Marc Bircham

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Marc Bircham
Personal information
Full name Marc Stephen John Bircham
Date of birth (1978-05-11) 11 May 1978 (age 43)
Place of birth Wembley, England[1]
Position(s) Defender / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Waterford (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2002 Millwall 104 (3)
2002–2007 Queens Park Rangers 152 (7)
2007–2009 Yeovil Town 16 (0)
Total 272 (10)
National team
1999–2004 Canada 17 (1)
Teams managed
2009 Queens Park Rangers (caretaker)
2009–2014 Queens Park Rangers (coach)
2014–2015 Millwall (assistant manager)
2015 Chicago Fire (assistant manager)
2016 Arizona United (assistant coach)
2016–2018 Queens Park Rangers (first-team coach)
2020–2021 Bahamas (technical director)
2021– Waterford
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Marc Stephen John Bircham (born 11 May 1978 in Wembley) is an English-born Canadian former footballer and coach.[2] He is currently manager of League of Ireland side Waterford.[3]

Club career[]

London-born Bircham started his professional career at Millwall and after 6 seasons joined Queens Park Rangers where he became a crowd favorite. Bircham used to be known for his unusual hairstyle – a dyed blue and white streak down the centre of his hair from when he played for QPR[citation needed] and a red and white streak while playing for Canada. QPR fans sang a song to the tune of "I Love You, Baby": "We love you, Bircham/ because you got blue hair/ We love you, Bircham/ because you're everywhere/ We love you, Bircham/ because you're Rangers through and through."

In 2007, he moved to Yeovil Town. He scored his first and what turned out to be only goal for Yeovil against Brentford in the Football League Trophy.[4] After a series of ankle injuries in the 2008–09 season it was revealed that Bircham had quit football and is going to set up a youth coaching camp in Cyprus.[5][6]

International career[]

Bircham was eligible to play for Canada because one of his grandfathers was born in Winnipeg. He made his debut for Canada in an April 1999 friendly match against Northern Ireland in Belfast. He is the only player to have played for a country without actually visiting it when his first cap – as well as his first and only goal – came.[citation needed] He scored that goal only 8 minutes after coming on as a substitute for another player making his debut, Davide Xausa.

Bircham earned 17 caps for his adopted country, representing Canada in two FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[7] His final international was a June 2004 World Cup qualification match against Belize.

International goals[]

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 April 1999 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–1 Friendly match

Coaching career[]

After becoming a QPR youth coach at the start of the 2009–10 season, he was put in temporary charge with fellow Youth Coach Steve Gallen due to manager Jim Magilton's suspension on 9 December 2009.[8][9] The duo took charge of a 2–2 draw away to West Bromwich Albion on the 14th December 2009.[10]

On the 12th May 2021, Bircham was named manager of League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford until the end of the season.[11] With Waterford bottom of the table when Bircham took over, he led his side to 6 wins and a draw from his first 12 league games in charge, taking the club out of the relegation zone and earning a new 2 and a half year contract which was announced in August 2021.[12]

Personal life[]

Bircham's wife, Jadene, took part in the reality television series WAGs Boutique on ITV2. The couple have four children; boys Sonny and Frankie, and girls Layla-Rose and Dolly Lola-Belle. They are currently separated.

He currently appears on Talksport.

Managerial statistics[]

As of 11th August 2021.

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
England Queens Park Rangers
(caretaker manager,
with Steve Gallen) 		9 December 2009 17 December 2009 1 0 1 0 2 2 +0 000.00
Republic of Ireland Waterford 12 May 2021 Present 13 7 1 5 17 20 −3 053.85
Total 14 7 2 5 19 22 −3 050.00

References[]

  1. ^ Hugman, Barry J. (ed) (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Marc Bircham Added to Coaching Staff; Kelly Signed". Arizona United SC. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ^ https://waterfordfc.ie/marc-bircham-appointed-first-team-manager/
  4. ^ "Brentford 2-2 Yeovil". BBC. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Bircham Hangs Up His Boots". Ciderspace. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Bircham forced to hang up boots". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008.
  7. ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
  8. ^ "Duo in caretaker charge". Queen's Park Rangers. 9 December 2009.
  9. ^ "Manager Jim Magilton suspended by QPR". BBC News. 9 December 2009.
  10. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8404880.stm
  11. ^ https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40288037.html
  12. ^ https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/marc-bircham-handed-two-year-deal-as-waterford-boss-after-turning-season-around-40723590.html

External links[]

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