 Caldwell lining up forCeltic in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Caldwell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-04-12)12 April 1982 (age 43)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stirling, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre back[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wigan Athletic (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Celtic Boys Club | ||
| 1996–1997 | Hutchison Vale[5][6] | ||
| 1997–2001 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2004 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 2001 | →Darlington (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Hibernian (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | →Coventry City (loan) | 36 | (0) |
| 2003 | →Derby County (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Hibernian | 88 | (5) |
| 2006–2010 | Celtic | 106 | (5) |
| 2010–2015 | Wigan Athletic | 102 | (6) |
| Total | 356 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Scotland U21[4] | 19 | (2) |
| 2002–2013 | Scotland | 55 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | Scotland B[7] | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Wigan Athletic | ||
| 2017 | Chesterfield | ||
| 2018–2019 | Partick Thistle | ||
| 2022–2026 | Exeter City | ||
| 2026– | Wigan Athletic | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professionalfootballer and coach who is the manager ofWigan Athletic. Caldwell played forNewcastle United,Darlington,Coventry City,Derby County,Hibernian,Celtic, Wigan Athletic and won 55 internationalcaps forScotland.
Primarily considered acentre back, Caldwell was a versatile player; he was also deployed as aright back anddefensive midfielder at various spells in his career. His elder brother,Steven, was also a footballer and they were at Wigan concurrently.[8] As an international, he earned a place in theScottish FA International Roll of Honour after gaining over 50 caps.
After retirement he went into coaching, and has managedWigan Athletic,Chesterfield,Partick Thistle and Exeter City.
Caldwell started his career withCeltic Boys Club. At 16 he went to England, alongside his elder brother Steven atNewcastle United. Breaking through from the reserves proved difficult, however, and in search of first team football, he went on loan to other clubs on several occasions:Darlington andHibernian in 2001–02,[9] thenCoventry andDerby County the following season.
During the2003–04 season, Caldwell was given afree transfer by Newcastle.[10] He signed a short-term contract with Hibs for the second half of the season,[10] and during this period he played in their defeat byLivingston in the2004 League Cup Final. After going ontrial withVitesse Arnhem in the summer of 2004,[10] he signed a two-year contract with Hibs.[10] During the 2005–06 season, rumours circulated that he had signed a pre-contract agreement to joinCeltic in the summer of 2006.[11] This prompted Hibs fans tojeer Caldwell when he made a mistake in a game againstAberdeen.[11] After this, the deal was confirmed byGordon Strachan.[11]
During four years at Celtic, Caldwell helped the club win two league championships, the2006–07 Scottish Cup and the2008–09 Scottish League Cup,[12] although he was subject to criticism from Celtic fans.[13][14] Caldwell himself later said that this was due to injuries in his first season, and then having to play out of position at right back during the early part of the 2007–08 season (beforeAndreas Hinkel was signed).[15] He was also criticised during the2006–07 season for a bad tackle onKilmarnock playerDavid Fernández, which damaged the Spaniard'scruciate ligament.[16] Caldwell apologised to Fernandez after the game, protesting that he had never intentionally hurt an opponent.[16]
Caldwell subsequently gained recognition and respect from the fans, becoming something of a cult hero, as shown by the chants of "heid" when he was in possession of the football.[15] After being named as theWriters' Player of the Year for the2008–09 season, Caldwell stated his belief that this was due to him having a long run in his preferred position, and improved concentration and decision making on his part.[15]
During the2009–10 season, however, Caldwell had a contract dispute with the club, claiming that the club were "kidding themselves" if they thought he would accept their offer.[17] New managerTony Mowbray, who had also worked with Caldwell at Hibernian, responded by stating that he would not ask the board to increase the offer.[17] Subsequent to this,Middlesbrough had a joint offer for Caldwell andBarry Robson accepted by Celtic.[18]
Caldwell eventually signed forWigan Athletic on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 13 January 2010.[19] He made his Wigan debut in a 2–0 win againstWolves on 16 January 2010, and scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 27 January.[20] Caldwell was sent off twice in Premier League defeats against Manchester City on 29 March (3–0) andChelsea on the final day of the 2009–10 season (8–0).
Caldwell was appointed captain of Wigan Athletic early in the 2010–11 season, following the departure of previous captainMario Melchiot in the summer.[21] In the 2011–12 season, Caldwell was a key player in the club's battle against relegation from the Premier League, and received the club's Player of the Year award at the end of the season.[22] In May 2013 he jointly lifted the FA Cup with playing captainEmerson Boyce after Wigan defeated Manchester City 1–0 in thefinal.[23] Caldwell returned from injury as a substitute in the2013–14 FA Cup semi final againstArsenal. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, but Caldwell missed the first attempt in the penalty shootout, which Wigan lost.[24] In the2013–14 Football League Championship playoff semi final second leg against QPR, Caldwell conceded apenalty kick during a 2–1 defeat that ended Wigan's hopes of promotion.[25]
Caldwell signed a one-year contract with Wigan in July 2014.[26] As part of the new agreement he was also given some coaching responsibilities.[26] He announced hisretirement from playing on 28 February 2015 after being unable to recover from a long term hip injury.[27]
Caldwell made his full international debut forScotland in the first match managed byBerti Vogts, a 5–0 defeat toFrance at theStade de France.[28] He scored the only goal of the game as Scotland defeated France 1–0 atHampden Park, on 7 October 2006 in aEuro 2008 qualifying match.[29] He was sent off, however, in a key2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Norway.[30] He played alongside his brother Steven in five matches; they were the first siblings to play together for the national team since the 1940s.[31]
After retiring as a player in February 2015, Caldwell formally joined the coaching staff at the Wigan Athletic academy.[27] He was appointed the new manager of Wigan Athletic on 7 April 2015 after the dismissal ofMalky Mackay with the club 23rd in the Championship with five games remaining.[32]
Caldwell was unable to halt the club's relegation to League One but was assured by club chairman David Sharpe that he would remain in charge.[33] The following season Caldwell guided Wigan to the League One title and promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.[34] Along with club success Caldwell was also recognised with the manager of the month award for February[35] and the LMA League One Manager of the Year award.[36] On 25 October 2016, after 18 months in charge, Caldwell was dismissed by Wigan, with the club in 23rd position and winless in four games.[37]
In 2017, he was appointed manager of League One clubChesterfield on a one-year rolling contract, following the dismissal ofDanny Wilson.[38] He was unable to prevent the club being relegated, and was sacked on 16 September after a bad start to the2017–18 EFL League Two season.[39]
Caldwell was appointed manager ofScottish Championship clubPartick Thistle in October 2018.[40] Thistle avoided relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season, but Caldwell was sacked in September 2019 as the club sat second-bottom of the2019–20 Scottish Championship table.[41]
In 2021 Caldwell was named interim manager ofNewcastle United's U23s team.[42] Later that year he joinedManchester City in a role overseeing their players loaned to other clubs.[43] Caldwell re-joinedHibernian as their assistant manager in December 2021, working alongsideShaun Maloney.[44] They were sacked in April 2022, following a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat toHearts.[45]
On 24 October 2022, Caldwell was appointed manager of League One clubExeter City.[46] Exeter finished the2022–23 season in 14th place in League One.[47]
On 16 February 2026, Caldwell departed Exeter City, returning to Wigan Athletic as head coach.[48]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle United | 2001–02[49] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002–03[50] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[51] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Darlington (loan) | 2001–02[49] | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Hibernian (loan) | 2001–02[9] | Scottish Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Coventry City (loan) | 2002–03[50] | First Division | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | |
| Derby County (loan) | 2003–04[51] | First Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| Hibernian | 2003–04[9] | Scottish Premier League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |
| 2004–05[9] | Scottish Premier League | 37 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 46 | 4 | |
| 2005–06[9] | Scottish Premier League | 34 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 41 | 2 | |
| Total | 88 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 7 | ||
| Celtic | 2006–07[12] | Scottish Premier League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 2007–08[12] | Scottish Premier League | 35 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10[e] | 0 | 51 | 2 | |
| 2008–09[12] | Scottish Premier League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6[e] | 0 | 47 | 3 | |
| 2009–10[12] | Scottish Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[f] | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| Total | 106 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 151 | 6 | ||
| Wigan Athletic | 2009–10[52] | Premier League | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | |
| 2010–11[53] | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[54] | Premier League | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13[55] | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14[56] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[g] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014–15[57] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 102 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 356 | 15 | 23 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 435 | 19 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland[58] | 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | — | ||
| 2004 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 May 2004 | Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland |  Trinidad and Tobago | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 7 October 2006 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  France | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Wigan Athletic | 7 April 2015 | 25 October 2016 | 71 | 29 | 22 | 20 | 040.85 | [37][60] |
| Chesterfield | 17 January 2017 | 16 September 2017 | 29 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 010.34 | [60] |
| Partick Thistle | 15 October 2018 | 18 September 2019 | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 038.10 | [60] |
| Exeter City | 24 October 2022 | 16 February 2026 | 180 | 66 | 38 | 76 | 036.67 | [60] |
| Wigan Athletic | 16 February 2026 | "present" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | |
| Total | 322 | 114 | 79 | 129 | 035.40 | |||
Celtic
Wigan Athletic
Scotland U16s
Individual
Wigan Athletic
Individual
