Name: Gerard Anthony Daly



Country: Ireland
Club: Manchester United F.C.
Number: 4
Position: *CMF, AMF, SMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 20-23 years (30/04/1954)

Height: 175 cm
Weight: 64 kg

Attack: 77
Defence: 68
Balance: 76
Stamina: 86
Top Speed: 79
Acceleration: 82
Response: 82
Agility: 80
Dribble Accuracy: 82
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Accuracy: 85
Short Pass Speed: 82
Long Pass Accuracy: 79
Long Pass Speed: 80
Shot Accuracy: 77
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 78
Free Kick Accuracy: 70
Curling: 77
Header: 75
Jump: 75
Technique: 85
Aggression: 79
Mentality: 82
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 83

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot frequency: 6
Consistency: 7
Growth Type: Early/Lasting

CARDS:
P14 - Free Roaming
S01 - Marauding
S02 - Passer
S04 - PK Taker


SPECIAL ABILITIES: Reaction - Playmaking - Passing - Centre - Penalties

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack-Minded


INFO:
‘Five foot eight, underweight and f*****g great’

Gerry Daly was a cunning Tommy Docherty signing in 1973-1974 season. An accurate shooting and sweet passing gifted midfielder, blessed with attacking instincts, natural fitness, tireless running and strong shooting with both legs. In 1975-1976 with United chasing the title, Daly converted 16 out of 17 penalties taking over as regular penalty taker from goalkeeper Alex Stepney! He was one of the best Irish players of the 70's, never received the acclaim which he deserved.

His first senior club was Bohemians, for whom he scored in the UEFA Cup away to Köln in September 1972. In 1973, Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty paid Bohemians £20,000 for Daly's services. For two years Daly ran the United midfield, in the promotion season 1974-1975 and in 1975-1976 where United narrowly missed the title and lost the FA Cup. However in 1976-1977 (United's Cup winning season) he was dropped in favour of Sammy McIllroy who moved to midfield to accommodate new arrival Jimmy Greenhoff. By early 1977 Daly clashed with manager Tommy Docherty like Hill, Macari and many others and he left soon after- a real shame as Daly had huge potential at the time, but this was Docherty's way. He moved to Derby only to find the Doc arriving at Derby two years later! He played 142 games for United and scored 32 goals. Daly remained with Derby until 1980. Daly scored a famous penalty for Derby in 1977 against Manchester City where the penalty spot had to be re-painted during the game, due to the poor condition of the Baseball Ground pitch. During his time with Derby, Daly spent time on loan with the New England Tea Men of the North American Soccer League in 1978 and 1979. Following Derby's relegation in 1980, Daly signed for Coventry City, with whom he spent four seasons, including a spell on loan to Leicester City in 1982. He then spent a season at Birmingham City before signing for Shrewsbury Town in October 1985. His experience helped the "Shrews" remain in the second tier finishing in 17th position in 1985–86 and 18th in 1986–87. This prompted Stoke City manager Mick Mills to sign Daly in March 1987. In 1987–88 Daly played 30 times for Stoke scoring three goals but fell out of favour in March 1988 and was released at the end of the season. He then moved on to Fourth Division Doncaster Rovers where he spent the 1988–89 season playing in 44 matches. He joined non-league Telford United in 1989 and later managed the club between 1990 and 1993.

He never quite picked up again after Old Trafford going to various clubs but at International level he flourished winning 48 caps and scoring 13 goals Daly represented Ireland from 1973 to 1986. He won his first cap in a friendly against Poland in. His 13 international goals make him one of the top-scoring Irish midfielders. His first goal in 1976 was a penalty in a 1–1 draw against England at Wembley. He scored another goal against England in the Euro qualifiers in 1978. He also scored against Denmark in the Euro qualifiers of 1980. Another goal came in a 2–1 victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier in 1980. Daly's last goal for Ireland was in 1986 in a match against Iceland in the Iceland Triangular Tournament to earn Ireland a 2-1 win, and his last match for Ireland was against Scotland in 1986 at Lansdowne Road in a Euro 1988 qualifying match.