Kevin Gallacher

Kevin Gallacher
Personal information
Full name Kevin William Gallacher
Date of birth 23 November 1966 (1966-11-23) (age 45)
Place of birth Clydebank, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Striker (Retired)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1983–1990 Dundee United 131 (27)
1990–1993 Coventry City 100 (28)
1993–1999 Blackburn Rovers 146 (47)
1999–2001 Newcastle United 39 (4)
2001–2002 Preston North End 5 (1)
2002 Sheffield Wednesday 3 (0)
2002 Huddersfield Town 7 (0)
Total 431 (107)
National team
1988–2001 Scotland 53 (9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Kevin William Gallacher (born November 23, 1966 in Clydebank) is a Scottish former professional footballer and now a sports pundit.

He is the grandson of the late Celtic forward Patsy Gallacher, who died before he was born.

Contents

Career

Gallacher started his Scottish League career with Dundee United, where he spent seven years as part of a successful team under the guidance of Jim McLean. He appeared in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final, where United lost on aggregate to IFK Göteborg. He won his first Scotland cap against Colombia in 1987. Gallacher scored Dundee United's goal in the 1988 Scottish Cup Final, in the 2-1 defeat by Celtic.

Gallacher moved to Coventry City in 1990 and became a fans favourite for three years. He then joined Blackburn Rovers in March 1993 for £1.5million, as they looked for new blood in their ultimately unsuccessful bid to win the FA Premier League title that season and fill the gap up front left by the long-term injury absence of Alan Shearer.[1]

Unfortunately, two broken legs (the second sustained in his first game after the original injury) restricted him to just one Premier League game in 1994-95, when Blackburn were league champions. His only league game of the season came against Crystal Palace, when he scored a crucial goal in a 2-1 win.

He returned to full effectiveness in 1996-97, however, scoring 10 goals to help avoid a relegation scare. In 1997-98 he formed a potent partnership with Chris Sutton, scoring 16 goals himself as Blackburn finished 6th. However, injuries and inconsistencies meant he missed much of 1998-99, although he was the team's top goalscorer with 5 goals. Despite this, they were relegated just 4 seasons after winning the title.

He moved on to Newcastle United after Blackburn's relegation to become Bobby Robson's first signing. He was mostly used as a right winger, a role he adapted to superbly, and despite a lack of goals, was fairly popular with the Newcastle fans for his work rate.

Spells at Preston North End (where he scored twice against Kidderminster Harriers[2] and Sheffield United),[3] Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town followed before hanging up his boots in 2002, ending a career which had seen him score a total of 106 goals in 430 games in the English and Scottish leagues.

He now undertakes media work as a co-commentator and Studio Analyst variously for BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports, Setanta, BBC Scotland and Channel 5.In addition to this he is also a columnist in the Lancashire Telegraph.In 2010 he started working for Itv sport commentating on fa cup games following Gareth Southgate moving from the gantry to the studio.

Scotland

Gallacher won 53 caps for Scotland. He represented Scotland at Euro 92, Euro 96, and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He scored 9 goals for his country. His most famous goals for his Country was a double against Austria at Celtic Park.

Book

He has recently received critical acclaim for his book, Tartan Turmoil: The Fall & Rise of Scottish Football, a semi-autobiographical look at the problems faced by Scottish football.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 May 19, 1993 Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn  Estonia 1-0 3-0 WCQG1
2 October 13, 1993 Stadio Olimpico, Rome  Italy 1-2 1-3 WCQG1
3 April 2, 1997 Celtic Park, Glasgow  Austria 1-0 2-0 WCQG4
4 April 2, 1997 Celtic Park, Glasgow  Austria 2-0 2-0 WCQG4
5 April 30, 1997 Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg  Sweden 1-2 1-2 WCQG4
6 September 7, 1997 Pittodrie, Aberdeen  Belarus 1-0 4-1 WCQG4
7 September 7, 1997 Pittodrie, Aberdeen  Belarus 3-0 4-1 WCQG4
8 October 11, 1997 Celtic Park, Glasgow  Latvia 1-0 2-0 WCQG4
9 October 11, 2000 Maksimir Stadion, Zagreb  Croatia 1-1 1-1 WCQG6

Statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1985-86 Dundee United Premier Division 20 3 3 0 - 1 0 24 3
1986-87 37 10 6 3 4 2 10 1 57 16
1987-88 26 3 8 1 3 1 2 1 39 6
1988-89 31 9 5 1 4 2 4 0 44 12
1989-90 17 1 1 0 2 0 4 1 24 2
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1989-90 Coventry City First Division 15 3 ? ? - ? ?
1990-91 32 11 ? ? - ? ?
1991-92 33 8 ? ? - ? ?
1992-93 Premier League 20 6 - - - 20 6
Blackburn Rovers Premier League 9 5 - - - 9 5
1993-94 30 7 - - - 30 7
1994-95 1 1 - - - 0 0
1995-96 16 2 - - - 2 0
1996-97 34 10 2 0 3 1 - 39 11
1997-98 33 16 4 3 1 1 - 38 20
1998-99 16 5 1 0 1 0 - 18 5
1999-00 First Division 5 0 - 1 1 - 6 1
Newcastle United Premier League 20 2 5 1 - - 25 3
2000-01 19 2 1 0 2 1 - 22 3
2001-02 Preston First Division 5 1 - 1 1 - 6 2
Sheffield Wednesday 3 0 - - - 3 0
2002-03 Huddersfield Town Second Division 7 0 - 1 0 - 8 0
Career total 429 105 40 9 34 17 21 3 523 133

Additional sources: [1], [2], [3]

References

  1. ^ "Boom and bust the Blackburn way". BBC News. May 13, 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/342956.stm. 
  2. ^ "Kidderminster 2-3 Preston". BBC. 21 August 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/worthington_cup/1497750.stm. Retrieved 25 October 2009. 
  3. ^ "Preston 3-0 Sheff Utd". BBC. 24 October 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1613437.stm. Retrieved 25 October 2009. 

External links

Scotland squad – UEFA Euro 1992
Scotland squad – UEFA Euro 1996
Scotland squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup