but he was dropped soon afterwards by Mixu Paatelainen due to a defensive error he made in a match against Kilmarnock.

Hanlon played infrequently during the 2009–10 season, only featuring when one of the regular defenders was unavailable. One such period was when Sol Bamba was with the Ivory Coast national team at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations;[9] manager John Hughes said it was a tough decision to reinstate Bamba to the team at Hanlon's expense.[10] At the end of the season, Hughes commented that Hanlon was a "great" footballer, but needed to become tougher and show more desire.[11]

Hughes again praised Hanlon before the start of the 2010–11 season, saying that he had a "real future" in the game and had the potential to play in the Premier League.[12] Following the departure of Chris Hogg, Hanlon captained the team at times.[13] Hanlon agreed a new contract with the club in May 2011.[13]

Hibs struggled in the 2011–12 season, only securing a place in the SPL with a 4–0 win against Dunfermline in early May.[14] Hanlon scored the fourth goal, which was awarded despite the fact the ball had not crossed the goal-line.[14] He played in Scottish Cup final defeats in 2012 and 2013.[15]

He won the club's player of the year award for the 2013–14 season, awarded in March 2014.[16] At the same time, Hanlon was ruled out of action for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.[16] Hibs were seven points ahead of the relegation play-off position at that point,[16] but a continued bad run of results led to their eventual relegation to the Scottish Championship.

In the 2015–16 season, Hanlon scored the winning goal in a match against Rangers[17] and scored an injury-time equaliser away to Hearts in the 2015–16 Scottish Cup.[18] Hibs won the replay against Hearts at Easter Road[19] and went on to win the competition, defeating Rangers 3–2 in the final.[20]

Hanlon signed a three-year contract with Hibs in June 2016.[15] He missed much of the second half of the 2016–17 season due to a pelvic injury,[21] but the team earned promotion to the Premiership.[22] He was awarded a testimonial by Hibs in March 2018,[23] and soon afterwards agreed a new contract with the club.[24]

Hanlon made his 400th competitive appearance for Hibs on 23 November 2019, in a 3–1 win against Motherwell.[25]

Following the retirement of David Gray, Hanlon was appointed club captain in July 2021.[26] On 16 November 2021, Hanlon signed a new long-term contract with Hibernian, keeping him at the club until 2024.[27] Hanlon made his 500th appearance for the club on 7 May 2022, in a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen.[28][29]

International career

Hanlon with Scotland U21 in 2009

Hanlon captained Scotland under-19,[3][7] and made his debut for Scotland under-21 in a 1–0 win against Albania in March 2009.[30] Hanlon was a regular in central defence during the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign,[4] which ended in a play-off defeat by Iceland.[31] Hanlon then captained an inexperienced side in November 2010 as head coach Billy Stark made initial preparations for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign.[32] He scored the second goal in a 3–1 win for Scotland in a friendly match against Northern Ireland.[32]

Hanlon received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in November 2017, for a friendly match with the Netherlands.[33] He was recalled to the squad in October 2020,[34] and made his full international debut in a 1–0 win against the Czech Republic.[35]

Career statistics

As of match played on 24 February 2024[36][37]
More information Club, Season ...

Honours

Hibernian

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Soccerbase did not record an appearance made and goal scored by Hanlon against Brechin City on 26 August 2009.
  2. [N 2]
    Soccerbase did not record two appearances made by Hanlon against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016.
  3. [N 3]
    Soccerbase did not record appearances made by Hanlon against Asteras Tripolis on 26 July and 2 August, and Molde on 9 August and 16 August 2018.
  4. [N 4]
    One appearance in the 2019–20 Scottish Cup was in a match delayed until October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. [1]
    "National football team player Paul Hanlon". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  2. [2]
    P. Hanlon, Soccerway
  3. [3]
    "Paul Hanlon – U19 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  4. [4]
    "Paul Hanlon – U21 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  5. [5]
    "Paul Hanlon: Moving from a striker to defence has been a learning curve but I've survived". Sunday Mail. Scotland. 15 November 2009.
  6. [6]
    "Hibernian 3–0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 12 January 2008.
  7. [7]
    "St Johnstone take Hanlon on loan". BBC Sport. 26 December 2008.
  8. [8]
    "Hanlon recall sees Saints suffer". The Courier. DC Thomson. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  9. [9]
    Hardie, David (26 January 2010). "Hibs boss reckons Hanlon can handle Hoops". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  10. [10]
    Fairburn, Rob (31 January 2010). "Hibs 2 St Mirren 1". Sunday Mail. Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  11. [11]
    Hardie, David (18 May 2010). "John Hughes urges Paul Hanlon to get tough with Hibs strikers". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  12. [12]
    Haggerty, Anthony (15 August 2010). "Paul Hanlon could win move to English Premier League like Danny Wilson if he keeps learning, says Hibs boss John Hughes". Sunday Mail. Scotland. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  13. [13]
    "Hanlon secures Hibs extension". Sky Sports. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  14. [14]
    "Paul Hanlon: 'I was shocked when officials awarded my ghost goal'". STV Sport. STV. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  15. [15]
    "Paul Hanlon: Hibernian defender signs new three-year contract". BBC Sport. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  16. [16]
    "Hibernian defender Paul Hanlon to miss rest of season". BBC Sport. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  17. [17]
    "Hibernian 2-1 Rangers". BBC Sport.
  18. [18]
    "Heart of Midlothian 2-2 Hibernian". BBC Sport.
  19. [19]
    "Hibernian 1-0 Heart of Midlothian". BBC Sport.
  20. [20]
    "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  21. [21]
    Hardie, David. "Paul Hanlon's Hibs season isn't over, insists Neil Lennon". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  22. [22]
    "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  23. [23]
    Hardie, David (8 March 2018). "Hibs central defender Paul Hanlon awarded testimonial". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  24. [24]
    "Paul Hanlon: Hibernian defender signs new contract to 2022". BBC Sport. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. [25]
    Elgott, Jordan (23 November 2019). "Hibernian 3–1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  26. [26]
    McPartlin, Patrick (20 July 2021). "Paul Hanlon named new Hibs skipper as club makes call on vice-captain". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  27. [27]
    "Paul Hanlon Remains A Hibee". Hibernian. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  28. [28]
    @HibernianFC (7 May 2022). "Ron Gordon presented Paul Hanlon with a special shirt to commemorate his 500th Hibs appearance today after the game" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  29. [29]
    McPartlin, Patrick (8 May 2022). "Hibs: David Gray hails Paul Hanlon for playing through pain barrier to reach milestone". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  30. [30]
    "Albania U21 0–1 Scotland U21". BBC Sport. 28 March 2009.
  31. [31]
    Murray, Keir (11 October 2010). "Scotland U21 1–2 Iceland U21 (2–4 on agg)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  32. [32]
    Irving, Chris (17 November 2010). "Under-21s defeat Northern Ireland". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  33. [33]
    "Scotland: Interim manager Malky Mackay calls up three new faces for friendly". BBC Sport. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  34. [34]
    "Scotland v Czech Republic: Hibs captain Paul Hanlon called up". BBC Sport. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  35. [35]
    "Scotland 1–0 Czech Republic". BBC Sport. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  36. [36]
    "Hibernian Player Paul Hanlon Details".
  37. [37]
    Paul Hanlon at Soccerbase
  38. [38]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  39. [39]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  40. [40]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  41. [41]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  42. [42]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  43. [43]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  44. [44]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  45. [45]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  46. [46]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  47. [47]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  48. [48]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  49. [49]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  50. [50]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  51. [51]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  52. [52]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  53. [53]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  54. [54]
    "Games played by Paul Hanlon in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
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