 Gibson lining up for theRepublic of Ireland in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-10-25)25 October 1987 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Derry, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Institute | ||
| 2004–2005 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2012 | Manchester United | 31 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | →Royal Antwerp (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | →Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2012–2017 | Everton | 51 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Sunderland | 27 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Wigan Athletic | 18 | (0) |
| 2020 | Salford City | 3 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Salford City | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 180 | (7) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2003 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2005 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 9 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2006 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2016 | Republic of Ireland | 27 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:43, 19 December 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:22, 27 December 2017 (UTC) | |||
Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. He played for theRepublic of Ireland national team.
Born inDerry, Northern Ireland, he began his club career withInstitute before joiningManchester United, for whom he made his professional debut in 2005. After loans with Belgium'sRoyal Antwerp and theChampionship'sWolverhampton Wanderers, he spent several seasons as part of the Manchester United team, where he scored 10 goals in 60 games and won aPremier League title, twoLeague Cups and aFIFA Club World Cup. In January 2012, Gibson joinedEverton for an undisclosed fee, where his appearances were limited from 2013 due to injury. He signed forSunderland in January 2017, and left by mutual consent in March 2018. At the end of his professional career, he had spells withWigan Athletic andSalford City.
In 2007, Gibson was at the centre of a dispute between theFootball Association of Ireland (FAI) and theIrish Football Association (IFA), after he opted to play for theRepublic of Ireland instead ofNorthern Ireland.[3] The issue was referred toFIFA and was discussed in theNorthern Ireland Assembly.[4][5][6] The issue was settled in 2010 when it was declared that Northern Ireland-born people are entitled to play for either the Republic or Northern Ireland.[7] Gibson represented the Republic of Ireland atUEFA Euro 2012.
Gibson was born inDerry, Northern Ireland.[1] A former pupil ofSt Columb's College, he played junior football in theDerry and District League, and then withInstitute before joiningManchester United in 2004.[8] He made his senior debut for United on 26 October 2005 in aLeague Cup match againstBarnet, coming on as a substitute forLee Martin. During the 2005–06 season he played regularly forManchester United Reserves, helping them win a treble. He made 19 appearances, scoring twice. In May 2006, he won the prestigiousJimmy Murphy Award as United's youth player of the year and then played regularly for the United senior team during their pre-season summer matches, together withDong Fangzhuo,Jonny Evans,Fraizer Campbell andDanny Simpson.[9]
Gibson was one of several United players who spent the 2006–07 season onloan atRoyal Antwerp.[10] In October 2007, he was loaned out again, this time toWolverhampton Wanderers, where he spent the majority of the2007–08 season.[11] At Wolves he scored once, against Burnley on 8 December 2007.[12]
Gibson made his Premier League debut on 15 November 2008, appearing as a second-half substitute againstStoke City, before making hisUEFA Champions League debut ten days later, coming on as a substitute forDarren Fletcher againstVillarreal on 25 November 2008. In December 2008, he travelled with the United squad to the2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where, despite not making any appearances, he picked up a winners' medal. On 4 January 2009, Gibson scored his first goal for the club, United's third in a 3–0 victory overSouthampton in the FA Cup third round. On 1 March 2009, Gibson started in the centre of midfield alongside Paul Scholes againstTottenham Hotspur in the2009 League Cup Final atWembley Stadium, playing the full initial 90 minutes before being replaced byRyan Giggs at the start of extra time as Manchester United went on to win 4–1 on penalties.[13] On 24 May, he scored his first league goal for Manchester United in the last match of the2008–09 Premier League season againstHull City.[14] Gibson was rewarded with a three-year extension to his Manchester United contract, tying him to the club until at least 2012.[15]
Gibson was one of a number of young United players who came under criticism when they lost a four-year unbeaten home record in Europe, losing 1–0 toBeşiktaş atOld Trafford.[16] On 1 December 2009, six days on from the defeat in theChampions League, Gibson responded to the criticism by scoring both of United's goals in a 2–0 win againstTottenham to send United through the semi-finals of theLeague Cup.[17] Gibson was granted a starting place in the Champions League second leg quarter-final tie againstBayern Munich and scored a long-range shot after only three minutes, his first goal in aUEFA competition, but despite winning the match 3–2, they were knocked out by Bayern onaway goals with the aggregate score ending 4–4.[18]
He scored his first goal of the2010–11 season as he netted the first of United's goals in a 5–2 away win overScunthorpe United in the League Cup.[19] In February 2011, Gibson'snational team manager,Giovanni Trapattoni, told him that he must leave Manchester United in order to further his career.[20] Gibson scored in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final as United beat Schalke 4–1 (6–1 on aggregate)[21] but he was one of a number of players from that match alongside Rafael, Evans, O'Shea and Berbatov who could not make the substitutes bench for the Champions League final, which United lost 3–1 to Barcelona.[22]Sunderland agreed a transfer fee with United to sign Gibson in the summer of 2011, but Gibson could not agree personal terms.[23] He subsequently only made two appearances for the club in the2011–12 season, despite there being a number of midfielders out injured at Old Trafford, and left the club in January 2012.[24]
On 13 January 2012, Gibson signed forEverton for an undisclosed fee.[25][26] He became the fourth ex-United player to sign for Everton underDavid Moyes, followingPhil Neville,Tim Howard andLouis Saha.[27] He made his debut a day later, as he started in a 1–1 draw withAston Villa.[28] Later that month, Gibson scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 home win against league leadersManchester City.[29] Gibson played 11 times in the league during his first season with the club and did not finish on the losing side once. If his time at Manchester United is taken into account this figure is stretched to 28 consecutive league matches without defeat.[30]
The run came to an end in Everton's third league match of the2012–13 season, when Gibson started in a 0–2 loss toWest Bromwich Albion, although the match was level at 0–0 when Gibson was substituted in the first half due to injury.[31] Gibson was sent off for the first time in his career, in a 2–1 win away toWest Ham United on 22 December 2012,[32] although the red card and subsequent ban were rescinded byThe Football Association five days later.[33] On 13 April 2013, Gibson scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 home win againstQueens Park Rangers. His impact on Everton in his first two seasons was such that the club won 52% of the matches he played in and only 25% of those he did not, with Gibson being hailed as the key link between attack and defence with a number of eye-catching performances notably against Tottenham, Manchester City and his former club Manchester United.[34]
Gibson only made one league appearance during the2013–14 season as it was ended in October when he suffered serious cruciate knee ligament damage whilst on international duty.[citation needed]
On 8 November 2016, Gibson captained Everton's under-23 team in their elimination from theEFL Trophy by Blackpool.[35]
Gibson signed forSunderland, along with former Everton teammateBryan Oviedo, in January 2017. He signed an 18-month deal for an undisclosed fee.[36] He made his debut on 4 February as a 52nd-minute substitute forJack Rodwell in a 4–0 win at Crystal Palace,[37] and totalled 12 appearances as the Black Cats suffered relegation to the Championship.
After being charged with driving with excess alcohol in March 2018 Gibson was suspended by the club, before leaving by mutual consent less than a fortnight later.[38]
On 3 August 2018,Wigan Athletic signed Gibson on a free transfer.[39] He made his debut a day later, featuring in a 3–2 victory overSheffield Wednesday.[40] On 6 October, he was sent off in a 4–0 loss atPreston North End for a foul onBen Pearson.[41] He was released by Wigan at the end of the2018–19 season.[42]
Gibson signed a six-month contract withSalford City on 6 February 2020.[43] He made his debut for the club on 19 February in aFootball League Trophysemi-final victory overNewport County, playing the full match and scoring one of the penalties in the shoot-out.[44] He was released by Salford on 17 May 2020 following thecoronavirus enforced decision to end the League Two season,[45] but subsequently rejoined the club ahead of the 2020–21 season; upon signing for the club for a second spell, his managerGraham Alexander said he was "delighted".[46] On 17 October, Gibson suffered a broken leg in a match againstPort Vale.[47] At the end of the2020–21 season, it was announced that he would be leaving the club.[48]
Gibson was at the centre of a dispute between theIrish Football Association (IFA) and theFootball Association of Ireland (FAI) over the eligibility of players born within Northern Ireland to represent the Republic of Ireland. The general principle or article 5 of FIFA's Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes states that "any person holding a permanent nationality that is not dependent on residence in a certain country is eligible to play for the representative teams of the Association of that country". Due to the constitutional position of Northern Ireland following the signing of theGood Friday Agreement,citizenship of the Republic of Ireland is the undisputed birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland if they so wish, so long as at least one parent is an Irish or British citizen or, failing that, a permanent resident. As a result, Gibson was approached to represent both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level.[49][50]
Gibson initially represented Northern Ireland at Under-16 level and was included inVictory Shield squads. However, he was dropped from the team after attending trials withManchester United and subsequently switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.[51][52] Before Gibson made his senior international debut for the Republic of Ireland,Nigel Worthington, theNorthern Ireland manager, made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade him to switch his allegiance back.[53]
Gibson first represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17 level. Then during the 2005–06 season he captained both the Republic of Ireland under-19 andunder-21 squads. On 14 November 2006, he also played forRepublic of Ireland B in a 0–0 draw againstScotland B.[54] In 2007, Gibson was included in several seniorRepublic of Ireland squads forEuro 2008 qualifiers,[55] before he eventually made his debut in a 4–0 win againstDenmark. During the away friendly, he came on as half-time substitute, replacingAndy Reid. In the 54th minute, Gibson fired a shot from outside the penalty area that the Danish keeper,Jesper Christiansen, could only palm away, allowingShane Long to follow up and score the Republic's third goal.[56] Gibson won his second full cap on 8 September 2007 in an away match againstSlovakia. The Euro 2008 qualifier, which finished as a 2–2 draw, saw him again used as substitute, this time replacingAiden McGeady after 61 minutes.[57][58]
Gibson made his first start for the Republic of Ireland national team in a 1–0 win at home toCyprus on 15 October 2008. AfterSteven Reid dropped out of the Irish squad due to injury, Gibson was called up to provide extra physicality in the centre of the Irish midfield. ManagerGiovanni Trapattoni also cited Gibson's confidence on the football pitch as the reason for choosing him ahead ofLiam Miller andAndy Reid.[59] On 8 February 2011, Gibson scored his first goal for his country, a shot from long range in a 3–0 victory overWales in the first match of the2011 Nations Cup.[60]
Gibson was selected in the Ireland squad forUEFA Euro 2012. However, he was an unused substitute for all of Ireland's matches as the team was knocked out in the group stage with three successive defeats.[61]
On 1 September 2012, Gibson was included in Ireland's squad to playKazakhstan in a2014 World Cup qualifier. However, he withdrew from the squad citing disappointment at his lack of playing time during Euro 2012.[citation needed] On 8 March 2013, he again turned down a call up for Ireland's World Cup qualifiers againstSweden andAustria.[62]
On 30 September 2013, Gibson was recalled to the Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan by interim managerNoel King.[63] After starting the 3–0 defeat to Germany he was stretchered off with a suspected knee injury in the next match against Kazakhstan which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[64]
On 3 September 2014, Gibson made a start for the Republic of Ireland after recovering from his long term knee injury when his team beatOman 2–0. On 11 October, he made his first competitive appearance for Ireland in more than a year, playing the full 90 minutes in the team's 7–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification defeat ofGibraltar.
In August 2015, Gibson was charged withdriving without due care and attention, driving with excess alcohol andfailing to stop after a road traffic collision inAltrincham, Greater Manchester.[65] In September 2015 he admitted to drink driving, careless driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and banned from driving for 20 months.[66]In March 2018, Sunderland suspended Gibson after he was arrested on suspicion of driving over the legal alcohol limit,[67] he was given a two-year community order and was banned from driving for 40 months, two months later after pleading guilty in court and admitting he had turned to alcohol to help with dealing with the constant pain from trying to manage injuries and being away from family. The sentence was later reduced to a 27 month ban on appeal.[68]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United | 2005–06[69] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006–07[70] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2007–08[71] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[72] | Premier League | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | |
| 2009–10[73] | Premier League | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | |
| 2010–11[74] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 2011–12[75] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 10 | ||
| Royal Antwerp (loan) | 2006–07[76] | Belgian Second Division | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6[b] | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 2007–08[71] | Championship | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| Everton | 2011–12[75] | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13[77] | Premier League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14[78] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15[79] | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16[80] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17[81] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 69 | 2 | |||
| Everton U23 | 2016–17[81] | — | — | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Sunderland | 2016–17[81] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[82] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| Wigan Athletic | 2018–19[83] | Championship | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Salford City | 2019–20[84] | League Two | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[e] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[85] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0[f] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 180 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 245 | 14 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 February 2011 | Aviva Stadium,Dublin, Ireland | 14 |  Wales | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2011 Nations Cup | [87] |
Manchester United
Republic of Ireland
Individual
