Isaiah Osbourne


Isaiah George Osbourne is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barwell. He is a former England under-16 international who started his career with Aston Villa. Osbourne had loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday before he was released by Villa in 2011. He then signed on a free transfer for Hibernian and made 30 appearances in the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League.

Club career

Aston Villa

Born in Birmingham, West Midlands, Osbourne started out training at Derby County after he and his brother, Isaac were spotted and offered a trial, but they were not offered a youth contract there. The brothers went on trial at Aston Villa, from which Isaiah was signed. He progressed through the club's youth system. After being given the squad number 27 shirt following Martin O'Neill's arrival as the new Aston Villa manager, he made his Premier League debut on 21 October 2006, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute for Steven Davis, against Fulham at Villa Park. In a follow–up match against Leicester City in the third round of the League Cup, Osbourne made his first start for the club, playing 107 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–2 win. After the match, his performance received praises, including one from manager O'Neill. Following this, he appeared a handful of first team appearances for the rest of the year, making four more starts. On 28 December 2006, Osbourne signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract, keeping him at Villa Park until the summer of 2010. By February, he lost his first team place, due to competitions and was sent to Aston Villa's reserve team for the rest of the 2006–07 season. Despite this, Osbourne went on to make thirteen appearances in all competitions.
In the 2007–08 season, Osbourne found himself behind the pecking order in the first team, due to competitions in the midfield position. As a result, he made four appearances by the end of the year. On 10 January 2008, Osbourne agreed to join Ian Holloway's Leicester City on loan, however just a few days later Villa manager Martin O'Neill was forced to cancel the proposed deal because of mounting injury concerns. Following this, he continued to find his first team appearances, all coming from the substitute bench, including showing his talent with an impressive cameo for Villa in a 1–1 draw at Arsenal on 1 March 2008. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Osbourne went on to make ten appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Osbourne found himself behind the pecking order in the first team, due to competitions in the midfield position. As a result, he was featured in a handful of cup matches for Aston Villa and only made three starts as a result. On 23 September 2008, Osbourne extended his contract with Aston Villa, keeping him until 2011. By the time he was loaned out to Nottingham Forest, Osbourne made six appearances in all competitions.
After not playing a single minute of football for the club during the 2009–10 season, Osbourne told the Birmingham Mail in July 2010 that he expected to remain with Aston Villa for the remaining year of his contract, in the hope that he could force his way back into the first team. However, Osbourne only made one substitute appearance in the UEFA Europa League the following season. He was released by Aston Villa when his contract expired in May 2011. Throughout his Aston Villa career, Osbourne found his first team opportunities limited, making just 26 appearances between 2006 and 2011.
Following his release by Aston Villa, Osbourne joined Leeds United on trial in July, appearing in friendlies against Rochdale and Sheffield Wednesday, but was unable to earn a permanent deal.

Loan spells from Aston Villa

On 2 March 2009, Osbourne became the first player to move to Nottingham Forest under Billy Davies' reign, joining on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Preston North End on 3 March 2009. Osbourne quickly became a first team regular for Nottingham Forest, playing in the midfield position. Despite suffering injuries along the way, he made eight appearances for the club in the Championship in all competitions. Following this, Nottingham Forest attempted to sign him on a permanent basis, but the move never happened.
Over the summer transfer window, Osbourne was linked with a move to Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, but the move never happened. Instead, he joined Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough on a two-month loan on 5 November 2009. The loan signing made his debut for the club two days later in a 1–0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. After making his debut for Middlesbrough, his performance was praised by manager Strachan. Since joining the club, Osbourne started in the first team for the next eight matches. On 28 December 2009, he had his loan spell with Middlesbrough extended for thirty–nine days. The club wanted to extend his loan spell, but Osbourne was recalled by Villa due to an injury crisis. By the time he departed from Middlesbrough, Osbourne made nine appearances in all competitions, Shortly after, he was expected to join Queens Park Rangers on loan but the deal was not completed.
Osbourne was loaned out on 30 January 2011 to League One club Sheffield Wednesday, managed by Alan Irvine. He made his debut for the club, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss against Rochdale on 12 February 2011. Since joining Sheffield Wednesday, Osbourne started in the club's next nine matches, playing in the midfield position.
After Irvine was sacked and replaced by Gary Megson, Osbourne was dropped out of the first team, with Megson preferring to bring in his own players. His loan deal was terminated early and he returned to Aston Villa on 5 April. Osbourne made a total of 11 appearances for The Owls.

Hibernian

Osbourne signed with Hibernian, and he soon agreed a two-year contract with the Scottish Premier League club.
Osbourne made his Hibernian début on 14 August 2011 in a 4–1 away loss at Kilmarnock, coming off the bench at half-time to replace Lewis Stevenson. Since joining the club, he was involved in the first team in a number of matches, playing in the midfield position. On 24 September 2011, Osbourne scored with a deflected shot in a 3–3 home draw with Dundee United, but it was officially recorded as a Scott Robertson own goal. However, he suffered two separate injuries and was sidelined for weeks. Osbourne made his return to the starting line–up against Dunfermline Athletic on 14 January 2012, starting a match and playing 86 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–2 win. Following his return from injury, he continued to regain his first team place for the rest of the 2011–12 season, playing in the midfield position. Osbourne finally scored his first goal for Hibernian, scoring in the 18th minute, in a 4–3 loss against Motherwell on 22 February 2012. Having aimed to help the club avoid relegation, he successfully predicted with his target after helping Hibernian beat Dunfermline Athletic 4–0 on 7 May 2012. However, Osbourne started in the Scottish Cup Final against rivals, Hearts, as the club lost 5–1. Despite missing two more matches halfway through, he scored one goal for Hibs in 35 appearances during the 2011–12 season.

Blackpool

side Blackpool signed Osbourne in July 2012 on a one-year contract, with an option for a second year.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Millwall in the opening game of the season. After the match, Osbourne said he was happy to make his debut for Blackpool. Since joining the club, Osbourne started in the ten matches in the first thirteen matches of the season. However, he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for weeks. It wasn't until on 24 November 2012 when Osbourne made his return from injury and scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–2 draw against Watford. Following this, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the defensive midfield position. However, Osbourne continued to be sidelined on five occasions as the 2012–13 season progressed, due to injuries and suspensions. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make thirty appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2013–14 season, Osbourne continued to remain in the first team, playing in the midfield position. However, he found himself on the sidelines on three occasions, due to injuries. Osbourne then scored his first goal of the season, in a 5–1 loss against Derby County on 7 December 2013. However, he tore his muscle fibre and was sidelined for a month. Osbourne made his return from injury, starting a match and played 53 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–0 loss against Barnsley on 18 January 2014. Following his return from injury, he continued to find himself in and out of the starting line–up for the rest of the season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Osbourne went on to make twenty–four appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, he was offered a new contract by the club but left Blackpool on 30 June 2014.

Scunthorpe United

On 17 October 2014, Osbourne signed a three-month contract with Scunthorpe United. He previously went on trials at his former club, Walsall, and Port Vale.
Osbourne made his debut for the club, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Colchester United on 18 October 2014. In a match against Peterborough United on 1 November 2014, he set up a goal that led to an own goal, to give Scunthorpe United, as they went on to win 2–1. Since joining Scunthorpe United, Osbourne quickly become involved in the first team, playing in the midfield position. He extended his stay with the club, keeping him until the end of the 2014–15 season. He then set up two goals in a 2–2 draw against Fleetwood Town on 3 March 2015. Despite being sidelined on four occasions throughout the 2014–15 season, Osbourne went on to make thirty–one appearances in all competitions. Following this, Scunthorpe United began talks with the player over a new contract, but left the club in the summer.