 Kirkland warming up withWigan Athletic in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Edmund Kirkland[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-05-02)2 May 1981 (age 43)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Barwell, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Colne (Head Goalkeeping Coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1998 | Coventry City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Coventry City | 24 | (0) |
| 2001–2006 | Liverpool | 25 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2006 | →Wigan Athletic (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2006–2012 | Wigan Athletic | 122 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Leicester City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2011 | →Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Sheffield Wednesday | 85 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Preston North End | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | Bury | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 284 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2003 | England U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2006 | England | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2018 | Liverpool Women (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christopher Edmund Kirkland (born 2 May 1981) is an Englishfootballcoach and former professionalgoalkeeper who is the head goalkeeping coach atColne. As a player, he made 321 league and cup appearances in an 18-year professional career from 1998 to 2016 and won onecap for theEnglish national team in 2006.
Kirkland started his career atCoventry City, where he was regarded as one of the country's most promising young goalkeepers. He was later signed byPremier League clubLiverpool for £6 million in August 2001. However, his time at the club was blighted by recurring injuries, which almost caused him to retire from football altogether. He would later sign forWigan Athletic in July 2006, after a successfulloan period. He had further loan spells at bothLeicester City andDoncaster Rovers before being signed bySheffield Wednesday in May 2012. He joinedPreston North End in August 2015 and had a brief spell withBury before retiring in August 2016.
A year after retiring from playing, Kirkland took up coaching withPort Vale in January 2017. He subsequently joined the coaching staff ofLiverpool Women the following year and was briefly a player—manager for a month and a half.
Kirkland was born inBarwell, Leicestershire, where he grew up with his parents, Marie and Eddie,[2] and attended Heathfield School and thenHenley College Coventry.[3][4] His father, Eddie, was a crane driver and spent many hours helping his son practise his goalkeeping skills.[5] After an unsuccessful trial withBlackburn Rovers, he accepted acontract offer fromCoventry City.[6] He signed professional terms with the club in July 1998.[7]
Kirkland made his debut for Coventry in theLeague Cup in a 3–1 victory overTranmere Rovers atHighfield Road on 22 September 1999.[8]ManagerGordon Strachan began selecting him inPremier League matches ahead of Swedish internationalMagnus Hedman despite saying Kirkland was "bigBambi who couldn't kick the ball out of thepenalty box".[5] His performances were rewarded at the end of the2000–01 season when he made his debut for theEngland under-21s,[9] and was voted Coventry's Players' Player of the Year by his teammates.[10] He was linked with moves toArsenal andLiverpool, despite his relatively limited experience[11] and was eventually bought by Liverpool for £6 million in August 2001.[12] At the time he was the most expensive goalkeeper in Britishtransfer history, at only 20 years old.[13]
Kirkland made his debut for Liverpool in October 2001,[14] but mostly served as understudy to first-choice goalkeeperJerzy Dudek during the2001–02 season. He was an unusedsubstitute in the2002 FA Community Shield at theMillennium Stadium, where Liverpool were beaten 1–0 byArsenal.[15] During the2002–03 season, costly errors by Dudek in a league fixture againstManchester United resulted in managerGérard Houllier handing the first-team place to Kirkland in December.[16] He played 14 consecutive matches, during which he kept sixclean sheets, but sustained an ankle injury in January 2003, which ruled him out for the rest of the season,[17] meaning he missed the victorious2003 League Cup final.[18] He spent six weeks out of action after tearing hisgroin whilst on England under-21 duty in September 2003.[19] Hefractured a finger in December 2003, and was ruled out of action for four months after undergoing surgery to repair it.[20]
Kirkland ousted Dudek as first-choice Liverpool keeper at the beginning of the2004–05 season and played 14 matches before he was again sidelined in December after succumbing to a long-standing back injury.[21] He had played fourChampions League matches but was unable to be named in the squad for the2005 final due to injury;Scott Carson, who took his place on the bench inIstanbul, later offered his Champions League winners medal to Kirkland, who refused to accept it.[22]
In July 2005, Kirkland agreed to go on a season-longloan toBryan Robson'sWest Bromwich Albion to kick-start his career again.[23] He kept a clean sheet on his Albion debut as the team drew 0–0 away atManchester City.[24] An injury to Kirkland in the first half of the2005–06 season saw Polish goalkeeperTomasz Kuszczak replace him. Kuszczak showed excellent form and therefore remained first-choice goalkeeper atThe Hawthorns for the rest of the season.[25] Kirkland also again spent time out of action with a broken finger, and was told by Liverpool managerRafael Benítez that he would have to move away fromAnfield if he wanted to play regular first-team football as new signingPepe Reina had made an excellent start to his Liverpool career.[26]
In July 2006, Kirkland joinedWigan Athletic on a six-month loan spell.[27] ManagerPaul Jewell said that "He certainly has the potential, but there's the obvious question mark over fitness. It's not just been one thing with him because he's been unlucky withbroken ribs, fingers, knee injuries, back."[28] This move became permanent for a sum of £2.5 million on 27 October when the two clubs and Kirkland made a compromise.[29] He won the club's Players' Player of the Year and Media Player of the Year awards for the2007–08 season.[30] A highlight of this season was saving aBenni McCarthypenalty in a 5–3 win over Blackburn Rovers at theDW Stadium.[31] He committed his future to Wigan in May 2008 when he signed a new contract, tying him to the club until 2012.[32]
On 22 November 2009, Kirkland conceded nine goals in a Premier League match againstTottenham Hotspur.[33]Sunderland managerSteve Bruce – Kirkland's former manager at Wigan from November 2007 to June 2009 – was linked with a move for Kirkland in January 2010, but said that "talk of me bidding £5m for Chris Kirkland is garbage, but he is a very good goalkeeper, and I'm a big, big admirer of him".[34] Speaking in March 2010, managerRoberto Martínez said that "if you look at the standard of his performances – week in, week out – it is up there with the best in England".[35]
At the start of the2010–11 season, Wigan were heavily defeated in their first two matches againstBlackpool andChelsea. He was replaced in the starting line-up byAli Al-Habsi.[36] On 25 November 2010, Kirkland joinedChampionship clubLeicester City on loan until January.[37] Aback spasm suffered during training in early December nearly ended his stint at the club,[38] but he resumed his loan after making a speedy recovery.[39] He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat toIpswich Town on 19 December.[40] Kirkland returned to Wigan for treatment on his back injury, after making three appearances atThe Walkers Stadium.[41] He was stretchered off after a collision withJohan Elmander in a 1–1 draw againstBolton Wanderers on 5 January 2011; Kirkland was in the Wigan squad due to Ali Al-Habsi's ineligibility to play against his parent club.[42]
Kirkland was going to joinCardiff City on an emergency loan in February 2011 as cover for goalkeeperTom Heaton, but the deal fell through after he picked up a virus.[43] On 12 October 2011, Kirkland joined ChampionshipDoncaster Rovers on loan until January after attracting interest from new managerDean Saunders.[44] However, after less than a week into his loan spell at theKeepmoat Stadium, Kirkland was sent back to parent club Wigan following another back spasm.[45]
In May 2012, Kirkland signed a two-year contract with Championship clubSheffield Wednesday; managerDave Jones said whoever played best out of Kirkland andStephen Bywater during pre-season would win a first-team place.[46] Kirkland made his Wednesday debut in a 4–2 League Cup win overOldham Athletic on 13 August 2012.[47] On 19 October, he was assaulted by a fan who had run onto thepitch during the 1–1 draw againstLeeds United. Kirkland required several minutes of treatment after the assault, which was captured on television cameras and immediately followed a Leeds goal.[48][49] His attacker, Aaron Cawley, went on to plead guilty to assault and was jailed for 16 weeks.[50] Kirkland remained as first-choice goalkeeper throughout most of the2012–13 and2013–14 campaigns, but wasrelegated to second-choice behindKeiren Westwood throughout the majority of the2014–15 season and leftHillsborough in July 2015 after turning down managerStuart Gray's offer of a new contract.[51]
On 12 August 2015, Kirkland joined Championship clubPreston North End on a one-year contract.[52] He was signed as an understudy to on loan goalkeeperJordan Pickford, and remained on the bench after Pickford was recalled, asSam Johnstone andAnders Lindegaard also joined the club on loan.[53] Kirkland was released by managerSimon Grayson when his contract atDeepdale expired at the end of the2015–16 season.[54]
Kirkland joinedLeague One clubBury on a one-year contract in June 2016.[55] However, he leftGigg Lane for personal reasons before the2016–17 season began in August.[56] He later revealed that he had been fighting a four-year battle withdepression.[57]
Kirkland won eightcaps with the England national under-21 team and was regularly selected for thesenior squad from 2003 onwards,[7] but did not make an appearance until he came on as a substitute for the second half of afriendly againstGreece in August 2006.[58] When Kirkland was eleven years old, his father and some family friends had placed bets of £100 each at 100/1 odds that he would play for England before the age of 30; Kirkland's appearance netted the group £10,000 each.[59]
Kirkland was identified at an early age as agoalkeeper with an "uncommon mixture of height, agility and bravery".[57]
Kirkland began coaching the goalkeepers at League One clubPort Vale in January 2017 as a favour to his friend and former teammateMichael Brown.[60] He also set up the Chris Kirkland Goalkeeper Academy.[57]
In July 2018, Kirkland returned to Liverpool as a goalkeeping coach for thewomen's team.[61] He was appointedcaretaker manager of the team on 14 September upon the resignation ofNeil Redfearn.[62] Following Vicky Jepson's appointment as permanent manager on 26 October, he returned to his previous role as goalkeeping coach. He took on the additional duty as assistant manager.[63] He quit the role in March 2019 to focus on the growing demands of running his goalkeeping academy.[64] He was appointed as head goalkeeping coach atColne in June 2020.[65]
He and his wife Leeona had a daughter, Lucy, born on 14 November 2006, which caused him to miss an international friendly match againstNetherlands the next day.[66] In April 2008, Kirkland teamed up with fellow professionalsKevin Davies andBrett Emerton to help launch theGet Started programme. This national scheme aims to tackle re-offending. He visitedHindley Youth Offenders' Institution in support of the scheme, which is delivered byThe Prince's Trust in partnership with the Premier League, thePFA and the Football Foundation.[67]
In July 2022, Kirkland opened up about hispainkiller addiction and revealed he had previously considered taking his own life.[68] In July 2024, Kirkland was awarded an honorary doctorate for his mental health work byEdge Hill University.[69]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Coventry City | 1998–99[70] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000[8] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01[71] | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02[72] | First Division | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| Liverpool | 2001–02[72] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002–03[73] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[74] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2004–05[75] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 2005–06[76] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 2006–07[77] | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | |
| 2007–08[78] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09[79] | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10[80] | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11[81] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[82] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 131 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 134 | 0 | |||
| Leicester City (loan) | 2010–11[81] | Championship | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Doncaster Rovers (loan) | 2011–12[82] | Championship | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2012–13[47] | Championship | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | |
| 2013–14[83] | Championship | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15[84] | Championship | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 85 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 91 | 0 | |||
| Preston North End | 2015–16[85] | Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| Career total | 284 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 321 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England[86] | 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Coventry City
Liverpool
Individual
