Jamie Darryl O'Hara (born 25 September 1986) is an English football manager, former footballer and radio host.
O'Hara played as a midfielder and came through the Arsenal Academy, before signing for and going on to feature in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur. He later played top flight football with both Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was part of the Pompey team that reached the 2010 FA Cup Final. He also played in the Football League for Chesterfield, Millwall, Blackpool, Fulham and Gillingham. He retired following a spell as player/manager of non-league side Billericay Town. O'Hara was capped seven times at England U21 level.
He was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and now works for Talksport.
Early life and education
O'Hara was born in Dartford, Kent. He was educated at Horton Kirby (Church of England) Primary School, He then went on to Hextable Comprehensive School in Kent and Highams Park School, a mixed state comprehensive school in the Highams Park district of the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
Club career
Early career
As a schoolboy, O'Hara trained with the Arsenal Academy before moving to Tottenham Hotspur's academy in 2003. In 2004–05 he featured in every game in the FA Youth Cup, scoring once against Everton from a free kick in addition to playing in fourteen Under-18 matches and eighteen reserve matches.
In January 2006 it was announced he had joined Chesterfield on a three-month loan agreement. His Football League debut came on 14 January 2006 at Doncaster Rovers in a 1–1 draw. He scored five goals during his loan spell during 19 appearances.
He went out on loan for a second time in August 2007 when he joined League One club Millwall on a month-long loan deal which was subsequently extended to December. He made 15 appearances in total for the Lions.
Tottenham Hotspur
O'Hara subsequently returned to Spurs after his successful loan spell at Millwall which attracted the attention of new manager, Juande Ramos, and made his debut as a substitute against Portsmouth on 15 December 2007, assisting in the game's winning goal. He made his full début a week later in the North London derby against former club Arsenal. He also contributed two appearances to Spurs' run in the 2007–08 Football League Cup, but was left out of the squad for the final itself.
He became a regular player for the remainder of the season, scoring his first Tottenham goal on 21 February 2008 in a UEFA Cup tie against Slavia Prague at White Hart Lane, and his first Premier League goal on 22 March 2008, against Portsmouth. At the end of the season, he was named the One Hotspur Junior Young Player of the Year and was presented with the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust Breakthrough Award for his performances. He was further rewarded by a new three-year deal.
The arrival of Harry Redknapp as manager during the next season saw O'Hara gradually lose his regular place in the league. He did however make a vital contribution in the club's League Cup semi-final tie against Burnley, as he scored one goal and helped create two more in a 4–1 first leg victory that helped see them through to the final. Unlike the previous year, O'Hara was included in their squad for the final. Coming on as a substitute, he also stepped up to take the first penalty kick in the shootout against Manchester United, after the match finished goalless; his effort was saved by Ben Foster as Spurs lost 1–4 on penalties. O'Hara signed a new contract in August, keeping him at White Hart Lane until 2013.
Loan to Portsmouth
After penning a new deal with Tottenham, O'Hara joined Portsmouth on loan until January 2010, with an option to remain at Fratton Park until the end of the season. He was a regular starter for Pompey during this time, but returned to Tottenham in January 2010 despite Portsmouth wanting to extend his loan and Tottenham agreeing to this, as Portsmouth were subject to a transfer embargo. Following the lifting of Portsmouth's transfer embargo weeks later, he returned to Portsmouth on loan for the remainder of the season.
