Gordon Greer

Gordon Greer
Greer in 2012
Personal information
Full name Gordon Greer[1]
Date of birth (1980-12-14) 14 December 1980 (age 43)[1]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)6ft 1in[2]
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Clyde 30 (0)
2001–2003 Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
2003 → Stockport County (loan) 5 (1)
2003–2007 Kilmarnock 107 (4)
2007–2009 Doncaster Rovers 12 (1)
2009 → Swindon Town (loan) 19 (2)
2009–2010 Swindon Town 46 (1)
2010–2016 Brighton & Hove Albion 209 (5)
2016–2017 Blackburn Rovers 21 (0)
2017–2018 Kilmarnock 20 (1)
Total 469 (14)
International career
2005–2006 Scotland B 2 (0)
2013–2016 Scotland 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Greer (born 14 December 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Greer played for Clyde, Blackburn Rovers (two spells), Stockport County, Kilmarnock (two spells), Doncaster Rovers, Swindon Town and Brighton & Hove Albion during his career. He also played in 11 full international matches for Scotland between 2013 and 2016.

Club career

Greer was born in Glasgow[1] and after a single season with Port Glasgow Juniors, began his professional career with Clyde, where he played in only 33 matches before securing a £250,000 move to English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers. Greer made only appearance for Blackburn in the Football League Cup.

Greer had a spell on loan with Stockport County, scoring once versus Wycombe Wanderers[3] before returning to Scotland to play for Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock. Greer first received international recognition, having been capped for Scotland B versus Poland B in December 2005[4] and versus Republic of Ireland B in November 2006.[5]

In July 2007, Greer signed for Doncaster Rovers after he rejected a new contract offer from Kilmarnock.[6] Greer's first season at Doncaster was blighted by several injuries and he was restricted to only six appearances in the 2007–08 season, though he did manage to score his first goal for the club, against AFC Bournemouth.[7] During the 2008–09 season Greer joined League One club Swindon Town on an initial one-month loan,[8] that was later extended for a further two months[9] thanks to a financial contribution from TrustSTFC's Red Army Fund. On his return to Doncaster, Greer was released from his contract on 7 May 2009,[10] after only 12 appearances in two seasons with the club.

Following his release from Doncaster, Greer soon agreed a two-year contract with Swindon Town on a free transfer in July 2009, having impressed after his loan at the club. After officially joining the club, Greer was announced as the club's captain for the 2009–10 season.[11] On 17 May 2010, Greer was shown a straight red card for a high tackle in the play-off 2nd leg versus Charlton Athletic, that Swindon went on to win on penalties. Greer's sending off meant that he was suspended from the play-off final versus Millwall on 29 May 2010.

On 10 July 2010, after weeks of speculation and numerous verbal and written approaches for Greer, it was suggested that he would travel down to Brighton & Hove Albion on the following Monday for a medical to agree a move to the Seagulls for a reported fee of £250,000 on a three-year deal. The deal was delayed until the next day, when Greer completed his move to the Seagulls. On 4 August 2010, it was also revealed that Brighton manager Gus Poyet had given Greer the club captaincy for the 2010–11 season.

Greer made his Brighton debut in the second game of the season on 14 August 2010 versus Rochdale after serving a two-match ban but was sent off after 51 minutes for violent conduct in a 2–2 draw. One of Rochdale's goals came from a penalty after Greer's red card incident. Greer then helped guide Brighton to winning the League One title and promotion to the Championship that season and stayed as on as club captain for the 2011–12 season. Greer scored his first Seagulls goal in a 2–0 win versus Barnsley in October 2011. In January 2012, Greer received another straight red card for violent conduct in Brighton's 3–0 win versus Southampton, his sending off arriving only three minutes before the end of the match. At the end of that season, Greer was subject to a bid from Barnsley, that was rejected and Poyet later stated that he wasn't up for sale.[12]

Greer playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2016.

Greer was released by Brighton at the end of the 2015–16 season. Greer then signed a one-year contract with Blackburn Rovers.[13] and his league debut was on 6 August 2016 versus Norwich City at Ewood Park. Greer was released by Rovers at the end of the 2016–17 season, during which the Ewood Park club were relegated to League One.

Greer returned to East Ayrshire to rejoin Kilmarnock in July 2017 for the 2017–18 season.[14] He made his last appearance for Kilmarnock in February 2018, and was released from his contract in August 2018.[15]

Greer announced his retirement from playing in October 2018.[16]

International career

On 21 May 2013, Greer was called up to the Scotland squad for the first time for the 2014 World Cup qualifier versus Croatia. Greer received a second call-up on 23 August 2013.[17] Greer made his international debut later that year, becoming the oldest player to make his first appearance for Scotland since Ronnie Simpson in the 1960s.[18][19] Greer made his first competitive appearance in October 2014, partnering Russell Martin in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match versus Poland.[18][19] Greer made 11 appearances for Scotland in total, with his last cap coming in June 2016.[20]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Clyde 2000–01[21] Scottish First Division 30 0 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 33 0
Blackburn Rovers 2001–02[22] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Stockport County (loan) 2002–03[23] Second Division 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Kilmarnock 2003–04[24] Scottish Premier League 25 0 2 0 0 0 — 27 0
2004–05[25] Scottish Premier League 22 1 1 0 1 0 — 24 1
2005–06[26] Scottish Premier League 27 2 1 0 2 0 — 30 2
2006–07[27] Scottish Premier League 33 1 1 0 5 1 — 39 2
Total 107 4 5 0 8 1 0 0 120 5
Doncaster Rovers 2007–08[28] League One 11 1 2 0 2 0 2[b] 0 17 1
2008–09[29] Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
Total 12 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 18 1
Swindon Town (loan) 2008–09[29] League One 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 1
Swindon Town 2009–10[30] League One 46 1 3 1 2 0 2[b] 0 53 2
Brighton & Hove Albion 2010–11[31] League One 32 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 36 0
2011–12[32] Championship 42 1 2 0 3 0 — 47 1
2012–13[33] Championship 38 1 2 0 1 0 2[c] 0 43 1
2013–14[34] Championship 40 1 1 0 1 0 2[c] 0 44 1
2014–15[35] Championship 37 2 2 0 1 0 — 40 2
2015–16[36] Championship 20 0 0 0 1 0 2[c] 0 23 0
Total 209 5 11 0 7 0 6 0 233 5
Blackburn Rovers 2016–17[37] Championship 21 0 3 0 1 0 — 25 0
Kilmarnock 2017–18[38] Scottish Premiership 20 1 0 0 1 0 — 21 1
2018–19[39] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
Total 20 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 21 1
Career total 469 14 25 1 23 1 11 0 528 16
  1. ^ Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[20]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2013 2 0
2014 3 0
2015 4 0
2016 2 0
Total 11 0

Honours

Brighton & Hove Albion

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gordon Greer". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 411. ISBN 978-1-4722-3397-4.
  3. ^ "Wycombe 1–4 Stockport". BBC Sport. 5 April 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  4. ^ "Scotland Future 2–0 Poland Future". BBC Sport. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Rep of Ireland B 0–0 Scotland B". BBC Sport. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Greer completes Doncaster switch". BBC Sport. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Doncaster 1–2 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  8. ^ "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR". Swindon Town F.C. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  9. ^ "GREER SIGNS UP". Swindon Town F.C. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009.
  10. ^ "O'Driscoll wields the axe". Sky Sports. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  11. ^ "SWINDON TOWN: Greer is leader of the pack". Swindon Advertiser. 2 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  12. ^ "Poyet – Greer not for sale". Sky Sports. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Gordon Greer: Blackburn Rovers bring in former Brighton defender". BBC Sport. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Kilmarnock: Scotland defender Gordon Greer becomes club's 10th signing". BBC Sport. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Gordon Greer: Kilmarnock defender leaves club 'by mutual consent'". BBC Sport. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Gordon Greer was a great leader and the best captain Brighton & Hove Albion has ever had - Scott McCarthy". Brighton & Hove Independent. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Greer receives Scotland call". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  18. ^ a b Berry, Gavin. "Gordon Greer took daunting challenge in his stride as he battled Poles in Warsaw". Daily Record.
  19. ^ a b "Scotland: Brighton captain Gordon Greer 'honoured' by first start". BBC Sport.
  20. ^ a b Gordon Greer at the Scottish Football Association
  21. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  27. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  32. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  34. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  35. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  36. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  37. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  38. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  39. ^ "Games played by Gordon Greer in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  40. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2011). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2011–2012. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 39, 104–105. ISBN 978-0-7553-6231-8.
  41. ^ "Spurs' Gareth Bale wins PFA player of the year award". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2018.