Gary Naysmith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gary Naysmith
Personal information
Full name	Gary Andrew Naysmith
Date of birth	November 16, 1978 (age 28)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Nickname	Nace, El Blanco Carlos
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Everton
Youth clubs
1991-1996	Whitehill Welfare Colts
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996-2000 2000-	Hearts Everton	096 (3) 131 (5)
National team2
2000-	Scotland	032 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:09, 4 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14:09, 4 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Gary Andrew Naysmith (born November 16, 1978 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a football defender, currently rated as one of the best Scottish left-backs.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Naysmith at Everton 3 International career 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early career

Raised in Loanhead, Naysmith started his senior career with Hearts, whom he joined from local side Whitehill's Colts team. He made his professional debut, aged only 17, several months later in a League Cup tie with Celtic. His opportunity arose from a suspension crisis, the Maroons having no less than four defenders (Bruno, Weir, Ritchie and Pointon) sent off in their previous match at Rangers. Despite the patchwork nature of their defense, Hearts defeated Celtic 1-0, with Naysmith earning plaudits for his mature display. Within a year he had established himself as the side's first-choice left back, displacing Neil Pointon, and in 1998 helped the Tynecastle club end their 36-year trophy-jinx by lifting the Scottish Cup. That season he was also named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year.

A transitional season followed as the loss of Weir, McCann (both transferred) and Cameron (injured) destabilised the side. Naysmith himself had to adapt to a change in the levels of expectation placed upon him, no longer allowed the defence of youthful naïveté. By 1999-2000 though he had rediscovered his confidence and was being touted for an international call-up. A particular highlight of that season was his display in a surprise 3-2 defeat of Celtic at Parkhead in February 2000. Hearts had trailed 2-0 before battling back to victory, with Naysmith striking a spectacular equalising goal.^[1]

As one of Hearts most valuable assets, Naysmith was also the subject of transfer speculation. Financial concerns at the club heightened these and in October 2000 it appeared that Naysmith was bound for the West Midlands when Coventry City bid for him. However, their offer was bettered by Everton at the eleventh hour, and Naysmith moved to Merseyside instead, in a £1.7 million deal.

[edit] Naysmith at Everton

Naysmith first became a regular under Walter Smith and then under his successor David Moyes. To date, he has made 152 appearances for Everton, scoring six goals, although his Toffees career has been disrupted by injury. In December 2002 he was the victim of a "blood curdling" tackle by Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.^[2] A long term ankle injury in 2005 meant that Naysmith lost his first-team place at Everton to Alessandro Pistone in the 2004-2005 season, and in the 2005-2006 season Portuguese international Nuno Valente cemented himself as first choice left-back at Goodison Park.

Naysmith recovered from ankle surgery in time for the start of the 2006-07 season and an injury to Valente in the season's opening game saw him restored to the starting eleven. He kept his place after Valente returned to fitness, however it wasn't long before injury befell him again, a medial ligament strain in the game against Newcastle United on September 24, 2006 keeping him out for two months. The departure of Kevin Kilbane to Wigan Athletic is expected to see Naysmith also play some games as a left-winger.^[3]

Throughout his time at Everton, Naysmith has been linked to transfers away from the club, his skilled play frequently catching the eye of opposition scouts. At the end of the 2004-2005 season, it was rumoured that he would be leaving on a free transfer, before signing a new 3-year contract with the Blues.^[4] Naysmith was widely rumoured to be a target for Scottish champions Celtic and German club VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2006.^[5] However, David Moyes denied any interest from Celtic ^[6] and the August 31^st transfer deadline passed with no transfer for Naysmith.

[edit] International career

By then already an Under-21 internationalist, Naysmith made his full Scotland debut in May 2000, in a 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.^[7] He quickly established himself in the squad, becoming an automatic choice, when fit, for the left back berth and as a result had won 32 caps by January 2007. His only international goal came in 2002, during a Euro 2004 qualifying game with Iceland. Fielded in an unfamiliar central midfield role by Berti Vogts, Naysmith scored Scotland's second goal in a 2-0 win, with a right-footed volley from the edge of the box.

[edit] Trivia

• Naysmith had the honour of being voted the 6th sexiest footballer by the Gay Football Supporters Network in 2002.^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Gary Naysmith career stats at Soccerbase

Preceded by Robbie Winters

Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 1998

Succeeded by Barry Ferguson

Everton F.C. - Current Squad
1 Wright | 2 Hibbert | 3 Naysmith | 4 Yobo | 6 Arteta | 7 Van der Meyde | 8 Johnson | 9 Beattie | 11 McFadden | 15 Stubbs | 16 Lescott | 17 Cahill | 18 Neville | 19 Valente | 21 Osman | 22 Vaughan | 23 Pistone | 24 Howard | 26 Carsley | 28 Anichebe | 30 Ruddy | 36 Boyle | 37 Fernandes | 38 Anderson | 41 Viðarsson | Manager: Moyes