Joe Murphy

Joseph Murphy (born 21 August 1981) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Tranmere Rovers.

Murphy began his career with Tranmere Rovers, and has since represented eight other clubs, making over 600 appearances in the Football League and playing twice in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion in 2002.

Born in Dublin, he was capped twice by the Republic of Ireland at international level in 2003 and 2010.

Club Career

Early career

With his first club, Tranmere Rovers, Murphy played in the 2000 Football League Cup Final, before joining West Bromwich Albion in July 2002. With his first touches in a Premier League game, Murphy saved a Michael Owen penalty following the sending off of Russell Hoult. He spent the majority of the 2004–05 season on loan at Walsall. In August 2005, he moved from West Brom to Sunderland, but was again loaned to Walsall during 2005–06.

Scunthorpe United

Murphy signed for Scunthorpe United in May 2006 after being released by Sunderland. He had an excellent 2006–07 season, and was an integral part of the team that led Scunthorpe to the League One trophy. He was in the League One team of the season, and also won the golden glove (award for most clean sheets). He was also named League One player of the month for February 2007. On top of this, he hit the crossbar during Soccer AM's crossbar challenge. His clean sheet in Scunthorpe's 2–0 home victory over Burnley on 30 September 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week. He made the Team of the Week once more following his side's 1–0 victory over Charlton Athletic in February.

Murphy enjoyed a good set of performances during the 2008–09 season but never caught the eye of Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trappatonni due to playing in the third tier. Murphy's performance in the League One play-off semi-final helped the team proceed to the final as he kept a clean sheet in 120 minutes and saved three penalties