| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul William Gerrard[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-01-22)22 January 1973 (age 53)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Heywood, Lancashire, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1996 | Oldham Athletic | 119 | (0) |
| 1996–2004 | Everton | 90 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | →Oxford United (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Ipswich Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2003 | →Sheffield United (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2004 | →Nottingham Forest (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Nottingham Forest | 64 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Sheffield United | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | →Blackpool (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Stockport County | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2013 | Oldham Athletic | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 321 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993–1996 | England U21 | 18 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul William Gerrard (born 22 January 1973) is an Englishfootballgoalkeeping coach and former player.
Gerrard started his career in thePremier League withOldham Athletic as agoalkeeper, and his 22-year playing career saw him play for Oldham,Everton,Oxford United,Ipswich Town,Sheffield United,Nottingham Forest,Blackpool andStockport County, before he finished his playing career in a second spell at Oldham. Towards the end of his playing career, he was employed as a part-time goalkeeping coach by Oldham andShrewsbury Town, before signing on as a full-time player/coach with Oldham at the start of the2011–12 season. Gerrard is also a formerEngland Under 21 international, having made 18 appearances between 1993 and 1996, but he never made an appearance for the full national side.
Following retirement he has been worked as the goalkeeping coach at bothOldham Athletic andDoncaster Rovers.
Born inHeywood, Lancashire,[2] Gerrard started his career as a goalkeeping apprentice atOldham Athletic. He made his Premiership debut at the age of 19 on 5 December 1992 in a 3–2 defeat atQueens Park Rangers. In all, he made 118League appearances for The Latics in his first spell.
Nearly two years after Joe Royle had left Oldham forEverton, he returned to buy Gerrard for£1.5 million in July 1996.[4] He made his debut for Everton as a half-timesubstitute forNeville Southall in a 7–1 win at home toSouthampton on 16 November 1996.[2]
When Royle left Everton, Southall returned as first choice goalkeeper for Everton, and Gerrard decided to go on loan toOxford United in 1997 for regular first team action. However, soon afterwardsHoward Kendall took over for his second spell as team manager atGoodison Park and recalled Gerrard from Oxford.
In December 2000, he suffered a knee injury in a Premier League match againstWest Ham United, and sparked a surprise reaction from West Ham strikerPaolo Di Canio who spurned the opportunity to score the winning goal in order to attend to the injured Gerrard.[5] This act of sportsmanship saw Di Canio awarded with theFIFA fair play award the following year.[5]
Royle, now atIpswich Town, signed Gerrard on a month-long loan in November 2002,[6] although Gerrard returned to Everton early after suffering from a dislocated kneecap, having made five appearances for Ipswich.[7] During the2003–04 season, he was signed on loan bySheffield United covering for injured goalkeeperPaddy Kenny, and he spent three months at the club.[8] He played a total of 16 games forthe Blades, before joiningNottingham Forest on loan in March 2004 for the final two months of the season.
In the summer of 2004, Gerrard signed permanently for Nottingham Forest.[9] At the end of his first season the club was relegated toLeague One.
Despite ending the2004–05 season as first-choice goalkeeper and Player of the Year at Forest, Gerrard found himself as second choice goalkeeper behind new signingRune Pedersen, having sustained a knee injury during a pre-season tour to Denmark.[10] Although he handed in a transfer request, Gerrard returned to first team action at the end of August in a 3–1 win againstGillingham. Gerrard was again dropped from the first team when managerGary Megson signedRussell Hoult on loan fromWest Bromwich Albion. However, Hoult was recalled by West Brom in October, and Gerrard once again became the preferred goalkeeper.[11]
On 15 February 2006, Gerrard limped off in a 3–0 defeat against former club Oldham Athletic, having sustained a knee injury that later required surgery.[12] He played only one game underIan McParland andFrank Barlow due to a knee injury. Gerrard was released from Forest at the end of the2005–06 season, following the club's failure to secure promotion to the Championship.[13]
On 27 September 2006, he signed a four-month contract with the Blades to add depth to thegoalkeeping department. The 33-year-old, who had a loan spell atBramall Lane in 2003, was signed to provide cover forPaddy Kenny andIan Bennett. On 1 January 2007, Gerrard made his Premiership debut for Sheffield United againstMiddlesbrough at theRiverside Stadium. He made two further appearances for the Blades, but was released at the end of the2006–07 season.
On 6 August 2007, he was re-signed on a 12-month deal by new Sheffield United managerBryan Robson for the upcomingChampionship campaign.[14] On 24 January 2008, he signed on loan forBlackpool until the end of the2007–08 season.[15] On 3 March it was revealed that Gerrard had undergone a knee operation which ended his season prematurely.[16] He was subsequently released by the Blades when his contract expired at the end of the season.[17]
After leaving Bramall Lane, he joinedStockport County, but failed to make a competitive appearance for the club.[18]
On 5 November 2011, while working as goalkeeping coach at Oldham, he was brought on as a substitute forAlex Cisak, who had been sent off.[19] Gerrard's first contribution in a competitive match for over two years, and first for Oldham for fifteen years, was to save a penalty.[19] He made his first start in his second spell at the club in the 3–1 victory overCrewe Alexandra, on 8 November 2011.[20]
Gerrard never played for England at full international level, but he was capped 18 times by the under-21 side between 1993 and 1996.
Gerrard was confirmed Oldham Athletic's goalkeeping coach on a part-time basis on 30 June 2010. On 20 August he signed a pay as you play contract to provide cover for number one keeperDean Brill. In July 2011 he was given a full-time permanent contract as goalkeeping coach.[21] He left Oldham on 21 June 2013, with his former club claiming that he was moving toDoncaster Rovers, following former Oldham bossPaul Dickov.[22]
In July 2010, he was confirmedShrewsbury Town goalkeeping coach on a part-time basis.[23] This ended in July 2011, when his contract at Oldham was made full-time, withGavin Ward replacing him in the post.[24]
On 24 June 2013, he was confirmed as the new goalkeeping coach atDoncaster Rovers.[25]
Gerrard left the club on 29 November 2021 by mutual agreement, having worked with seven different managers.[1]
On 24 February 2022, he joined League Two sideCarlisle United as their new goalkeeper coach.[26]
From a relegation position, Carlisle retained their League Two status that season and a successful campaign during the 2022-2023 season resulted in a Wembley Play-Off final promotion to League One. Gerrard left the club by mutual consent at the end of June.[2]
On 2 July 2024. Gerrard was appointed goalkeeper coach atEFL League One sidePeterborough United.[27]
Individual
