Neil Heaney
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Andrew Heaney | ||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1989 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | Arsenal | 8 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Hartlepool United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1992 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 1994–1996 | Southampton | 61 | (5) |
| 1996–1999 | Manchester City | 18 | (1) |
| 1998 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1999 | → Bristol City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Darlington | 36 | (5) |
| 2000–2001 | Dundee United | 12 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Plymouth Argyle | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 168 | (13) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992 | England under-21 | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Neil Andrew Heaney (born 3 November 1971) is an English former footballer who played as a winger for a number of British clubs including Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester City and Dundee United.
Heaney started out playing on his native Teesside before being signed by London club Arsenal on schoolboy forms in January 1987. He was part of the side that won the FA Youth Cup in 1987–88 and turned professional in 1989. After spells on loan at Hartlepool United and Cambridge United, he made his Arsenal début as a substitute against Sheffield United on 18 April 1992. A winger with considerable pace, he was on the fringes of the Arsenal first team over the next two seasons, before being suddenly sold by George Graham to Southampton for £300,000 in March 1994. He made nine senior appearances for Arsenal in total, failing to score.
He became Alan Ball's third signing for the Saints (just before the transfer deadline) and scored his first goal against Newcastle United on 22 March 1995. Saints had failed to win a game since before Christmas and had dropped into 20th place, just above the relegation zone. Heaney came on as a substitute with Saints 1–0 down, and with four minutes left he prodded home a loose ball after a save by Pavel Srníček from Gordon Watson's header. Watson and Neil Shipperley completed the scoring to see Saints run out unlikely 3–1 winners. Saints then managed to climb up the table to finish in 10th place. According to Holley & Chalk, Heaney "had the ability and pace to turn matches, but could frustrate with a tendency to run up blind alleys."
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