Capturing "Zinedane Kilbane" Excites Clough! Wednesday, 3rd Aug 2011 13:09 by Daniel J Sewart The Rams has brought some of their much sought after ‘experience’ into the squad by announcing the signing of Kevin Kilbane. The much travelled player joins Derby for at least 6 months on loan from Hull. With fans crying out for a senior head to be added to the squad Kilbane may be a step in the right direction with a long and rollercoaster like career. Although falling out of favour at Hull last season, he produced some of his best football for quite some time while on loan at Huddersfield during the clubs fabulous winning run last season. Nigel Clough will be hoping the chance to climb back into the Championship with a point to prove will serve the Rams well as they look to put the finishing touches on the squad for 2011/12. As always RamZone presents a comprehensive, look at the Rams latest signing and reaction from the player himself and the Rams manager: Kevin Daniel Kilbane - was born on the 1st of February 1977 in Preston, Lancashire. Kilbane made his professional debut at his hometown club, Preston North End, after making his way through the youth system at Deepdale. It was not long before his performances began to attract attention from other clubs, and he was sold to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £1 million in 1997. Kilbane was Albion's first £1 million player, breaking a club transfer record which had stood since 1979. This heralded in a bright new era for Kilbane, as he quickly became a fan favourite at The Hawthorns and at the same time broke into the Irish international setup. In December 1999, Peter Reid's Sunderland paid £2.5 million for the left winger, making him the third most expensive club signing at the time. His impact was quite literally immediate; coming off the bench on his debut against Southampton, Kilbane crossed for Kevin Phillips to score the match winner. However, this was to be Sunderland's last win until March 2000, a loss in form which came to be known as "The Curse of Kilbane". In spite of his best efforts on the pitch, he soon became a target for the Black Cats fans to vent their frustrations, as the team's drop in form under Peter Reid continued and the team were relegated from the Premiership. In the summer of 2002 he gave the travelling Sunderland fans a two-fingered salute on a pre-season tour of France. His days at the Stadium of Light seemed numbered. On the last day of the transfer window at the start of the 2003–04 season, Kilbane moved to Everton for just under £1 million, where he was reunited with David Moyes. The Goodison Park fans would appreciate his commitment and re-invigorate Kilbane as a player. In return, he displayed great versatility which resulted in him being deployed right across the midfield, at left back or even as a support striker, as well has his preferred left-wing position. On 31 August 2006, Kilbane signed a three-year deal with Wigan Athletic for an estimated fee of £2 million. Kilbane played most of his second season in the unfamiliar left back role, but still managed to win the 'wiganer.net' Player of The Season Award. With limited first team opportunities at Wigan due to the emergence of Maynor Figueroa and with his contract set to expire in the summer, Kilbane transferred to Hull City on 15 January 2009 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £500,000, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Yorkshire club. On 1 January 2011, as the transfer window reopened, Kilbane joined Football League One side Huddersfield Town on loan until the end of the season, mainly as a replacement for the injured Damien Johnson. He made his debut the same day in the 2–2 draw against Carlisle United at Brunton Park. After signing for Huddersfield, he helped the team to a club record 26 league games unbeaten, before their eventual 3-0 defeat in the playoff final to Peterborough. Kilbane has had a long international career for the Republic of Ireland that began against Iceland on 6th September 1997. He was chosen as part of Mick McCarthy's Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. The team did relatively well at the tournament, progressing to the round of 16. They lost to Spain in a penalty shootout when Iker Casillas saved Kilbane and David Connolly's penalties. Kevin along with Shay Given and Robbie Keane now holds the record for most caps with the Republic of Ireland. He is however, jokingly known by the Irish supporters as "Zinedine Kilbane" in comparison to French playmaker Zinedine Zidane. At one point there were t-shirts with this printed on it for sale outside Lansdowne Road after international matches. Kilbane won his 100th cap against Montenegro on 14 November 2009. As of 4 June 2011, Kilbane played his 66th consecutive competitive international game (a run stretching back to 1999); only England's Billy Wright has achieved a longer unbroken run in competitive international football. As his career winds down it seems Kilbane has one eye on a media career after he obtained a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University. He was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Perhaps Kevin could be the Rams next Robbie Savage mixing media with on-field duties although it is unlikely he will provide the flashy, outspoken news grabs our former Captain regularly rolled out. Nigel Clough was very happy to have made Kilbane his 9th signing for the coming season: "He is an international footballer, so first and foremost it is exciting for us to attract another player of that ilk to Derby County.” "Kevin brings with him a wealth of experience, as well as the ability to play in a variety of positions.” "We believe he will be a welcome addition to our squad and given the type of character and player he is, we have no doubt he will do a good job for us." The Rams needed experience and hopefully he can bring the steadying influence and consistent football to Derby that he produced last season at Huddersfield. That would be preferable to the “Curse of Kilbane”, especially when it comes to merchandise, a popular range of “Zinedane Kilbane” t-shirts would no doubt make the merchandise department of the club very happy. RamZone would like to wish Kevin Kilbane all the best in a Derby shirt.
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