 Gale outside theKing Power Stadium, Leicester in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Peter Gale[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1959-11-19)19 November 1959 (age 66)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Westminster,[1]London, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1977 | Fulham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1984 | Fulham | 277 | (19) |
| 1984–1994 | West Ham United | 300 | (5) |
| 1994–1995 | Blackburn Rovers | 15 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Crystal Palace | 2 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Maidenhead United | 42 | (0) |
| Total | 636 | (24) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977–1978 | England Youth | 7 | (1) |
| 1982 | England U21 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013 | Walton Casuals (caretaker) | ||
| 2014 | Walton Casuals (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anthony Peter Gale (born 19 November 1959) is an English football coach, former professionalfootballer and television pundit forSky Sports. He was also the chairman of non-league clubWalton Casuals.
As a player, he made 636 appearances as a defender from 1977 until 1998, notably in thePremier League withWest Ham United andBlackburn Rovers, where he won the title in 1995. He also played forFulham,Crystal Palace andMaidenhead United.
Since retiring he has worked as a pundit, co-commentator and sports writer, notably for Premier League productions, Sky Sports and former clubs West Ham and Fulham.
After progressing through the youth ranks ofFulham, Gale was promoted to the first team ahead of the1977–78 season. Making his debut for the first team aged 16 in theAnglo-Scottish Cup against Orient, he was drafted in to the senior squad to replaceWorld Cup winningBobby Moore following his retirement from English football. Recording 38 league appearances and eight goals in his inaugural season, Gale cemented his place in the squad during their time in theSecond Division.
Suffering relegation to theThird Division after a 20th-placed finish during the1979–80 season, Gale bounced back to the Second Division two years later. A dispute with managerMalcolm MacDonald saw Gale suspended shortly after the start of the season, but he returned to the first team set-up shortly after to make 44 league appearances as Fulham gained promotion back to the second tier.
Gale narrowly missed out on promotion to theFirst Division during the1982–83 season, with Fulham finishing in fourth place and a single point behindLeicester City. After a mid-table finish the following season, Gale opted for a move away fromCraven Cottage in order to play in the First Division.
In July 1984, Gale completed a £200,000 transfer to West Ham United, and went on to make 300 league appearances over a decade.[3] Finishing 16th in his first season with the club, Gale was part of the side to finish third in the First Division in 1986 while forming a notable partnership withAlvin Martin.[4] He spent all but one season in mid-table before West Ham's relegation to the Second Division following the1988–89 season.
When playing in the1991 FA Cup semi-final againstNottingham Forest, Gale became the first-ever footballer in the English game to be shown a straight red card for denying an attacker a goal-scoring opportunity with a professional foul.[5] After bringing downGary Crosby in the 22nd minute, Gale's single career dismissal byKeith Hackett was deemed as unfair by West Ham fans as they suffered a 4–0 defeat to Forest and missed out on their chances of a first FA Cup final since 1980.[6] It took the Hammers another 15 years before reaching the final once again.[7]
West Ham were promoted back to the First Division in 1991 at the second time of asking, but were relegated again after just one season back among the elite.
In 1993, West Ham returned to the top tier of English football, now rebranded as thePremier League, and finished in 13th during Gale's final season with the club. In 1994 Gale was awarded atestimonial by West Ham. He received an estimated £50,000 from the game, a 4–2 win atUpton Park against a Republic of Ireland team.[8]
After his release from West Ham in 1994, Gale trained withBarnet before receiving a call fromBlackburn Rovers managerKenny Dalglish.[3] Joining on 11 August, he made his debut three days later in the1994 Charity Shield, suffering a 2–0 defeat toManchester United after goals fromEric Cantona andPaul Ince. Spending a single season atEwood Park, Gale made 15 appearances in the club's1994–95 Premier League winning campaign and clinched the only major honour of his playing career aged 35.[3] Despite being asked by newly appointed managerRay Harford to remain with the club for a second season, Gale opted against a coaching role while playing for the reserves. He later admitted it was a decision he regretted, after his only season playing outside of theLondon area.[9]
After Blackburn's title triumph, Gale signed for relegated Crystal Palace. However, his time at Selhurst Park was plagued with injuries and he managed just two league appearances for the club halfway through that season, and retired from professional football at the end of it.
Gale joinedMaidenhead United – managed by his former West Ham teammate,Alan Devonshire – in 1996, continuing his playing career at non-league level for two more seasons before finally retiring from playing aged 39.
Gale has been heard commentating on Premier League games for Premier League Productions, a venture of IMG Sports Media who produce, package and broadcast the live production of games for the Premier League for international broadcasters. For the 16/17 season he is part of the commentary team[10] for Premier League games aired in the US on NBC.
Gale has also contributed a regular column for West Ham's official website, WHUFC.com, along with a fortnightly column for Fulham's official website.
He supportedChelsea as a child and saidPeter Osgood was his childhood hero. He cited Fulham's 1-1 draw againstLincoln City in the1981-82 season as his most memorable game as they earned promotion to Division Two. He said missing promotion to the First Division with Fulham in 1982-83 by one point was his biggest disappointment. His hobbies include watching other sports. His favourite TV shows areOnly Fools and Horses andEastEnders and said thatFrank Sinatra andGeorge Benson are his favourite musicians.[11]
During his time at West Ham, Gale was nicknamed 'Reggie' by his teammates. The name came from the comparison toReggie Kray for his wicked sense of humour. He was also described by teammateMark Ward as having the touch and vision of a centre forward.[12]
Gale was the chairman of the now-defunctIsthmian Division One South sideWalton Casuals, having joined the club as Director of Football in 2003.[13] He became chairman in 2011 and enjoyed two brief spells as caretaker manager. First taking over in March 2013 for eight games to see out the 2012–13 season, he also led the team for 12 games from September to November 2014.[14]
He is married to his wife Lyndsey. His son, Anthony, made over 200 appearances for Walton Casuals and took over as manager in July 2015 after working alongside his father as caretaker manager in late 2014.[15]
In 2023 his autobiography, "That's Entertainment" was published.[16]
Blackburn Rovers
