Jonathan Addis Player Profile

Biography

Commanding defender who joined from Glentoran and was a key figure in the success of David Jeffrey’s Sky Blues during three seasons at the club.

Originally born in Newry, Addis also lived outside Ballymena in his childhood before settling in Carrickfergus. It was at his hometown club in which he made his senior football breakthrough, making his bow as a striker under Stephen Small in an Intermediate Cup win against Crewe United in October 2009.

Addis was used sparingly in his debut season as Rangers eventually finished fifth in the 2009/2010 Championship 1 standings, but exciting changes were afoot at Taylor's Avenue with former Northern Ireland international Michael Hughes taking over the East Antrim club as their new owner after months of speculation.

Rangers recruited more experienced players with promotion the primary objective, leaving the teenager fighting for game time, being used as a left-sided midfielder and as a forward throughout the 2010/2011 campaign. The season reached a dramatic climax with Carrick winning two trophies on the same evening, as upon clinching the Intermediate Cup (Jonny didn't make the squad for the final), news filtered through that results elsewhere confirmed Carrick as league champions, and promotion back to the top-flight secured.

Forced to play all their 'home' games at Seaview during their return to the Premiership, it proved a difficult campaign for Carrick as their stay only lasted a year in the top-flight. Addis found himself frozen out of the side until the sacking of Stephen Small. Michael Hughes took the reins and brought the 19-year-old back into the fold for his Premiership debut in December 2011 and scored his first senior goal for the club on the final day of the season in a 5-3 win against Donegal Celtic.

The 2012/2013 campaign was arguably the coming of age for Jonny as the rebuilding job started once again for Carrick back in the second tier. Addis was a regular figure playing across the midfield, he picked up the club's Young Player of the Year award as the club eventually finished fifth in Championship 1 despite being on the fringes of the promotion pack all season.

After letting his contract run down at Carrick (and despite interest from Ballymena United), Addis signed for Irish Cup holders Glentoran in August 2013 on a two-year contract and the same summer he travelled to Kazan in Russia to successfully represent the Irish Universities in the World Student games.

Jonny's early Glentoran career impressed many at the Oval as the 21-year-old became a regular in the starting eleven under manager Eddie Patterson. The East Belfast club’s off-field woes would occasionally become a distraction as despite financial concerns, pressure still mounted the players for silverware with the club finishing in fifth (2013/2014) and sixth place (2014/2015) in his first two seasons.

Success came in the Irish Cup in May 2015, with Jonny coming off the bench in the 1-0 win against Portadown at the Oval to mark his first senior silverware. This also meant an opportunity to compete on the European stage for the first time in his career, as Glentoran bowed out of the Europa League lost to Slovakian side MSK Zilina as Jonny came off the bench in both legs. There was more fortune in the Charity Shield in August 2015, as a single Jordan Stewart goal gave the Glens the trophy against Crusaders in the season opener.

Patterson's increasingly fractious relationship with the Oval hierarchy came to a head in October 2015, as he was sacked and replaced with Alan Kernaghan. Jonny passed the 100-game milestone as Glentoran finished the season in mid-table (sixth) in 2015/2016. His form earned him a new two-year-contract despite concerns he would be forced to leave the club after relocating to Liverpool for the 2016/2017 campaign to complete his teaching qualifications. Kernaghan lasted only a month into the new season before former Ballymena captain Gary Haveron was appointed steady the ship. Glentoran's struggles continued though, as they finished the season in ninth place in the table, the lowest final position in many years.

Despite the early season optimism of the start of Haveron's first full season, results still failed to meet the high expectations of the East Belfast faithful. Haveron fell on the sword in February 2018 and was replaced by veteran boss Ronnie McFall. By this stage Addis had already began to question his future at the club and with six months left on his contract, was free to talk about his options with other clubs.

Jonny signed a pre-contract with Ballymena United and joined David Jeffrey’s Sky Blues in July 2018 ahead of a memorable 2018/2019 campaign. With Addis an ever-present figure in the backline, the Braidmen mounted their first substantial title challenge in nearly 40 years, eventually finishing as runners-up to David Healy’s Linfield, as United also were narrowly beaten in the final of the League Cup by their title rivals. Jonny was hailed as one of the key players throughout the memorable campaign that seen Ballymena qualify automatically for Europe.

The defender missed much of Ballymena United’s historic run in the Europa League but returned for the second leg defeat to Malmo at the Showgrounds. The 2019/2020 domestic season started in style for Jonny as he hammered home a goal of the season contender from his own half against Larne being an early highlight in a campaign that seen United fail to recapture their league form (eventually finishing eighth), a devastating late defeat in the final of the County Antrim Shield to Cliftonville and then the season being curtailed by the pandemic.

Jonny and his team-mates bounced back from lockdown for the 2020 Irish Cup Final, the first game played in front of fans again in the UK in five months, but a late Robbie McDaid goal sealed the cup for Glentoran in dramatic circumstances. The 2020/2021 season was delayed by the impact of Covid-19 and the majority played behind closed doors, but it was also a season of frustration for Jonny who struggled to overcome injury on a consistent basis, and after only 21 appearances, there were major questions asked about his long-term form and fitness with the Sky Blues after 101 appearances and 6 goals in three seasons to date.

With his future unclear, Jonny took the option to leave the Sky Blues in June 2021 to join Paddy McLaughlin’s Cliftonville. It was at Solitude that Addis quickly became a fans’ favourite with the Reds’ faithful, as the club embarked on an unlikely title challenge, eventually finishing as runners-up to Linfield, but lifting the League Cup in the process in a memorable 4-3 final victory over Coleraine in March 2022. With his injury woes firmly behind him, Jonny enjoyed a vintage campaign on a personal level and was named in the league’s Team of the Year for 2021/2022 and took home a clean sweep of the club Player of the Year honours.

Cliftonville tied down their star man with a contract extension the following summer, but the campaign started with defeat in the UEFA Conference League to Slovakian side DAC 1904. The defender continued to be a key figure for the Reds, but following the departure of manager McLaughlin to Derry City, they slipped out of contention in the 2022/2023 and missed out on European football after losing the playoff final to Glentoran.

Jim Magilton stepped into the North Belfast hotseat and in a season of change, found a reliable figure in Jonny Addis – who played a key role in Cliftonville ending their 45-year wait to finally lift the Irish Cup, after defeating Linfield at the National Stadium. If Jonny hadn’t already written himself into club folklore, it would now be immortalised in a season where he also found himself in the Team of the Year for the second time in three seasons.

Despite an overhaul of the Irish Cup winning squad, and an inconsistent league campaign – Cliftonville continued to add to the Solitude trophy cabinet – winning the League Cup once again, after defeating Glentoran in a narrow encounter. However, the season rollercoaster season ended with defeat in the Irish Cup final on penalties to Dungannon, but Jonny and his teammates bounced back to win the European Playoff against Coleraine to book their place in the UEFA Conference League.

Now 32-years-old and one of the veterans of a youthful Reds squad, Jonny signed a new contract extension in the summer of 2025 - having made 187 appearances, scoring 13 goals and even having a Cliftonville supporters’ club named after him!

Career
(Sep 2009) Carrick Rangers; (Aug 2013) Glentoran; (Jul 2018) Ballymena United; (Jun 2021) Cliftonville

Honours
(with Carrick Rangers)
Championship: (winner) 2010/2011
(with Glentoran)
Irish Cup: (winner) 2014/2015
Charity Shield: (winner) 2015/2016
(with Ballymena United)
Irish League: (runner-up) 2018/2019
Irish Cup: (finalist) 2019/2020
League Cup: (finalist) 2018/2019
County Antrim Shield: (finalist) 2019/2020
(with Cliftonville)
Irish Cup: (winner) 2023/2024; (finalist) 2024/2025
League Cup: (winner) 2012/2022, 2024/2025
Irish League: (runner-up) 2021/2022
Charity Shield (finalist) 2024/2025