View source for David Connolly

{{Short description|Footballer (born 1977)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = David Connolly
| fullname       = David James Connolly<ref name="Hugman2003-04">{{Cite book | editor-first = Barry J. | editor-last = Hugman | title = The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 | year = 2003 | publisher = Queen Anne Press | isbn = 1-85291-651-6 | page = 93 }}</ref>
| height         = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}<ref name="Hugman2003-04"/>
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1977|6|6|df=y}}<ref name="Hugman2003-04"/>
| birth_place    = [[Willesden]], England
| currentclub    = 
| clubnumber     = 
| position       = [[Striker (association football)|Striker]]
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–1995
| youthclubs1 = [[Watford F.C.|Watford]]
| years1         = 1995–1997 | clubs1 =    [[Watford F.C.|Watford]]                                        | caps1  = 26 | goals1  = 10
| years2         = 1997–2001 | clubs2 =    [[Feyenoord]]                                                   | caps2  = 25 | goals2  = 7
| years3         = 1998–1999 | clubs3 = →  [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] (loan) | caps3  = 32 | goals3  = 6
| years4         = 1999–2001 | clubs4 = →  [[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] (loan)                              | caps4  = 48 | goals4  = 42
| years5         = 2001–2003 | clubs5 =    [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]                                    | caps5  = 63 | goals5  = 42
| years6         = 2003–2004 | clubs6 =    [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]                        | caps6  = 39 | goals6  = 10
| years7         = 2004–2005 | clubs7 =    [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]]                          | caps7  = 49 | goals7  = 17
| years8         = 2005–2006 | clubs8 =    [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]]                          | caps8  = 19 | goals8  = 1
| years9         = 2006–2009 | clubs9 =    [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]                                | caps9  = 39 | goals9  = 13
| years10        = 2009–2012 | clubs10 =   [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]                                | caps10 = 61 | goals10 = 14
| years11        = 2012–2015 | clubs11 =   [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]                                  | caps11 = 35 | goals11 = 11
| years12        = 2014      | clubs12 = → [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] (loan)                     | caps12 = 16 | goals12 = 4
| years13        = 2015      | clubs13 =   [[AFC Wimbledon]]                                               | caps13 = 8  | goals13 = 1
| totalcaps = 460 | totalgoals = 178
| nationalyears1 = 1996–2005 | nationalteam1  = [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]]
| nationalcaps1  = 41        | nationalgoals1 = 9
}}
'''David James Connolly''' (born 6 June 1977) is a former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[striker (association football)|striker]]. He played for various clubs including [[Feyenoord]] and [[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] in the Netherlands as well as [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]] and [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]] in the [[Premier League]]. Born in England, Connolly represented the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland national team]] at international level. He was a member of Ireland's [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] squad that lost to [[Spain national football team|Spain]] in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage|knockout stage]] where his penalty kick was saved by [[Iker Casillas]] during the shootout.

==Club career==
Connolly started his career with [[Watford F.C.|Watford]] where he scored 15 goals in 34 games.
His goal scoring record, at club and international level, which included a hat-trick in World Cup qualifying, earned him a move to Dutch team [[Feyenoord Rotterdam]]. He had loan spells at [[Excelsior Rotterdam]] and [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] (where he scored four goals in one game against Bristol City)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/wolves/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/98/11/07/SOCCER_Bristol_City_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=wolves&DIV=prem&TEAM=WOLVES&RH=Wolves&PREV_SEASON=1997 |title=Bristol City 1 Wolves 6 |newspaper=Sporting Life |date=7 November 1998 |access-date=22 December 2010}}</ref> before joining [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] in 2001 on a free transfer where he scored 42 goals in two seasons.

Manager [[Glenn Roeder]] signed Connolly for [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] for £285,000 in August 2003.<ref name=whu1>{{cite news|title=Connolly joins West Ham|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/3115673.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=18 November 2011|date=1 August 2003}}</ref> Connolly scored on his West Ham debut in a 2–1 away win at [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] on 9 August 2003.<ref name=whu2>{{cite news|title=Preston 1–2 West Ham|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3113053.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=18 November 2011|date=9 August 2003}}</ref> He scored 14 goals in 48 games in all competitions for West Ham; his final game coming in the [[2004 Football League First Division play-off Final|2004 play-off final]] defeat to [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] in May 2004.<ref name=whu3>{{cite web|title=Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics|url=http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=775&united=David_Connolly|publisher=www.westhamstats.info|access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref><ref name=whu4>{{cite news|title=Crystal Palace 1 West Ham 0|url=http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cc_championship/westham/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/04/05/29/SOCCER_First.html&TEAMHD=westham&DIV=nat1&TEAM=WEST--HAM&RH=West--Ham&PREV_SEASON=2002|access-date=18 November 2011|newspaper=Sporting Life}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Connolly signed for [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] in 2004 for £500,000, finishing as the club's top scorer in his first season. He managed a hat-trick against [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] in August 2005, prior to signing for [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/4127000.stm Leicester 4–2 Stoke], BBC Sport 9 August 2005. Retrieved on 5 September 2007</ref>

On 31 August 2005, he joined newly promoted [[FA Premier League|Premiership]] club [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]] for £2 million (with the possibility of rising to £3 million if Wigan stayed in the Premiership, which they did).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4200244.stm Wigan secure signing of Connolly], BBC Sport 31 August 2005. Retrieved on 5 September 2007</ref> He scored on his debut for Wigan in a 2–1 win at [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4210904.stm|title=West Brom 1–2 Wigan
| publisher = BBC Sport|date=10 September 2005 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> but was hit by injuries for much of the rest of the 2005–06 season.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/4472982.stm|title=Wigan 1–0 Newcastle|publisher=BBC Sport |date=30 November 2005 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> and Leeds in the FA Cup.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4565040.stm | title = Wigan 1–1 Leeds|publisher=BBC Sport |date=7 January 2006 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref>

In 2006, also on 31 August, Connolly linked up with his former [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] teammate [[Roy Keane]] at [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]. His first goal came against [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]] on 18 November, when he came on as a sub and smashed the ball in off the post from about 18 yards out. Connolly ended up Sunderland's top scorer and was an integral part of their promotion in the 2006–07 season, scoring 13 goals in the campaign and scoring the final goal of the season for Sunderland against [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] on 6 May 2007, in the match that made Sunderland champions of the [[Football League Championship|Championship]].

In the 2007–08 season, Connolly played just five games, three of them in the league. In the 2008–09 season, Connolly did not make a single appearance. He was released on 28 May 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.setanta.com//uk/Articles/Football/2009/05/28/Prem-Sunderland-release-seven-players/gnid-54867/ |title=Sunderland announce major clear-out |date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Setanta Sports |access-date=28 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531102859/http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/Football/2009/05/28/Prem-Sunderland-release-seven-players/gnid-54867/ |archive-date=31 May 2009 }}</ref>

After being released by Sunderland in the summer of 2009 he became a free agent. On 8 October 2009, Connolly signed a deal with League One side [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]], lasting until the end of the 2009–10 season but capable of being extended by a further year if he hits an undisclosed number of appearances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1820509,00.html |title=Striker Arrives |date=8 October 2009 |publisher=Southampton F.C. |access-date=9 October 2009 |archive-date=9 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009201625/http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10280~1820509%2C00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He scored on his debut on 17 October 2009 against [[Oldham Athletic A.F.C.|Oldham Athletic]], and grabbed another in the next game against [[Milton Keynes Dons F.C.|Milton Keynes Dons]], once again off the bench. He scored two in the FA Cup first round tie against [[Bristol Rovers]], in a 3–2 victory, his first start. Connolly's contract was then extended for the 2010–11 season.

He struggled with injury in the 2010–11 season, but scored in an FA Cup match against [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]], and then scored a crucial goal in a 2–1 victory away at champions Brighton. He followed that up with a goal in a 3–0 win at [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] and then on the final day of the season in a 3–1 win over [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]] to end the season with four goals from 18 appearances in an injury-hit season.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/13247222 |title=Southampton 3–1 Walsall |publisher=BBC Sport |date=7 May 2011}}</ref> It was Connolly's late season form that helped Southampton clinch promotion. He also signed a new one-year deal with Saints.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/13542618 |title=Southampton striker David Connolly signs new contract |publisher=BBC Sport |date=25 May 2011}}</ref>

Following Southampton's promotion to the Championship, Connolly continued his goal scoring form into the 2011–12 season by scoring the final goal in Southampton's 3–1 victory over [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] in the first game of the season.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/14351913 Southampton 3–1 Leeds]; BBC Sport, 6 August 2011</ref> He then netted the only goal in a 1–0 victory at [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] a week later.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/14429766 Barnsley 0–1 Southampton]; BBC Sport, 13 August 2011</ref> On 16 August, he scored against [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]] at Portman Road as Saints won 5–2, with the third of the night making the score 3–0 to Southampton at half time.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/14457271 Ipswich 2–5 Southampton]; BBC Sport, 16 August 2011</ref> This result firmly planted Southampton on top of the Championship table with three wins from their first three matches. Connolly scored again for Southampton against [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] on 27 August, but this was not enough to prevent the Saints from slipping to their first defeat of the season, losing 3–2.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/14600689 Leicester 3–2 Southampton]; BBC Sport, 27 August 2011</ref> However, in January 2012, after the arrivals of [[Billy Sharp]] and [[Tadanari Lee]], Connolly lost his place in the starting eleven, and was released at the end of the season.<ref name="released19may">{{cite news |url=http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2776455,00.html |title=Four Join First Team, But Eleven Released |publisher=Southampton F.C. |date=19 May 2012 |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-date=20 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520131724/http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2776455,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="released19may2">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18116710 |title=Southampton release Lee Holmes, David Connolly and Radhi Jaidi |publisher=BBC Sport |date=19 May 2012 |access-date=19 May 2012 }}</ref>

On 31 December 2012, Connolly signed a one-month contract with [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/10133186.Ex_Saint_Connolly_signs_for_Pompey/ |title=Ex-Saint Connolly signs for Portsmouth |newspaper=[[Southern Daily Echo]] |date=31 December 2012 |access-date=31 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Weld|first=Neil|title=Connolly Arrives, McLeod Departs|url=http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Connolly-Arrives-McLeod-Departs-4021.aspx|publisher=Portsmouth F.C.|access-date=31 December 2012|date=31 December 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103183456/http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Connolly-Arrives-McLeod-Departs-4021.aspx|archive-date=3 January 2013}}</ref> He made his debut a day later, against [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20841100 |title=Swindon 5–0 Portsmouth |publisher=BBC Sport |date=1 January 2013}}</ref> He scored his first goal for Pompey on 26 February, against [[Milton Keynes Dons F.C.|Milton Keynes Dons]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21502227 Portsmouth 1–1 MK Dons]; BBC Sport, 26 February 2013</ref> He scored his second goal on 2 March, in a 2–1 win against [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21556921 Crewe 1–2 Portsmouth]; BBC Sport, 2 March 2013</ref> On 9 March, Connolly scored twice in a 2–0 win against [[Bury F.C.|Bury]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21639447 |title=Portsmouth 2–0 Bury |publisher=BBC Sport |date=9 March 2013}}</ref> He left the club by mutual consent on 15 January 2014.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Connolly joined [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] on 31 January 2014 – deadline day – until the summer. He scored on his debut against [[AFC Wimbledon]], after coming on as a 46th-minute substitute.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25892009 |title=Oxford Utd 2–1 AFC Wimbledon |publisher=BBC Sport |date=1 February 2014 |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> His goal against [[Hartlepool F.C.|Hartlepool]] on 21 March 2014 at the age of 36 years, 9 months and 15 days made him the club's oldest scorer to date.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oufc.co.uk/news/2022/august/mousinho-second-oldest-scorer |title=Mous Misses Out On Club Record |date=31 August 2022 |publisher=Oxford United |access-date=31 August 2022}}</ref>

On 15 January 2015 Connolly joined AFC Wimbledon, becoming the sixth player (the others being [[Jermaine Darlington]], [[Marcus Gayle]], [[Jason Euell]], [[Roger Joseph]] and [[Neil Sullivan]]) to play for both the original [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] and AFC Wimbledon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/article/dons-return-for-david-2205635.aspx|title = Dons return for David |publisher=AFC Wimbledon |date=15 January 2015 |first=Chris |last=Slavin |access-date=31 August 2022}}</ref> On 21 February 2015, during one of his final games with AFC Wimbledon, Connolly scored a late winner against local rivals Luton Town to win the game 3–2.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/fixtures-results/match-report/index.aspx?matchid=3735431.aspx |title=Match Report |publisher=AFC Wimbledon |date=21 February 2015 |access-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413003102/http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/fixtures-results/match-report/index.aspx?matchid=3735431.aspx |archive-date=13 April 2015}}</ref> On 7 March 2015, Connolly retired from playing.<ref name="retires">{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31788887 | title=David Connolly: AFC Wimbledon's former Ireland striker retires | publisher=BBC Sport | access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>

==International career==
Connolly was a regular member of the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] national team, scoring nine goals in 41 caps.

He made his debut on 29 May 1996 against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]. He was sent off in 1997 after coming on as a substitute against [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] in the play-off for a place at the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]], with Ireland losing by an aggregate score of 3–2.<ref name=rte_chequered_playoff_history>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2011/1110/ireland_playoff.html |first=Ed |last=Leahy |title=Ireland's chequered play-off history |date=10 November 2011 |access-date=10 November 2011 |work=RTÉ Sport |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111080150/http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2011/1110/ireland_playoff.html |archive-date=11 November 2011 }}</ref>

Connolly was part of the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] squad that lost to [[Spain national football team|Spain]] in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage|knockout stage]], where his penalty kick was saved by [[Iker Casillas]] during the shootout.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/spain_v_rep_of_ireland/default.stm
|title=Spain break Irish hearts
|publisher=[[BBC]]
|date=1 June 2002 |access-date=27 June 2024}}</ref> He scored for Ireland in [[Niall Quinn]]'s benefit match on 14 May 2002, against his former club, Sunderland as well as once in [[Mick McCarthy]]'s testimonial on 26 May 1996 against [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]].

In the 2007–08 season Connolly failed to feature in any of [[Steve Staunton]]'s squads, despite being Sunderland's top goalscorer, although he was called in to [[Giovanni Trapattoni]]'s first 40-man squad in 2008 despite being injured at the time.

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=1602|title=David Connolly Career Stats|publisher=Soccerbase|date=23 December 2010|access-date=23 December 2010|archive-date=30 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330072437/http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=1602|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{NFT player|pid=3274|name=David Connolly|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National cup
!colspan="2"|[[EFL Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Europe
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Watford F.C.|Watford]]
|[[1994–95 Watford F.C. season|1994–95]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|2||0||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||4||0
|-
|[[1995–96 Watford F.C. season|1995–96]]
|First Division
|11||8||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||12||8
|-
|[[1996–97 Watford F.C. season|1996–97]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|13||2||3||4||1||0||colspan="2"|—||1{{efn|name=EFL|Appearance(s) in [[EFL Trophy|Football League Trophy]]}}||1||18||7
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!26!!10!!6!!4!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!1!!1!!34!!15
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Feyenoord]]
|[[1997–98 Eredivisie|1997–98]]
|[[Eredivisie]]
|10||2||||||colspan="2"|—||5{{efn|name=UCL|Appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]]}}||0||colspan="2"|—||15||2
|-
|[[2000–01 Feyenoord season|2000–01]]
|Eredivisie
|15||5||||||colspan="2"|—||0||0||colspan="2"|—||15||5
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!25!!7!!!!!!colspan="2"|—!!5!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!30!!7
|-
|[[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] (loan)
|[[1998–99 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season|1998–99]]
|First Division
|32||6||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||35||6
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Excelsior Rotterdam|Excelsior]] (loan)
|[[1999–2000 Eerste Divisie|1999–00]]
|[[Eerste Divisie]]
|32||29||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||32||29
|-
|[[2000–01 Eerste Divisie|2000–01]]
|Eerste Divisie
|16||13||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||16||13
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!48!!42!!!!!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!48!!42
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]
|[[2001–02 Wimbledon F.C. season|2001–02]]
|First Division
|35||18||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||38||18
|-
|[[2002–03 Wimbledon F.C. season|2002–03]]
|First Division
|28||24||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||30||24
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!63!!42!!4!!0!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!68!!42
|-
|[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
|[[2003–04 West Ham United F.C. season|2003–04]]
|First Division
|39||10||4||2||2||2||colspan="2"|—||3{{efn|name=PO|Appearances in [[Football League First Division|First Division]] play-offs}}||0||48||14
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]]
|[[2004–05 Leicester City F.C. season|2004–05]]
|[[Football League Championship|Championship]]
|44||13||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||49||13
|-
|[[2005–06 Leicester City F.C. season|2005–06]]
|Championship
|5||4||colspan="2"|—||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||5||4
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!49!!17!!5!!0!!0!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!54!!17
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]]
|[[2005–06 Wigan Athletic F.C. season|2005–06]]
|[[Premier League]]
|17||1||1||1||3||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||21||3
|-
|[[2006–07 Wigan Athletic F.C. season|2006–07]]
|Premier League
|2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||2||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!19!!1!!1!!1!!3!!1!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!23!!3
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]
|[[2006–07 Sunderland A.F.C. season|2006–07]]
|Championship
|36||13||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||37||13
|-
|[[2007–08 Sunderland A.F.C. season|2007–08]]
|Premier League
|3||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||5||0
|-
|[[2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season|2008–09]]
|Premier League
|0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||0||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!39!!13!!2!!0!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—!!42!!13
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]]
|[[2009–10 Southampton F.C. season|2009–10]]
|[[Football League One|League One]]
|20||5||1||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||2{{efn|name=EFL}}||0||23||7
|-
|[[2010–11 Southampton F.C. season|2010–11]]
|League One
|15||3||1||1||1||0||colspan="2"|—||1{{efn|name=EFL}}||0||18||4
|-
|[[2011–12 Southampton F.C. season|2011–12]]
|Championship
|26||6||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||26||6
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!61!!14!!2!!3!!1!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!3!!0!!67!!17
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
|[[2012–13 Portsmouth F.C. season|2012–13]]
|League One
|17||7||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||17||7
|-
|[[2013–14 Portsmouth F.C. season|2013–14]]
|[[Football League Two|League Two]]
|18||4||1||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||1{{efn|name=EFL}}||0||20||5
|-
|[[2014–15 Portsmouth F.C. season|2014–15]]
|League Two
|0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||0||0||0||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!35!!11!!1!!1!!0!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!1!!0!!37!!12
|-
|[[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] (loan)
|[[2013–14 Oxford United F.C. season|2013–14]]
|League Two
|16||4||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||16||4
|-
|[[AFC Wimbledon]]
|[[2014–15 AFC Wimbledon season|2014–15]]
|League Two
|8||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||8||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Total
!460!!178!!26!!11!!11!!3!!5!!0!!8!!1!!510!!193
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="9"|[[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]]
|1996||4||2
|-
|1997||7||4
|-
|1998||3||0
|-
|1999||6||1
|-
|2000||4||0
|-
|2001||6||1
|-
|2002||4||0
|-
|2003||6||1
|-
|2005||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!41!!9
|}

:''Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Connolly goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by David Connolly
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| style="text-align:center"|1<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/01.html?rss=yes/| title=Man City Info Via The Alps #201| access-date=27 February 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914140151/http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/01.html?rss=yes/| archive-date=14 September 2012| df=dmy-all}}</ref> || 9 June 1996 || [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S. || {{fb|USA}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|1–2 || [[1996 U.S. Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|2<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/02.html?rss=yes/| title=Man City Info Via The Alps #202| access-date=27 February 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919071143/http://www.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/2/02.html?rss=yes/| archive-date=19 September 2012| df=dmy-all}}</ref> || 12 June 1996 || [[New Jersey]], U.S. || {{fb|MEX}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || 1996 U.S. Cup
|-
| style="text-align:center"|3<ref name="Jackson">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/6147468.stm?rss=yes/ | title=BBC SPORT – Football – Internationals – Rep of Ireland 5–0 San Marino| access-date=27 February 2007 | date=15 November 2006 | work=BBC News | first=Lyle | last=Jackson}}</ref> || rowspan="3"|21 May 1997 || rowspan="3"|[[Dublin]], Ireland || rowspan="3"|{{fb|LIE}} || || rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|5–0 || rowspan="3"|[[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|4<ref name="Jackson"/> || 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|5<ref name="Jackson"/> || 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|6<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.clubi.ie/grizmond/spurs-list/archives/1997/9709Sep/970908.txt?rss=yes/ |title=SPURS-LIST Digest – 7 Sep 1997 to 8 Sep 1997 |access-date=27 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231618/http://www.clubi.ie/grizmond/spurs-list/archives/1997/9709Sep/970908.txt?rss=yes%2F |archive-date=26 September 2007 }}</ref> || 6 September 1997 || [[Reykjavík]], Iceland || {{fb|ISL}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–2 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| style="text-align:center"|7<ref>{{cite news| url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/02/11/shead.htm?rss=yes/| title=Irish Sport News, 11 February 1999| access-date=27 February 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929150801/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/02/11/shead.htm?rss=yes%2F| archive-date=29 September 2007| df=dmy-all}}</ref> || 10 February 1999 || Dublin, Ireland || {{fb|PAR}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || [[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|8<ref>{{cite news| url=http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/09/09/story112810.asp?rss=yes/| title=BreakingNews.ie – 2003/09/09: Connolly and Dunne on target| access-date=27 February 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095644/http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/09/09/story112810.asp?rss=yes%2F| archive-date=29 September 2007| df=dmy-all}}</ref> || 6 October 2001 || Dublin, Ireland || {{fb|CYP}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–0 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|9<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s63/st32681.htm?rss=yes/ | title= Ireland Step Up A Gear | publisher = sportnetwork.net | access-date=27 February 2007}}</ref> || 9 September 2003 || Dublin, Ireland || {{fb|TUR}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || Friendly
|}

==Honours==
'''Sunderland'''
*[[Football League Championship]]: [[2006–07 Football League Championship|2006–07]]

'''Southampton'''
*[[Football League Trophy]]: [[2009–10 Football League Trophy|2009–10]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8583783.stm |title=Carlisle United 1–4 Southampton |last=Shemilt |first=Stephan |website=BBC Sport |date=28 March 2010 |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Soccerbase}}
*{{NFT player|pid=3274|name=David Connolly}}
*[http://www.11v11.com/players/david-connolly-11463/ Career details] at www.11v11.com

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| list1 = 
{{Eerste Divisie top scorers}}
{{FAI Young International Player of the Year}}
}}
{{Republic of Ireland squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, David}}
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