Matt Gilks

Matt Gilks

Gilks training with Blackpool in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Gilks[1]
Date of birth	4 June 1982[2]
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [3]
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Rangers
Number	25
Youth career
1995–2000	Rochdale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2007	Rochdale	176	(0)
2007–2008	Norwich City	0	(0)
2008–2014	Blackpool	182	(0)
2008	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	4	(0)
2014–2016	Burnley	0	(0)
2016–	Rangers	1	(0)
National team^‡
2012–2013	Scotland	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:16, 29 August 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:16, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

Matthew "Matt" Gilks (born 4 June 1982) is a professional footballer who plays for Rangers and the Scotland national team as a goalkeeper. He has previously played for Blackpool, Burnley, Norwich City, Rochdale and, on loan, for Shrewsbury Town.

Although born in England, he qualifies to represent Scotland. He was first selected for the Scotland national football team in August 2010 and made his international debut in August 2012.^[4]

Club career

Rochdale

Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where he started out with Heyside Juniors,^[5] Gilks joined Rochdale at the age of 13. He was promoted from their youth team in 2001. After being coached by Fred Barber,^[6] he eventually replaced Neil Edwards in the first team, becoming a regular starter. He made a total of 198 appearances for the club in league and cup competitions, and by the time he was 24, he was the longest-serving player at Rochdale.^[7] Being an Oldham Athletic fan growing up, and living about a mile from Boundary Park, he states Andy Rhodes and Jon Hallworth as his heroes.^[6]

Norwich City

On 1 July 2007, Gilks signed a two-year contract with Championship club Norwich City, moving on a free transfer due to his contract with Rochdale having expired.^[7] He was though, unable to break into the Canaries first team, spending most of the 2007–08 season sitting on the substitutes bench,^[8] which also included a spell out of action with ligament damage after twisting his ankle in November 2007 in training.^[9]

Blackpool

In the summer of 2008, and without having made a first-team appearance for the Canaries, Gilks signed for fellow Championship club Blackpool as makeweight in a part-exchange deal which saw Wes Hoolahan go in the opposite direction. He made his debut on 12 August 2008 in a 2–0 League Cup defeat to Macclesfield Town.^[10]

After failing to break into the first team, and considering quitting the game due to lack of opportunities and a self-perceived lack of ability during a training session,^[6] he signed for League Two club Shrewsbury Town on a month's loan on 21 November to cover an injury crisis at the club.^[8][11][12] He made his debut the following day in a goalless draw with Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.^[13] He made three further appearances for the Shrews, with his final match coming on 13 December, a 1–0 defeat to Grimsby Town at Blundell Park,^[14] before returning to Blackpool.

While Simon Grayson was Blackpool manager, he did not usually name a substitute goalkeeper, preferring to have five outfield players on the bench. After he left the club, in late December 2008, caretaker manager Tony Parkes immediately began naming Gilks as a substitute. After a number of matches as an unused substitute, Gilks made his league debut for Blackpool on 31 January 2009, after Paul Rachubka was sent off three minutes into the Seasiders' match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Gilks was brought on and helped the Seasiders to a 1–0 win.^[15]

On 22 September 2009, he saved a penalty kick in the Seasiders' 4–3 defeat to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in the third round of the 2009–10 Football League Cup. His first league start of the 2009–10 season came in the 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Bloomfield Road on 17 October. After three consecutive clean sheets, Gilks was named in The Championship "Team of the Week", along with teammates Stephen Crainey and Marcel Seip, following his performance in Blackpool's goalless draw with Swansea City on 24 October at the Liberty Stadium.^[16][17] On 16 February 2010, he saved a penalty kick in the 2–0 home win over Middlesbrough.^[18] His 200th career Football League appearance came in a 1–0 home win over Ipswich Town on 6 March 2010, when he was also named Man of the Match.^[19] In addition, he was again named in The Championship "Team of the Week", following his performance, which saw a fourth clean sheet in five games.^[20][21]

On 13 November 2010, in a goalless draw at West Ham United, Gilks suffered an injury to his knee cap that kept him out much of the remainder of the 2010–11 campaign.^[22] After working with former Manchester United Strength and Conditioning Coach Mick Clegg,^[6] he returned to the first team on 16 April 2011, in a home defeat to Wigan Athletic. Despite Blackpool's relegation from the Premier League in 2011, Gilks signed a new two-year contract with the club in July.^[23] His contract with Blackpool expired at the end of the 2013–14 season.^[24] He left the club to sign for Burnley, despite being offered a new contract with Blackpool.^[24]

Burnley

Gilks signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Burnley in July 2014.^[25][26] He made his first appearance for Burnley in a League Cup tie; Gilks initially served as a backup to established first choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton.^[27]

Rangers

On 24 June 2016, Gilks signed for Rangers on a two-year deal.^[28] He made his debut for the club in a League Cup match against Annan Athletic on 19 July.^[29] He played in all five of Rangers' League Cup ties, keeping clean sheets in the first four.^[30] Rangers lost 1–0 to Celtic in the semi-final, but Gilks made several excellent saves and was praised by the media and team-mates for his performance.^[31][32] Despite these performances in the League Cup, Wes Foderingham remained first-choice goalkeeper for Rangers in their league matches.^[33]

International career

On 22 August 2010 the Scottish FA confirmed that manager Craig Levein was considering Gilks for a call-up to the Scotland national squad for their upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Liechtenstein. Gilks qualifies to play for Scotland through his Scottish grandmother. Levein said of Gilks: "He is one we became aware of a while ago and have kept track of his progress. Obviously he was a key figure in Blackpool’s promotion to the Barclays Premier League and while I will not name my squad until tomorrow, he is one I think we need to take a closer look at. He comes highly recommended, is playing regularly for his club and the next logical step is for our goalkeeping coach to work closely with him."^[34]

Two days later he was selected in the Scotland squad, joining fellow Blackpool player Charlie Adam.^[35][36] On his call up Gilks said: "My grandmother was Scottish and they've traced the roots back and checked it. I'm eligible and it's great to be in the squad. Everybody knows that I am English but England doesn't come knocking on the door of Blackpool Football Club and I think that's a problem. They look at the bigger clubs. To be honest it was nice of Scotland to come and have a look at me and find out about me."^[37]

In November 2010, Gilks had to withdraw from the Scotland squad through injury.^[38] He again withdrew on 10 August 2011, hours before kick-off in a friendly against Denmark, with an ankle injury.^[39] On 15 August 2012 he made his debut for Scotland as a first-half substitute in a friendly against Australia.^[4][40]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 October 2016

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rochdale	1999–2000[41]	Third Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2000–01[42]	Third Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2001–02[43]	Third Division	19	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	22	0
	2002–03[44]	Third Division	20	0	1	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	22	0
	2003–04[45]	Third Division	12	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
	2004–05[46]	League Two	30	0	3	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
	2005–06[47]	League Two	46	0	1	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	50	0
	2006–07[48]	League Two	46	0	2	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	51	0
	Total		176	0	10	0	4	0	7	0	197	0
Norwich City	2007–08[49]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Blackpool	2008–09[50]	Championship	5	0	0	0	1	0	—		6	0
	2009–10[51]	Championship	26	0	0	0	3	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	32	0
	2010–11[52]	Premier League	18	0	0	0	0	0	—		18	0
	2011–12[53]	Championship	42	0	3	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	48	0
	2012–13[54]	Championship	45	0	2	0	1	0	—		48	0
	2013–14[55]	Championship	46	0	1	0	1	0	—		48	0
	Total		182	0	6	0	6	0	6	0	200	0
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2008–09[50]	League Two	4	0	—		—		0	0	4	0
Burnley	2014–15[56]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2015–16[57]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	2	0	—		2	0
Rangers	2016–17[30]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	5	0	—		5	0
Career total			362	0	16	0	17	0	13	0	408	0

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 10 September 2013^[58]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2012	2	0
	2013	1	0
Total		3	0

Honours

Club

Blackpool

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2009–10

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 6. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 167. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
3. "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
4. "Allan McGregor likely to miss Scotland's World Cup opener". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
5. "Matt Gilks Interview // Getting to Know You" - Scotland National Team, YouTube
6. "The Big Interview - Matt Gilks" - Goalkeeper Magazine, YouTube
7. "Norwich to sign Rochdale keeper". bbc.co.uk. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
8. "Gilks solves Shrews keeper crisis". bbc.co.uk. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
9. "Gilks looks set for rapid return". bbc.co.uk. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
10. "Macclesfield 2–0 Blackpool". Soccerbase. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
11. "New Keeper Joins". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
12. "Matt Gilks". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
13. "Lincoln 0–0 Shrewsbury". Soccerbase. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
14. "Grimsby 1–0 Shrewsbury". Soccerbase. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
15. "Report – Crystal Palace vs Blackpool". Blackpool F.C. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
16. "Trio Named In Team Of The Week" Check |url= value (help). Blackpool F.C. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
17. "Championship Team Of The Week (26/10/2009)" (PDF). The Football League. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
18. "Blackpool 2-0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
19. "Blackpool vs Ipswich Town". Blackpool F.C. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
20. "Gilks In Team Of The Week". Blackpool F.C. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
21. "Championship Team Of The Week (08/03/2010)" (PDF). The Football League. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
22. "Blackpool dealt Matt Gilks injury blow". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 November 2010.
23. "Crainey, Gilks, Evatt & Eastham pen new Blackpool deals". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 July 2011.
24. "Blackpool: Barry Ferguson one of 17 to leave Championship club". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
25. Burnley snap up former Blackpool keeper Gilks, Burnley Express.
26. "Matt Gilks: Burnley sign goalkeeper from Blackpool". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
27. "Scotland: Matt Gilks called up to replace Allan McGregor". BBC. BBC Sport. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
28. "Gers Sign Matt Gilks". Rangers.co.uk. 24 June 2016.
29. "Rangers 2-0 Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. 19 July 2016.
30. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
31. McGowan, Stephen (23 October 2016). "Rangers 0-1 Celtic: Moussa Dembele scores late winner to break Matt Gilks' resistance in Old Firm and set up Betfred Cup final clash with Aberdeen". Mail Online. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
32. "Lee Wallace praises Rangers keeper Matt Gilks for performance against Celtic". The Sun. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
33. "Rangers keeper Matt Gilks says his performance against Celtic counts for nothing". The Sun. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
34. "Gilks can be tartan tower of strength". Scottish F.A. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
35. "GILKS JOINS CHARLIE IN SCOTLAND SQUAD". Blackpool F.C. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
36. "Scotland squad announcement Tuesday, 24 August 2010". Scottish F.A. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
37. "Grandma Gilks proves Scottish call-up". Blackpool Gazette. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
38. "Gilks poised for Pool return" - SkySports.com, 9 March 2011
39. "Blackpool's Matt Gilks withdraws from Scotland squad" - BBC Sport, 10 August 2011
40. "Scotland 3-1 Australia". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
41. "Squad stats: 1999/00". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
42. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
43. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
44. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
45. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
46. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
47. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
48. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
49. "Squad stats: 2007/08". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
50. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
51. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
52. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
53. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
54. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
55. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
56. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
57. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
58. "Gilks, Matt". National Football Teams. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

External links

• Matt Gilks career statistics at Soccerbase