http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~2572492,00.html? FORMER Stoke City captain James O'Connor has today reacquainted himself with the Club by signing for their American affiliate side Orlando City S.C. The 33-year old jets across the Atlantic to link up with Adrian Heath's Championship winning side on a free transfer, having brought an end to his near four-year long stay with Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month. A tenacious and tireless midfielder, O'Connor came through the ranks with the Potters youth team at the Victoria Ground, before establishing himself as a first team regular at the newly-built Britannia Stadium. He helped the Club lift the Auto Windscreen Shield with a triumph over Bristol City at Wembley Stadium in 2000. Then, just two years later he led City back into Division One after playing a key role in the historic 2-0 victory against Brentford in the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium. All in all, O'Connor made 209 appearances for the Potters scoring 21 goals - one of which came against Cardiff in the epic Play-Off Semi Final victory at Ninian Park. He left the Club in 2003, having just been named as the Potters Player of the Year, and joined Premier League side West Bromwich Albion, for whom he featured in all but two of their top flight games that campaign. Subsequent spells with Burnley and League One outfit Sheffield Wednesday followed, before bringing an end to his 14-year long English career, having made almost 500 appearances. "There's huge potential here," O'Connor told orlandocitysoccer.com. "The opportunity to work with Adrian [Heath] and Ian [Fuller] and everyone else is great. This is a club that's going places and is something I definitely want to be a part of." The news of his arrival will come as a huge boost to Orlando boss Adrian Heath, who is hoping to build upon last season's remarkable inaugural campaign which included a debut USL Championship victory. "James has been playing at the top two levels of English football for most of his career," said Head Coach Adrian Heath. "He has great personality and professionalism. That's what he'll bring to the club. "We have younger players, who we have high hopes for, will look at James and see everything he does. He's going to lead by example. They will see what he brings everyday to training; it's a great example for our younger guys."
