| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin William Gallacher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-11-23)23 November 1966 (age 58) | ||
| Place of birth | Clydebank, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger,striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Duntocher Boys Club | |||
| 1983–1985 | Dundee United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1990 | Dundee United | 131 | (26) |
| 1990–1993 | Coventry City | 100 | (28) |
| 1993–1999 | Blackburn Rovers | 144 | (46) |
| 1999–2001 | Newcastle United | 39 | (4) |
| 2001–2002 | Preston North End | 5 | (1) |
| 2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4 | (0) |
| 2002 | Huddersfield Town | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 430 | (105) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1989 | Scotland U21[3] | 7 | (3) |
| 1988–2001 | Scotland | 53 | (9) |
| 1990 | Scotland B[4] | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kevin William Gallacher (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottishfootball pundit and commentator, and former professional player.
He played as aforward from 1983 until 2002, notably in thePremier League withBlackburn Rovers where he was part of the title-winning squad in1994–95. He also played in the top flight forCoventry City andNewcastle United as well as in theScottish Premier League forDundee United and in theFootball League forPreston North End,Sheffield Wednesday andHuddersfield Town. He made 53 appearances forScotland, scoring 9 goals and was part of theirEuro 92,Euro 96 andWorld Cup 98 squads.
Gallacher started his Scottish League career withDundee United, where he spent seven years as part of a successful team under the guidance ofJim McLean. He made his first team debut in December 1985 aged 19 years old in aUEFA Cup tie againstNeuchâtel Xamax and three days later played againstRangers at Ibrox.[5] He soon established himself in the side with his fast and penetratingwing play.[6] He helped United reach the1987 UEFA Cup final, scoring againstBarcelona in the quarter-finals en route. United, however, lost on aggregate toIFK Göteborg. The following year Gallacher scored Dundee United's goal in the1988 Scottish Cup final, in the 2–1 defeat byCeltic. A week later he made his full international debut forScotland againstColombia.[7]
Gallacher moved toCoventry City in January 1990 for a transfer fee of £950,000[6] and became a fans favourite for three years. Having played for most of his career to date as a winger, Gallacher was used as a striker for most of his time atHighfield Road, and was the club's top scorer in seasons 1990–91 and 1991–92.[8]
He then joinedBlackburn Rovers in March 1993 for £1.5 million, as they looked to fill the gap up front left by the long-term injury absence ofAlan Shearer.[9][10] He made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut in a 4–1 win overLiverpool. However, two broken legs (the second sustained in his first game after the original injury) the following season restricted him to just onePremier League game in1994–95 when Blackburn wonthe FAPremier League. He did score in that game, a 2–1 win againstCrystal Palace.[11]
Gallacher 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 withChris Sutton,[12] 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 five goals. Blackburn were relegated in 1999, just four seasons after having won the title.[12]
He then moved toNewcastle United, becomingBobby Robson's first signing as Newcastle manager. Gallacher was mostly used as a right winger, a role he adapted to well, and despite a lack of goals, was fairly popular with the Newcastle fans for his work rate.[citation needed]
Spells atPreston North End (where he scored twice against Kidderminster Harriers[13] and Sheffield United),[14]Sheffield Wednesday andHuddersfield 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 theEnglish andScottish leagues.
Gallacher won 53caps for Scotland, and was in the squads for theEuro 92,Euro 96, and1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He scored nine goals for his country, six of them in1998 World Cup qualification, a significant contribution to the successful campaign which included perhaps his most famous international goals, a double againstAustria atCeltic Park in 1997.[15]
Gallacher has worked as a co-commentator and studio analyst forBBC Radio Lancashire,BBC Radio 5 Live,Sky Sports,Setanta Sports,BBC Scotland andChannel 5. In addition to this he is also a columnist in theLancashire Telegraph. In 2006 he published a book,Tartan Turmoil: The Fall & Rise of Scottish Football, a semi-autobiographical look at the problems faced by Scottish football. In 2010, he started working forITV, commentating on FA Cup games.
He is the grandson of the late Celtic forwardPatsy Gallacher, who died before Kevin was born. His unclesWillie andTommy were also footballers[16][5] as is his nieceAmy. The Gallachers are also related to another footballing branch of the family,John Divers and hisson of the same name who both played for Celtic.[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dundee United | 1985–86[18] | Premier Division | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| 1986–87[18] | Scottish Premier Division | 37 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 10[c] | 1 | 57 | 16 | |
| 1987–88[18] | Scottish Premier Division | 26 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2[c] | 1 | 39 | 7 | |
| 1988–89[18] | Scottish Premier League | 31 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4[d] | 0 | 44 | 12 | |
| 1989–90[18] | Scottish Premier League | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 24 | 2 | |
| Total | 131 | 27 | 23 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 188 | 40 | ||
| Coventry City | 1989–90[19] | First Division | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 3 | |
| 1990–91[19] | First Division | 32 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1[e] | 0 | 38 | 16 | |
| 1991–92[19] | First Division | 33 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1[e] | 0 | 39 | 10 | |
| 1992–93[19] | FA Premier League | 20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 6 | ||
| Total | 100 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 35 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1992–93[19] | FA Premier League | 9 | 5 | — | — | — | 9 | 5 | |||
| 1993–94[19] | FA Premier League | 30 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 38 | 8 | ||
| 1994–95[19] | FA Premier League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1995–96[19] | FA Premier League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 1996–97[19] | FA Premier League | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 39 | 11 | ||
| 1997–98[19] | FA Premier League | 33 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 38 | 20 | ||
| 1998–99[19] | FA Premier League | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | |
| 1999–2000[19] | First Division | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 144 | 45 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 169 | 52 | ||
| Newcastle United | 1999–2000[19] | FA Premier League | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | |
| 2000–01[19] | FA Premier League | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| Total | 39 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 47 | 6 | |||
| Preston North End | 2001–02[19] | First Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 6 | 2 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2001–02[19] | First Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 2002–03[19] | Second Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Career total | 430 | 105 | 46 | 10 | 38 | 17 | 25 | 3 | 539 | 135 | ||
| Scotland national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1988 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 3 | 0 |
| 1992 | 7 | 0 |
| 1993 | 5 | 2 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 |
| 1997 | 10 | 6 |
| 1998 | 7 | 0 |
| 1999 | 6 | 0 |
| 2000 | 4 | 1 |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 53 | 9 |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 May 1993 | Kadrioru Stadium,Tallinn |  Estonia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 13 October 1993 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |  Italy | 1–2 | 1–3 | |
| 3 | 2 April 1997 | Celtic Park, Glasgow |  Austria | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||||
| 5 | 30 April 1997 | Ullevi Stadion,Gothenburg |  Sweden | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| 6 | 7 September 1997 | Pittodrie,Aberdeen |  Belarus | 1–0 | 4–1 | |
| 7 | 3–0 | 4–1 | ||||
| 8 | 11 October 1997 | Celtic Park, Glasgow |  Latvia | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 9 | 11 October 2000 | Maksimir Stadion,Zagreb |  Croatia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Individual
Scotland squads | |||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
