Gary Caldwell

Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Athletic and won 55 international caps for Scotland.

Gary Caldwell
Caldwell lining up for Celtic in 2009
Personal information
Full name Gary Caldwell[1]
Date of birth (1982-04-12) 12 April 1982[2]
Place of birth Stirling, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre back[3]
Youth career
1995–1996 Celtic Boys Club
1996–1997 Hutchison Vale[4][5]
1997–2001 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 Newcastle United 0 (0)
2001 → Darlington (loan) 4 (0)
2002 → Hibernian (loan) 11 (0)
2002–2003 → Coventry City (loan) 36 (0)
2003 → Derby County (loan) 9 (0)
2004–2006 Hibernian 88 (5)
2006–2010 Celtic 106 (5)
2010–2015 Wigan Athletic 102 (6)
Total 356 (16)
National team
2001–2003 Scotland U21[6] 19 (2)
2002–2013 Scotland 55 (2)
2002–2003 Scotland B[7] 4 (0)
Teams managed
2015–2016 Wigan Athletic
2017 Chesterfield
2018–2019 Partick Thistle
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Primarily considered a centre back, Caldwell was a versatile player; he was also deployed as a right back and defensive midfielder at various spells in his career. His elder brother, Steven, was also a footballer and they were at Wigan concurrently.[8] As an international, he earned a place in the Scottish FA International Roll of Honour after gaining over 50 caps.

After retirement he went into coaching, and has managed Wigan Athletic, Chesterfield, and Partick Thistle.

Club career

Newcastle United

Caldwell started his career with Celtic Boys Club. At 16 he went to England, alongside his elder brother Steven at Newcastle United. Breaking through from the reserves proved difficult, however, and in search of first team football, he went on loan to other clubs on several occasions: Darlington and Hibernian in 2001–02,[9] then Coventry and Derby County the following season.

Hibernian

During the 2003–04 season, Caldwell was given a free transfer by Newcastle.[10] He signed a short-term contract with Hibs for the second half of the season,[10] and during this period he played in their defeat by Livingston in the 2004 League Cup Final. After going on trial with Vitesse Arnhem in the summer of 2004,[10] he signed a two-year contract with Hibs.[10] During the 2005–06 season, rumours circulated that he had signed a pre-contract agreement to join Celtic in the summer of 2006.[11] This prompted Hibs fans to jeer Caldwell when he made a mistake in a game against Aberdeen.[11] After this, the deal was confirmed by Gordon Strachan.[11]

Celtic

During four years at Celtic, Caldwell helped the club win two league championships, the 2006–07 Scottish Cup and the 2008–09 Scottish League Cup,[12] although he was subject to criticism from Celtic fans.[13][14] Caldwell himself later said that this was due to injuries in his first season, and then having to play out of position at right back during the early part of the 2007–08 season (before Andreas Hinkel was signed).[15] He was also criticised during the 2006–07 season for a bad tackle on Kilmarnock player David Fernández, which damaged the Spaniard's cruciate ligament.[16] Caldwell apologised to Fernandez after the game, protesting that he had never intentionally hurt an opponent.[16]

Caldwell subsequently gained recognition and respect from the fans, becoming something of a cult hero, as shown by the chants of "heid" when he was in possession of the football.[15] After being named as the Writers' Player of the Year for the 2008–09 season, Caldwell stated his belief that this was due to him having a long run in his preferred position, and improved concentration and decision making on his part.[15]

During the 2009–10 season, however, Caldwell had a contract dispute with the club, claiming that the club were "kidding themselves" if they thought he would accept their offer.[17] New manager Tony Mowbray, who had also worked with Caldwell at Hibernian, responded by stating that he would not ask the board to increase the offer.[17] Subsequent to this, Middlesbrough had a joint offer for Caldwell and Barry Robson accepted by Celtic.[18]

Wigan Athletic

Caldwell eventually signed for Wigan Athletic on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 13 January 2010.[19] He made his Wigan debut in a 2–0 win against Wolves on 16 January 2010, and scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 27 January.[20] Caldwell was sent off twice in Premier League defeats against Manchester City on 29 March (3–0) and Chelsea on the final day of the 2009–10 season (8–0).

Caldwell was appointed captain of Wigan Athletic early in the 2010–11 season, following the departure of previous captain Mario Melchiot in the summer.[21] In the 2011–12 season, Caldwell was a key player in the club's battle against relegation from the Premier League, and received the club's Player of the Year award at the end of the season.[22] In May 2013 he jointly lifted the FA Cup with playing captain Emerson Boyce after Wigan defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the final.[23] Caldwell returned from injury as a substitute in the 2013–14 FA Cup semi final against Arsenal. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, but Caldwell missed the first attempt in the penalty shootout, which Wigan lost.[24] In the 2013–14 Football League Championship playoff semi final second leg against QPR, Caldwell conceded a penalty kick during a 2–1 defeat that ended Wigan's hopes of promotion.[25]

Caldwell signed a one-year contract with Wigan in July 2014.[26] As part of the new agreement he was also given some coaching responsibilities.[26] He announced his retirement from playing on 28 February 2015 after being unable to recover from a long term hip injury.[27]

International career

Caldwell made his full international debut for Scotland in the first match managed by Berti Vogts, a 5–0 defeat to France at the Stade de France.[28] He scored the only goal of the game as Scotland defeated France 1–0 at Hampden Park, on 7 October 2006 in a Euro 2008 qualifying match.[29] He was sent off, however, in a key 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Norway.[30]

Coaching and managerial career

After retiring as a player in February 2015, Caldwell formally joined the coaching staff at the Wigan Athletic academy.[27] He was appointed the new manager of Wigan Athletic on 7 April 2015 after the dismissal of Malky Mackay with the club 23rd in the Championship with five games remaining.[31]

Unable to halt the club's relegation to League One but was assured by club chairman David Sharpe that he would remain in charge.[32] The following season Caldwell guided Wigan to the League One title and promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.[33] Along with club success Caldwell was also recognised with the manager of the month award for February[34] and the LMA League One Manager of the Year award.[35] On 25 October 2016, after 18 months in charge, Caldwell was dismissed by Wigan, with the club in 23rd position and winless in four games.[36]

On 17 January 2017, he was appointed manager of League One club Chesterfield on a one-year rolling contract, following the dismissal of Danny Wilson.[37] He was unable to prevent the club being relegated, and was sacked on 16 September after a bad start to the 2017–18 EFL League Two season.[38]

Caldwell was appointed manager of Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle in October 2018.[39] Thistle avoided relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season, but Caldwell was sacked in September 2019 as the club sat second-bottom of the 2019–20 Scottish Championship table.[40]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[41][42]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001–02Darlington (Loan)Division 3400000-40
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001–02Hibernian (Loan)[9]Scottish Premier League1100010-120
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2002–03Coventry City (Loan)Division 13602030-410
2003–04Derby County (Loan)Division 1900010-100
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2003–04Hibernian[9]Scottish Premier League1710020-191
2004–05373413010454
2005–06341411020412
Hibernian Total 8858260301057
2006–07Celtic[12]Scottish Premier League210201040280
2007–083514120100512
2008–09363213060474
2009–10141002080241
Celtic Total 106582802801507
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2009–10Wigan AthleticPremier League1621000-172
2010–112302010-260
2011–123631000-373
2012–132510010-261
2013–14Championship201000-30
2014–15000000-00
Wigan Athletic Total 10265020001096
Career total 3551623421031043020

International appearances
Scotland national team[43]
YearAppsGoals
200240
2003—
200491
200540
200661
200720
200860
200950
201020
201180
201270
201320
Total552

International goals
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.[44]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 May 2004Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland Trinidad and Tobago3–04–1Friendly
27 October 2006Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland France1–01–0UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Managerial statistics
As of match played 13 September 2019
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
PWDLWin %
Wigan Athletic 7 April 2015 25 October 2016 71 29 22 20 040.8 [36][45]
Chesterfield 17 January 2017 16 September 2017 29 3 8 18 010.3 [45]
Partick Thistle 15 October 2018 18 September 2019 42 16 11 15 038.1 [45]
Total 142 48 41 53 033.8

Honours

Player

Celtic

Wigan Athletic

Individual

Manager

Wigan Athletic

Individual

See also

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2014 and 31/07/2014". The Football Association. p. 5. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.
  2. "Gary Caldwell: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  3. "Gary Caldwell". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. "Smith reveals ethos behind Hutchie success". The Scotsman. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  5. "Ex Hutchison Vale Players Now Senior Clubs". Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. "Scotland U21 player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. "Scotland B player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  8. "Steven Caldwell joins brother Gary at Wigan". BBC Sport. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  9. "Hibernian player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  10. "Caldwell stays on at Hibs". BBC Sport. 20 July 2004.
  11. Caldwell agrees Celtic summer switch, RTÉ, 20 January 2006.
  12. "Hibernian player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  13. CALDWELL PRAISES STRACHAN SUPPORT Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Football 365, 29 May 2008
  14. Gordon, Phil (29 May 2008). "Gary Caldwell hits back at critics by pointing to defensive record". The Times.
  15. "In from the cold, Caldwell wins player of the year". Scotland on Sunday. 10 May 2009.
  16. "Caldwell apologises to Fernandez". BBC Sport. 30 October 2006.
  17. "Gary Caldwell handed contract ultimatum by Celtic manager Tony Mowbray". The Guardian. 18 September 2009.
  18. "Middlesbrough sign Celtic's Robson, Flood and Killen". BBC Sport. 8 January 2010.
  19. McLaughlin, Chris (13 January 2010). "Caldwell joins Wigan from Celtic'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  20. "Blackburn 2 – 1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  21. Burton, Chris (18 August 2010). "Caldwell named Latics captain". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  22. "Caldwell scoops Player of Year award". Wigan Today. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  23. "Scotland defender Gary Caldwell laughs as he leads Wigan up to lift trophy.. without having played a minute". Daily Record. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  24. "FA Cup: Arsenal overcome Wigan on penalties to reach final after 1-1 draw at Wembley".
  25. "Queens Park Rangers 2 Wigan Athletic 1; agg 2-1: match report".
  26. "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic and Scotland defender extends deal". BBC Sport.
  27. "Former Scotland captain Gary Caldwell forced to quit". Daily Express. 28 February 2015.
  28. "Scotland: Gary Caldwell eyes pain-free 50th cap". BBC Sport. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  29. "Scotland 1–0 France". BBC Sport. 7 October 2006.
  30. "Norway 4 – 0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  31. "Wigan Athletic: Gary Caldwell named new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  32. "Sharpe has belief in Caldwell". Press Association.
  33. "WIGAN ATHLETIC ARE SKY BET LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONS". Wigan Athletic. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  34. "Gary Caldwell named Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month". Football League. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  35. "CLAUDIO RANIERI WINS LMA MANAGER OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BARCLAYS". League Managers Association. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  36. "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic manager sacked after 18 months in charge". BBC Sport. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  37. "Gary Caldwell: Chesterfield appoint former Wigan Athletic manager as new boss". BBC Sport. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  38. BBC Sport
  39. "Gary Caldwell: Partick Thistle appoint former Wigan manager as new boss". BBC Sport. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  40. "Gary Caldwell sacked as Partick Thistle boss". BBC Sport. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  41. "Gary Caldwell Career Stats". Soccerbase. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  42. "Gary Caldwell Career Stats". Premier League. 13 February 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  43. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Gary Caldwell". www.national-football-teams.com.
  44. "Scottish Football Association". www.scottishfa.co.uk.
  45. "Managers: Gary Caldwell". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  46. "Celtic 1-0 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  47. "Celtic 2–0 Rangers". BBC. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  48. "Gary Caldwell: 'FA Cup win can spark great escape'". Sports Mole. May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  49. "Caldwell named player of season". 11 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  50. "EFL Official Website Gary Caldwell named Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month". Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  51. "League Managers Association – CLAUDIO RANIERI WINS LMA MANAGER OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BARCLAYS".
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