Players - Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy
Birthdate: 15 May 1976
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Other clubs: Millwall (1992-95), Queens Park Rangers (1998), Wimbledon (1998-99), Manchester City (1999-2001), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2001-06), Crystal Palace (2006-08), Cardiff City (2008-10), Ipswich Town (2010-12)
Signed from: Millwall
Signed for LFC: £1.5m, 21.03.1995
International debut: 06.09.1995 vs. Austria
International caps: 34/4 (17/0 at LFC) - 13.02.2002
Liverpool debut: 09.04.1995
Last appearance: 07.03.1998
Contract expiry: 26.03.1998
Win ratio: 47.62% W:10 D:4 L:7
Games/assists ratio: 10.5
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 4 / 0
League games / goals / assists: 16 / 0 / 2
Total games / goals / assists: 21 / 0 / 2

Player Profile

Kennedy was a fresh-faced 16-year-old when he joined Mick McCarthy's Millwall from Belvedere Boys Club in Ireland. He had been considered too light-weight by many English clubs to make the grade but after an intense weight training regime at Millwall he was fit enough to challenge the very best and he struck gold when his goal helped the Lions knock out Arsenal from the FA Cup in January 1995. Kennedy hit the headlines and a couple of months later;he became the most expensive teenage footballer in British history when he signed for Liverpool. Kennedy was four times in the starting line-up in his first season at Anfield almost scoring a tremendous goal on his debut versus Leeds but the ball hit the crossbar. He was only given one chance in the first 11 the next three years, making 14 substitute appearances. It was a mystery to many at the time why Liverpool spent a fortune on the boy and then never gave him a proper chance. After his departure from Liverpool Kennedy struggled to impress in the Premier League with Wimbledon and Manchester City but seemed at his right level when playing in the First Division. After a successful four-year spell at Wolves he joined Crystal Palace where he spent one season before joining championship side Cardiff in the summer of 2008.

Kennedy was 32-years-old when he arrived at Cardiff and in two seasons with the Bluebirds, Kennedy played in 66 championship matches. In 2008/09 Cardiff lost heavily on the final day of the regular season and lost their play-off place as a result. There was better fortune a year later. Cardiff comfortably qualified for the play-offs where they would meet Leicester City. The tie finished 3-3 on aggregate and with extra-time failing to produce a winner, the Wembley place for the winners was decided by a penalty shoot-out. Mark Kennedy struck his penalty into the corner to put Cardiff ahead 4-3 which proved to be the decisive spot-kick. Kennedy played from the start in the final but the Welsh club, despite taking the lead twice, were beaten 3-2 by Blackpool. In July 2010 Kennedy moved from Cardiff City for a fee of £75,000 to another club in the Championship, Ipswich Town.

Kennedy made 30 appearances for Ipswich during the 2010/11 season. He made his last appearance for Ipswich in November 2011 and joined the club's coaching staff at the end of the season. Kennedy went on to coach at another former club, Wolves, and on 16 January 2020 was appointed manager of struggling League Two side, Macclesfield Town. In a season disrupted by COVID-19, he was in charge of just 12 first team games before resigning on 12 August.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 16 1 2 2 0 21
1994-1995 6 0 0 0 0 6
1995-1996 4 0 1 1 0 6
1996-1997 5 1 1 1 0 8
1997-1998 1 0 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
3 159 Manchester City
2 91 Leicester City
2 49 Middlesbrough
2 40 West Ham United
2 30 Leeds United
1 90 Southampton
1 90 Blackburn Rovers
1 90 Arsenal
1 56 Bolton Wanderers
1 25 Newcastle United
1 24 Sheffield Wednesday
1 24 Burnley
1 21 Paris St Germain
1 15 Aston Villa
1 13 Brøndby
Total Started/substitutions
5 Started
39 On the bench
16 Substitute
1 Substituted
Total Venue
16 Home
5 Away
Total Competition
16 Premier League
2 League Cup
1 UEFA Cup
1 European Cup Winners Cup
1 FA Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
21 10 4 7 47.6% Roy Evans
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 0 0 0 0 2
1994-1995 1 0 0 0 0 1
1995-1996 0 0 0 0 0 0
1996-1997 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997-1998 1 0 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Total Opponent
1 Blackburn Rovers
1 Bolton Wanderers
Total Competition
2 Premier League
Total For player
1 John Barnes
1 Paul Ince
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 09.04.1995 Leeds United Anfield League
Related Articles
Press Association report

Press Association report on Liverpool - Bolton Wanderers on 07.03.1998

Fowler's shot cracks defensive Arsenal

Match report from The Daily Telegraph on Arsenal - Liverpool on 12.04.1995.

Hungry Leeds good bet for a place in Europe

Match report from The Daily Telegraph on Liverpool - Leeds on 09.04.1995.

Kennedy joins Liverpool

by Peter Byrne of The Irish Times 22.03.1995

Related Quotes

"More genius from the Evans book of tricks. "I know, I'll spend £2m on the brightest young star in British football. When I see him hit the bar with his very first touch, I'll ignore him for two years". Now maybe Mark Kennedy will not be troubling MENSA for an application form judging by the interviews I've seen over here, but I'm delighted to see him do well (yes, even for Manchester City) after he was messed about at Anfield. Where was he going to play in a team that didn't use wingers? He'll probably never be good enough to play at the very highest level, but it always seemed like the most pointless signing in a decade chock full of them. Good luck to the man."

Quote from Monsignor Bohead in the LFC fanzine Through the wind and rain in winter of 2000

Scrapbook
LFC Magazine interview from 1995/96
LFC Magazine interview from 1995/96
Mark is in the picture
Mark is in the picture
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Millwall 1992-1993 England Second Division 1 0 1 0
Millwall 1993-1994 England First Division 12 4 14 4
Millwall 1994-1995 England First Division 30 5 39 8
QPR 1997-1998 England First Division 8 2 8 2
Wimbledon 1997-1998 England Premier League 4 0 4 0
Wimbledon 1998-1999 England Premier League 17 0 24 1
Manchester City 1999-2000 England First Division 41 8 47 10
Manchester City 2000-2001 England Premier League 25 0 30 1
Wolves 2001-2002 England First Division 35 5 38 5
Wolves 2002-2003 England First Division 31 3 38 4
Wolves 2003-2004 England Premier League 31 2 34 2
Wolves 2004-2005 England Championship 27 3 29 3
Wolves 2005-2006 England Championship 40 2 43 2
Crystal Palace 2006-2007 England Championship 38 1 40 1
Crystal Palace 2007-2008 England Championship 8 0 8 0
Cardiff City 2008-2009 England Championship 36 0 40 0
Cardiff City 2009-2010 England Championship 30 0 36 0
Ipswich Town 2010-2011 England Championship 26 0 30 0
Ipswich Town 2011-2012 England Championship 7 0 7 0
Total 447 35 510 43