Jamie Martin Devitt (born 6 July 1990) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is currently the Professional Development Phase Coach at Carlisle United.[3]
Beginning his professional career with Hull City he made 16 league appearances over a five-year spell and spent time on loan with Darlington, Shrewsbury Town, Grimsby Town (twice), Bradford City, Accrington Stanley and Rotherham United before permanently joining Chesterfield in 2013. He spent a further loan spell with Morecambe before joining The Seasiders on a permanent contract. In 2016 he signed for Carlisle United where he went on to make 110 league appearances in a three-year spell before moving up the League's to Blackpool. Having failed to make a single appearance he moved on to Newport County, back to Bradford City and then to Barrow before returning to Carlisle in the 2022–23 season, he would drop into non-league for club Workington in 2023–24 before retiring in February 2024 due to injury.
Born in Dublin, Devitt progressed through Hull City's youth system and was voted Young Player of the Year and Supporters' Club Player of the Year for the 2007–08 season. In 2009–10 he spent time on loan at three different League Two clubs.
He signed for Darlington on a month's loan on 15 September 2009.[4] He made his debut on 19 September in a 2–0 home defeat to Bournemouth,[5] and scored his first goal for the Quakers in the last game of his loan spell, a 2–1 win against Shrewsbury Town on 17 October.[6]
On 22 October, only days after scoring against the club, he joined Shrewsbury Town on loan.[7] He scored on his debut on 31 October 2009 against Notts County. His form dipped and he was deemed surplus to Shrewsburys promotion battle.[8] He returned to Hull City after being recalled in January 2010.[9]
On 17 February 2010 Devitt joined Grimsby Town on an emergency loan.[10] He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw against Notts County the same day.[11] Against Grimsby's local rivals Lincoln City at Blundell Park the following Saturday, he picked up the Man of the Match award.[citation needed] Devitt's loan at Grimsby was extended until the end of the season on 24 March, after scoring three goals in seven appearances.[12]
The 2009–10 season was finished off for him with an unwanted hat-trick as he capped three relegations in one season.[13] His parent club Hull City dropped out of the Premier League, while both Darlington and Grimsby Town were also relegated from League Two.[14]
He had a happier start to the 2010–11 season as he made his competitive first-team debut for Hull City by coming on as a substitute in their first match, a 2–0 victory over Swansea on 7 August 2010.[15] Throughout the season, he made 16 appearances for the club. Devitt was on the substitutes bench but came on to set up a goal for Nick Barmby in a 3–2 loss against Wigan in the third round of a FA Cup.
On 31 August 2011 Devitt signed with Bradford City on loan until January 2012.[16] He made his debut for the club in the 1–1 draw at Morecambe on 3 September 2011.[17] He scored in the 3–2 loss at Port Vale on 13 September 2011 and had set up a goal for Ritchie Jones.[18]
On 17 February 2012, joined League Two side Accrington Stanley on an initial one-month loan deal.[19] Devitt made his debut in a 4–0 loss against Plymouth Argyle. One month later, Devitt scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against Southend United, and the following week he scored another in a 2–1 win over Northampton Town.
On 1 November 2012 Devitt signed an initial one-month loan deal from Rotherham United.[20] However, after only making two appearances in all competitions, he had to return to his parent club due to an injury picked up in a 1–1 draw against Fleetwood Town.[21] On 29 December 2012, amidst speculation Devitt would be re-joining Grimsby Town, Mariners boss Rob Scott distanced himself from the transfer by denying he has intentions to sign him despite previously being interested in the player.[22]
On 1 January 2013 Grimsby announced that they had made an enquiry about Devitt, but were waiting on the player and his agent to decide whether or not they were going to ask Hull for a pay-out if the situation was that he was not in the plans of the club.[23] On 4 January 2013 Devitt re-joined Grimsby Town on loan for the rest of the 2012–13 season. In his second game back for Town he scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away win at Welling United that sent Grimsby into the quarter finals of the FA Trophy.[24] In the quarter-final he opened the scoring with a free kick in Town's 3–0 victory over Luton Town.[25] Town eventually made it through to the final at Wembley Stadium but were beaten by Wrexham on a penalty shootout after the game ended 1–1; Devitt was an unused substitute. In the league, Grimsby dropped off the pace and despite leading the Conference for majority of the season they eventually finished fourth and were defeated by Newport County in the play-offs. Devitt played 15 league matches for Grimsby, scoring two goals.
On 16 May 2013, following Hull's promotion to the Premier League, Devitt was amongst a number of players released by the club.[26] The following day amidst speculation of a return to Grimsby on a permanent deal Mariners joint boss Rob Scott said that Devitt had not done enough in his second spell to warrant a permanent move, and that Grimsby would not be pursuing any interest in Devitt.[27]
He was offered a new contract by Carlisle United at the end of the 2018–19 season.[36]
Blackpool
On 20 June 2019, Devitt signed for Blackpool on a two-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months.[37][38] In August 2019 he re-joined Bradford City on loan.[39] His loan expired on 1 May 2020.[40]
Devitt found himself surplus to the plans of new Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley. He was not given a squad number for the 2020–21 season and was asked to look for a new club.[41]
On 16 October 2020, Devitt joined Newport County on loan until January 2021.[42] He made his debut for Newport County as a second half substitute in the 2–1 League Two win against Harrogate Town on 31 October 2020.[43] He scored his first goal for Newport in the 3–2 League Two defeat against Carlisle United on 3 November 2020.[44]
Devitt and Blackpool mutually terminated his contract on 19 January 2021.[45]
Barrow
On 19 January 2021, Devitt signed an 18-month contract with Barrow.[46]
Return to Carlisle United
On 31 January 2022, Devitt returned to Carlisle United on a short-term deal until the end of the season.[47] Devitt was released by the club at the end of the season however would be invited back by the club for pre-season training.[48] On 29 July 2022, Devitt signed a new one-year contract.[49]
On 30 May 2023, after Carlisle won promotion to the EFL League One, manager Paul Simpson said Devitt would be released when his contract expired. One key reason was the player's recurrent fitness problems, he said.[50]
Workington
On 3 October 2023, Devitt signed for non-league club Workington.[51] In February 2024, due to a season ending thigh injury, Devitt announced his retirement as a player to focus on his coaching career.[52][53]
