Jonathan Marvin Daly (born 8 January 1983) is an Irish football coach and former player who played as a forward.
He is currently the manager of St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
He began his senior career in England, where he played for Stockport County and Hartlepool United; he also had loan spells with Bury and Grimsby Town.
1998
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Daly started his career at Irish amateur side Cherry Orchard, before signing for Stockport County in May 1998.
At Stockport he scored regularly for the youth and reserve team.
He began to make an impression on manager Andy Kilner during Stockport's pre-season tour of Scandinavia.
He came on a substitute against Landskrona BoIS, and then started against Kristianstads, against whom he scored his first senior goal after lobbing the Kristianstad keeper.
The following season saw Daly become Stockport's second-youngest player when he came off the bench to make his first team debut against Walsall.
However, he failed to secure a regular place and only appeared in five matches in his first two seasons.
2001
Consequently, he had to wait until the 2001–02 season before he scored his first senior goal against Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup.
He scored his first league goal later that season.
2002
By the start of the 2002–03 season, Daly was regarded as one of Division 2's most promising strikers.
He played more regularly and he was involved in 35 of Stockport's 46 league games, scoring seven goals.
During this season, Stockport manager Carlton Palmer decided against naming a goalkeeper on the bench and revealed that he was planning to use Daly in goal should their keeper get sent off or injured.
However, this never occurred and Daly never made an appearance in goal.
2004
In October 2004 he went on loan to Grimsby, and scored on his debut against Chester City.
However, in his third and final appearance for Grimsby he was sent off against Scunthorpe United.
2005
In February 2005, Daly signed for Hartlepool United, where he would stay for the next two years.
Daly scored his first goal against AFC Bournemouth, which helped seal a play-off spot.
In the League One Play-off Final against Sheffield Wednesday, he scored with his first touch after coming on as a substitute to put Hartlepool in the lead.
Daly struggled to feature for the club the following season and was sent on loan to Bury.
2006
In the 2006–07 season, he again struggled to hold down a first team spot, although he scored seven goals over three games within a week, including the first hat-trick of his professional career against Wrexham on 30 September 2006.
After this, he struggled to maintain his form and was surplus to requirements after Danny Wilson signed Richie Barker.
2007
He moved to Scottish football in 2007, when he signed for Dundee United.
Daly was allowed to join Dundee United in January 2007 for an undisclosed fee.
He made his debut for the club, on 13 January 2007, in a 5–0 loss against Rangers.
He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against League champions Celtic.
After the match, his performance was praised by Craig Levein, who described him as "tireless up front and a lot of people don't see all the work he does."
He scored again, the last game of the season, in a 4–2 win over Aberdeen.
In May 2007, Daly suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for around six months, which affected the start of the season.
Having appeared four times on the bench, Daly made his return, on 10 November 2007, in a 2–0 win over Kilmarnock.
However, on his next appearance, he suffered another injury, to his ankle, ruling him out for another two months.
2008
On 12 March 2008, Daly returned as a substitute for Craig Conway, in a 0–0 draw against Celtic.
2010
He spent over six years at the club, eventually becoming club captain, and won the Scottish Cup in 2010.
2012
He was twice included in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year awards, for the Scottish Premier League in 2012 and for League One in 2014.
In international football, Daly represented the Republic of Ireland at all youth levels up to the under-21 team.
2013
He signed for Rangers in 2013, winning the League One title in his first season.
He was described as the first Irish Catholic to join Rangers, a team with a Protestant identity.
2015
Released by Rangers in 2015, Daly ended his playing career with Raith Rovers and retired in January 2016.
He became a coach at Heart of Midlothian, where he was interim manager twice.
