Jerry Gill
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| Jerry Gill | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jeremy Morley Gill | |
| Date of birth | September 8, 1970 | |
| Place of birth | Clevedon, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Cheltenham Town | |
| Number | 2 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1987–1988 1988–1990 1990–1996 1996–1997 1997–2002 2002 2002–2004 2004– |
Trowbridge Town Leyton Orient Bath City Yeovil Town Birmingham City → Northampton Town (loan) Northampton Town Cheltenham Town |
0 (0) 0 (0) 44 (6) 41 (10) 60 (0) 16 (0) 25 (0) 170 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1997 | England National Game XI | 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Jeremy Morley "Jerry" Gill (born September 8, 1970 in Clevedon, Somerset) is an English footballer, who currently plays as a defender for Cheltenham Town. He usually plays at right-back, but can play anywhere across the defence or in midfield. His strengths are his professional approach to the game and the enthusiasm and whole-hearted determination he shows on the field.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early days
At the age of 16 Gill joined Trowbridge Town of the Beazer Homes League, managed by ex-Leyton Orient manager Ken Knighton. Knighton drew the attention of his former club to the young Gill, and after a one-game trial manager Frank Clark signed him on an 18-month contract in 1988. However he found it difficult to settle in London, and returned to the West Country at the end of his contract without featuring for the Orient first team.[1][2]
He then joined Bath City of the Conference, where he spent six seasons playing part-time while working as a sales rep for a supplier of pitch care products,[3] before moving to local rivals Yeovil Town for the 1996-97 season for a fee of £9,500.[4]
Though Yeovil were at the time in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the level below the Conference, they were an ambitious club, and under player-manager Graham Roberts were playing good football and expected to challenge for promotion.[5] Gill scored 16 goals in all competitions playing in central midfield, and was capped for the England National Game XI against an Ireland B team in Dublin.[6] International recognition attracted scouts from various Football League clubs, and Gill was invited to Birmingham City to take part in trial matches. Halfway through the season, Roberts had brought striker Howard Forinton to Yeovil from Oxford City; his 23 goals in 21 games did much to secure promotion to the Conference, and also caught the eye of Birmingham manager Trevor Francis. A deal was struck which saw both Gill and Forinton join the First Division side for a combined fee of £100,000.[4]
[edit] Birmingham City
Gill struggled to get into the first team at St Andrews. He finally made his League debut at the age of 27 on April 18, 1998. Then in the summer of 1998 the club brought in Gary Rowett from Leicester as first choice right back; in his two seasons at the club Rowett missed only five League games. During this period Gill captained the reserve side to victories in the Birmingham Senior Cup.[4][3]
He played in well over half Birmingham's games the next season, 2000-01, despite competition from new arrival Nicky Eaden from Barnsley, Northern Ireland international winger Jon McCarthy often used at right wing-back, and a variety of loan signings. In particular, he took part in most of the games in Birmingham's run to the final of the League Cup, including an excellent performance[7] in the second leg of the semi-final against Premier League Ipswich. With the score still goalless, he made a goal-line clearance from a header which - had it gone in - would have left Birmingham needing to win by three clear goals in normal time.[8] Yet when it came to the final, manager Francis was unable to find a place for Gill even amongst the substitutes, preferring McCarthy and Eaden in the starting eleven and David Holdsworth, a defender who had been unavailable since the previous November due to serious illness, on the bench. Unsurprisingly Gill was devastated by this decision, describing it as "the biggest disappointment of [his] whole life".[9]
Gill played in virtually every game after the League Cup Final until Francis left the club the following October, but was then dropped by caretaker managers Mick Mills and Jim Barron. Though he did then receive a League Cup runners-up medal; club secretary Alan Jones had kept a spare one back, which he presented to Gill after Francis left.[9] Under new manager Steve Bruce he played only one game, and when the team won promotion to the Premier League that season, it became clear that his future lay elsewhere.
[edit] Northampton Town
At the start of the 2002-03 season Gill joined Northampton Town on a month's loan. Manager and former Birmingham player Kevan Broadhurst praised his qualities of leadership and determination:[10]
- "Jerry will lead at the back by example. He does not pull out of anything and if there is a tackle to be won he will win it."
The loan was twice extended for a further month, and on November 11, 2002 was made permanent until the end of the season.[11] He had a successful season, though the club as a whole did not, changing manager twice and suffering relegation to the Third Division. A new two-year contract had been discussed, but on April 21, 2003 Gill damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and would be out for several months. Northampton gave him a six-month contract to give him time to recover and to prove his fitness, but on reduced wages.[12] Birmingham City let him use their facilities to do his rehabilitation, and he regained fitness and played a couple of reserve games for Northampton, but by that time new manager Colin Calderwood had other players in Gill's position and he was not offered another contract.[13]
[edit] Cheltenham Town
Following a trial at the club, Gill signed for Cheltenham Town on February 25, 2004 on a non-contract basis until the end of the season.[14] He was given a one-year contract for the 2004-05 season, and at the age of 34 played in all 46 League games; he believed all the fitness work he did during rehabilitation from his knee injury had given him a new lease of life.[15] For the following season, Gill was given another one-year contract, with an option for 2006-07 if he managed 20 games during the season. Not only did he start twice that number, his starting place and winners' medal in the League Two playoff final at the Millennium Stadium went some way to alleviate the disappointment of missing the 2001 League Cup final.[16] In 2006-07 Cheltenham flirted for a time with relegation but finished in mid-table. Gill needed to play 25 games to trigger the offer of another year's contract; he achieved this before Christmas,[2] and has chosen to take up the offer.[17]
[edit] On and off the field
Gill has been popular wherever he has played. At Birmingham he used to be greeted with a Jerry Springer-style chant of "Jerry! Jerry!",[3] support which was much appreciated by the player,[7] and at the end of the 2000-01 season he was chosen Clubman of the Year.[9] Cheltenham manager John Ward told the Western Daily Press:[18]
- "We played Birmingham City in pre-season and he got a lovely ovation from their supporters and it was the same at Yeovil last year. He got a lovely clap at Northampton a few weeks ago when he was taken off. I don't think that happened by coincidence. And I've got a feeling that if he leaves Cheltenham he will get a similar reception if he comes back with another club. Supporters recognise him and they see the whole-heartedness and the commitment and the ability that he has got."
Gill is a director of a company which helps sportspeople prepare themselves for life and work after their sporting career comes to an end. He is also Director of the sports marketing and retail company, Protech Sport,[15][2] which has recently taken over the management and operations of the club shop at Cheltenham Town FC.
[edit] References
- ^ Neil Kaufman (2003-08-05). German-Griffiths. LOFCOnline.com (a Leyton Orient fansite). Retrieved on 2007-05-20. Article contains an interview with Gill by the author.
- ^ a b c Interview. The PFA (2007-03-30). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ a b c Jerry Gill official website. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ a b c Birmingham City F.C. Matchday Programme (2000-12-23), pp. 22-23.
- ^ A tribute to Graham Roberts. Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website) (1999-04-08). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ England's finest semi-professionals. The Football Association (2002-05-16). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ a b Brian Halford. "Cup final regret as Gill bids farewell", Birmingham Post, 2002-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Birmingham storm into final. BBC (2001-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ a b c Colin Tattum. "Gill - I'll never forgive Francis", Birmingham Evening Mail, 2002-11-13. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Cobblers seal Gill deal. BBC (2002-08-08). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Gill completes Blues exit. 4thegame.com (2002-11-11). Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ Interview. The PFA (2003-12-04). Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Simon Fudge (2004-01-05). Cobblers release Gill. Sky Sports. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ Cheltenham sign Gill. BBC (2004-02-27). Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ a b Interview. The PFA (2005-06-27). Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ Stuart James. "Gill out to end Millennium blues with Cheltenham", The Guardian, 2006-05-27. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
- ^ Trio extend Cheltenham contracts. BBC (2007-05-30). Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
- ^ O come all ye faithful .... Ciderspace (2004-12-24). Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
[edit] External links
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