Joe Gallagher (footballer)

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Joe Gallagher
Personal information
Full name Joseph Anthony Gallagher
Date of birth 11 January 1955 (1955-01-11) (age 53)
Place of birth    Liverpool, England
Playing position Centre-half
Youth clubs
–1970
1970–1972		 Liverpool
Birmingham City
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1972–1981
1981–1982
1982–1983
1983–1987
1983
1984
1994–1995		 Birmingham City
Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United
Burnley
→ Halifax Town (loan)
→ Padiham (loan)
Kings Heath		 286 (17)
031 0(0)
009 0(0)
047 0(3)
004 0(0)
00? 0(?)
00? 0(?)   
National team
1980 England B 001 0(0)
Teams managed
1989–1990
1991–1992
1994–1995		 Coleshill Town
Atherstone United
Kings Heath

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Joseph Anthony "Joe" Gallagher (born 11 January 1955) is a former English professional association footballer who played as a centre-half for Birmingham City and various other clubs. He was a hard-working, competitive defender, good in the air (though less good on the ground), and his authority on the field was such that he was first chosen to captain the Birmingham side at the age of only 19.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Joe Gallagher was born in Liverpool, and began his football career as a schoolboy with home-town club Liverpool F.C. When he left school at 15 he signed for Birmingham City as a trainee.[2] He turned professional on his 17th birthday and made his first team debut in October 1973 against Arsenal at Highbury. He made over 20 appearances in his debut season, and from then on hardly missed a game until a broken leg sustained in a car accident kept him out for several months. He scored on his return to first team duty in December 1977, and for the remainder of his Birmingham career he was virtually ever-present.[3]

It was due in no small part to Gallagher's partnerships with the likes of Kenny Burns and Colin Todd in the Birmingham defence[4] that the club kept its First Division status for all but his last season with them. In 1980–81 he helped them to promotion back to the top flight, from which they had been relegated the previous year, and was awarded a testimonial match against Aston Villa in recognition of ten years' service. Also that season he was capped for England B in a 1–0 win against Australia at his home ground of St Andrews.[5] He left Birmingham having made a total of 335 appearances and scored 23 goals.

Gallagher joined fellow First Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £350,000 before the 1981–82 season. Birmingham were unable to profit from the sale because when Wolves were declared bankrupt in 1982[6] they still owed most of the fee.[3] Gallagher left Wolves in acrimonious circumstances. Already in the reserves despite being one of the club's highest paid players, his contract was cancelled by the club, citing his failure to turn up for an official team photograph, though the player believes this was an excuse for cutting costs.[2]

After two months unemployed he signed for West Ham United for the remainder of the 1982–83 season. He then moved on to Burnley, where within months of signing he was sent on loan to Fourth Division Halifax Town. It appeared that his fitness was no longer adequate to cope with the demands of League football.[7] Despite only playing eight first-team games in his first three years with the club, in 1986–87 he played a full season, starting 41 games in the League[8] and playing a significant part in Burnley retaining their Football League status.[9] He retired at the end of that season, when his contract at Burnley expired, at the relatively young age of 32.

He went on to manage several non-league clubs in the Midlands, and had a spell as community liaison officer with Birmingham City. He later worked for Land Rover and part-time for the Press Association,[2] and has been involved in corporate hospitality at Birmingham matches.[4]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Clarkson, Ian. "Skippers are key to Blues' success", Sunday Mercury, 2004-04-18. Retrieved on 2007-08-23. 
  2. ^ a b c Nursey, James. "Gallagher's good and bad memories", Birmingham Post, 2003-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-08-23. 
  3. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books, p. 89. ISBN 1-85983-010-2. 
  4. ^ a b Tattum, Colin. "On the up, son!", Birmingham Evening Mail, 2003-05-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-23. 
  5. ^ Courtney, Barrie (2004-03-21). England - International Results B-Team - Details. RSSSF. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  6. ^ A History Of Wolves. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  7. ^ Quelch, Tim (1999). 1983/84. Nothing To Write Home About. London Clarets (Burnley F.C. supporters club). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  8. ^ Scholes, Tony (2007-07-02). Joe Gallagher. ClaretsMAD (a Burnley F.C. fansite). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  9. ^ "The match that lasted a lifetime" (reprint of original match report of May 1987), Burnley Express, 2003-09-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 

[edit] References

Neil Brown's statistics site.

Persondata
NAME Gallagher, Joseph Anthony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gallagher, Joe
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1955-01-11
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH