Born on this day in 1986 is former Sunderland winger Aiden McGeady, who is now playing in the Scottish Championship with Ayr United.
Son of the professional footballer John McGeady, he was a feature of several youth teams, including QPR, before, at the young age of 14, he signed for Celtic, his boyhood club. Here, he impressed greatly, and featured several times for Ireland’ youth setups, before signing his first full professional contract at Celtic Park aged 18. At Celtic, Aiden’s natural talent shone through, as he made over 180 starts for the Scottish side, helping them to dominate the Scottish game in the early 00’s. During his time at the club, aiding them massively on their way to seven majors in just six seasons, with 31 goals and countless assists.
After making his name on the European stage with four Champions League and five Europa League appearances during his final season at the club, he left for Russian giants Spartak Moscow, for a then-record fee for a Scottish export of over £9 million. During his four seasons at the club, he continued to shine through with his skill, which even saw him land his own skill move in FIFA! Wanting a return back to Britain, he signed for the Toffees.
Merseyside brought McGeady a mixed three years there, but following two loan spells, he finally found his way to Wearside. In League One, McGeady was a class above. He was instrumental under Jack Ross and after being frozen out by Phil Parkinson, he returned to the side rejuvenated- laying on an incredible 16 goals in League One.
Decisions like leaving out the professional and talented McGeady, a huge decision for any manager, is why Parky is now managing in non-league. Every week since January until the end of that season, it seemed as if McGeady delivered an inch perfect ball into the box that was met by the head of Charlie Wyke.
McGeady was a big game player for us and, despite arguably not being fully fit, we relied on him in occasions like the EFL Trophy final where he scored that memorable free kick goal. He has plenty of memorable goals to choose from, another against Portsmouth in the final another popular choice for favourite McGeady moment.
Whilst it's not the same big game occasion, I admire his goal against Preston in our ill fated Championship campaign. McGeady demonstrated his tenacity and skill to slide tackle the ball back and elegantly poise himself on the edge of the box to bend the ball into the corner of the net. An underrated finish. He's also a big fan of the Roker End Cafe cakes, which is a bonus.
McGeady left Sunderland in summer 2022 and linked back up with former manager Lee Johnson at Hibernian. He played 14 times for Hibs in all competitions and got two assists.
In 2023 he completed a permanent move to Ayr United, signing a two year deal after he was released by Hibs. He has also taken up a role as technical manager alongside his playing duties. So far he has featured 18 times in all competitions, scoring twice.
