Gareth McAuley

Gareth Gerald McAuley  ( ;  born 5 December 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Northern Ireland at senior international level, being capped on 80 occasions and scoring nine times.

McAuley began his career playing in Northern Irish football with Linfield, Ballyclare Comrades, Crusaders and Coleraine before joining English side Lincoln City in the summer of 2004. He impressed enough at Sincil Bank to earn a move to Championship side Leicester City. He moved on to Ipswich Town in June 2008 following Leicester's relegation and then on to Premier League side West Bromwich Albion in July 2011. McAuley won West Brom's player of the year award for the 2012–13 season.

Club career

Early career
McAuley was born in Larne, County Antrim. He began his career at Linfield and spent some time in early 2000 on loan at Ballyclare Comrades. After four years at Linfield, he moved to Crusaders in the summer of 2000. After two successful seasons, he moved to Coleraine.

Lincoln City
In the summer of 2004, McAuley decided the time had come to look for a move into full-time football in the Football League. After attracting interest from Lincoln City and Stockport County he linked up with Edgeley Park based club for a two-week trial under the eye of the former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy who had given McAuley his first Northern Ireland B call-up. After impressing in his trial, McAuley seemed set to sign for Stockport but talks broke down and he instead joined Lincoln City on a two-year deal with Coleraine receiving £10,000 for his services. With Lincoln already boasting one of the strongest defences in League Two at the time of McAuley's arrival, he did not walk straight into the first team. His first few appearances for the club were all as a substitute, and often in the role of a target man striker.

However, when Dean West was dropped from the squad and club captain Paul Morgan sidelined with an injury, McAuley moved into central defence to partner Ben Futcher. He immediately drew the plaudits for his excellent performances, which included a man of the match display against Derby County. He thereafter battled for a starting centre back role with fellow giant Jamie McCombe for much of the season.

However, in March 2005, McAuley earned a starting role as the right full-back, replacing the perpetually out of form fan favourite Matt Bloomer. He continued to play in this position for the rest of the season, helping Lincoln to the play-off final, not just with his exceptional defensive performances, but with 5 goals, including both in a 2–1 aggregate victory over Macclesfield in the play-off semi-final.

The 2005–06 season, however, saw him cement a spot in the centre of the Imps defence. With Ben Futcher leaving on a free transfer to join rivals Boston United, McAuley took his place. He enjoyed a fantastic season, which culminated ultimately in play-off defeat for Lincoln again, but saw him named in the League Two Team of the Year, and also caught the attention of a number of bigger clubs.

The lure of playing at a higher level saw McAuley reject Lincoln City's offer of a new contract in the summer of 2006, and he moved on a free transfer to Leicester City.

Leicester City
McAuley signed for Leicester City on 5 June 2006, after reaching the end of his contract at Lincoln, signing a three-year deal. He scored his first senior goal for Leicester on 17 January in a 4–3 defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup, and was also on the scoresheet against Ipswich Town on 10 February, heading in both as Leicester won 2–0.

In the 2007–08 season, McAuley was appointed captain in a 0–0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 October 2007, following Stephen Clemence's injury. He scored his fourth goal on 5 October against Sheffield Wednesday, helping Leicester earn their second only league win of the season, and was then named in the Championship Team of the Week three days later. McAuley is one of three players (DJ Campbell & Carl Cort) who netted in three goals against Chelsea in a League Cup match on 31 October at Stamford Bridge, but could not prevent his side from losing 4–3.

In January 2008, Ipswich Town manager Jim Magilton made two bids to sign McAuley, but both of these were turned down. Despite signing a new three-and-a-half-year deal on 8 February, McAuley decided to leave Leicester following their relegation three months later.

Ipswich Town
McAuley signed for Ipswich Town on 18 June 2008 and was named captain for the 2008/09 season, following the departure of club captain Richard Naylor in February 2009. The defender got off to a somewhat shaky start, but after settling into the squad, established himself as a commanding leader and consistent defender. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 season, starting in a 1–2 loss to Preston North End. He made 39 appearances in all competitions during his first season at the club. McAuley further enhanced his international credentials whilst with the Suffolk team.

He continued to be a regular starter in the team during the 2009–10 season. He scored his first goal for the club on 29 September 2009, in a 3–3 away draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. McAuley scored 5 goals in 43 games over the course of the season.

On 6 November 2010, McAuley played his 100th game for Ipswich Town, in which he scored the winner in a 2–1 win against Sheffield United. He made 127 appearances during his time at Portman Road, scoring 8 goals, while also captaining the club during the 2008–09 season.

West Bromwich Albion

On 23 May 2011, West Bromwich Albion officially announced McAuley would be signing a three-year contract (pending a medical) beginning 1 July; he scored his first goal for the team in a 3–2 win away at Newcastle in December 2011. McAuley scored his second West Bromwich Albion goal, helping them beat Chelsea after 33 years without a point against the Blues. He scored in the 82nd minute of the game which finished 1–0.

The 2012–2013 season saw McAuley consolidate his place in the starting XI alongside Jonas Olsson, with the pair forming a solid partnership at the heart of the Albion defence. McAuley went on to make 36 league appearances scoring 3 goals, including a powerful header in West Brom's famous 2-0 win against Liverpool F.C. at Anfield in February, helping Albion complete their first league double over Liverpool since 1967.

On 28 April 2013, McAuley was voted Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year after an impressive 2012–2013 season.

On 21 March 2015, McAuley was sent off in the second minute against Manchester City by referee Neil Swarbrick in a Premier League match, due to mistaken identity with Craig Dawson.

The 2016–2017 season was the most prolific goal scoring campaign of McAuley's career, scoring 6 goals in 36 Premier League appearances. These goals included a 94th minute equaliser away at West Ham United in February and the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at home to AFC Bournemouth in the following game. 

On 20 June 2018, it was announced that McAuley would leave West Brom upon the expiration of his contract. After making over 200 top flight appearances for the club, McAuley is held in high regard by West Brom fans and is widely considered to be one of their best defenders of the modern era.

Rangers
McAuley signed for Rangers on 3 September 2018, on a deal until the end of the 2018–19 season. He made his debut as an injury-time substitute on 8 November in a 4–3 defeat away to Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.

Retirement
McAuley announced his retirement as a player on 30 September 2019, aged 39.

International career
In May 2003, McAuley received his first senior international call when he was one of five Irish League players named in the squad for the Northern Ireland B team fixture with Scotland B on 20 May 2003. Selected in the starting eleven, the team fell to a 2–1 defeat in front of just 1,502 spectators at Firhill Stadium.

He received his first cap against Germany as his team lost 4–1 in a friendly match on 4 June 2005.

McAuley contemplated international retirement after being left out of the squad to face Sweden on 17 October 2007. But on 9 October, Nigel Worthington recalled him to the squad. McAuley made his comeback against Sweden on 17 October, drawing 1–1. He was also part of the squad that defeated Denmark 2–1 in a memorable victory on 17 November, keeping the national team's hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2008. Their hopes were dashed when they lost 1–0 to Spain in Las Palmas on 21 November, finishing third in Group F with twenty points. McAuley scored his first international goal against San Marino on 11 February 2009.

McAuley was called up to the Northern Ireland squad for the European qualification games against Serbia and Slovenia in March 2011. He scored his second international goal against Serbia, but could not prevent his side losing 2–1. For the second game, against Slovenia, McAuley was named captain for the first time. He led his side to a 0–0 draw, putting in a man of the match display himself at the same time.

On 4 September, McAuley scored twice for Northern Ireland in a 3–1 win against the Faroe Islands. The result put Northern Ireland at the top of Group F and on the brink of qualifying for their first European Championship.

McAuley scored the first Northern Ireland goal in a tournament for 30 years, since Colin Clarke at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, against Ukraine in Euro 2016. In addition to this making him the second-oldest scorer at the Euros, it also saw the team win for the first time at the European finals. Having made it out of the group stage, McAuley scored an own goal during the Euro 2016 round of 16 match against Wales, that resulted in Northern Ireland being eliminated from the tournament.

At 36 years and 341 days, Gareth McAuley became the oldest scorer in European 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification games when he scored the second goal in Northern Ireland's 4–0 win over Azerbaijan on 11 November 2016.

Personal life
McAuley was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to football in Northern Ireland.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McAuley goal.

Honours
Coleraine
 Irish Cup: 2002–03

Individual
 PFA Team of the Year: 2005–06 League Two
 Ipswich Town Player of the Year: 2009–10
 West Bromwich Albion Player of the Year: 2012–13
 West Bromwich Albion Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

Orders
 Member of the Order of the British Empire: 2019

References

External links

1979 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Larne
Association footballers from County Antrim
Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland men's B international footballers
Northern Ireland men's international footballers
Men's association football defenders
Linfield F.C. players
Ballyclare Comrades F.C. players
Crusaders F.C. players
Coleraine F.C. players
Lincoln City F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Rangers F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
Scottish Professional Football League players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
Members of the Order of the British Empire