Gordon Greer

Gordon Greer
Personal information
Full name Gordon Greer
Date of birth (1980-12-14) 14 December 1980
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current team
Blackburn Rovers
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Clyde 30 (0)
2001–2003 Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
2003Stockport County (loan) 5 (1)
2003–2007 Kilmarnock 107 (4)
2007–2009 Doncaster Rovers 12 (1)
2009Swindon Town (loan) 19 (2)
2009–2010 Swindon Town 46 (1)
2010–2016 Brighton & Hove Albion 209 (5)
2016– Blackburn Rovers 14 (0)
National team
2005-2006 Scotland B 2 (0)
2013– Scotland 11 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:35, 6 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:53, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Gordon Greer (born 14 December 1980 in Glasgow) is a professional footballer, who plays as a defender for Blackburn Rovers and Scotland.

Career

Greer began his professional career with Clyde where he played only 33 games before securing a £250,000 move to English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers. He made his Blackburn debut against European giants Barcelona and played one other match for the Lancashire club, in the Football League Cup.

Greer had a spell on loan with Stockport County, scoring once against Wycombe Wanderers,[1] before returning to Scotland to play for Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock. He has also received international recognition, having been capped for Scotland B against Poland B in December 2005,[2] and against Republic of Ireland B in November 2006.[3]

In July 2007, Greer signed for Doncaster Rovers after he rejected a new contract offer from Kilmarnock.[4] His first season at Doncaster was blighted by several injuries and Greer was restricted to only six appearances in 2007/08, though he did manage to score his first goal for the club against Bournemouth.[5] During the 2008/2009 season he joined League One side Swindon Town on an initial one-month loan[6] which was later extended for a further two months[7] thanks to a financial contribution from TrustSTFC's Red Army Fund. On his return to Doncaster, he was released from his contract on 7 May 2009[8] after only 12 appearances in two years.

Following his release from Doncaster, Greer soon agreed a two-year contract with Swindon Town on a free transfer in July 2009 having impressed whilst on loan at the club. Soon after officially joining, he was announced as team captain for the 2009/10 season.[9] On 17 May 2010 he got a straight sending off for a high tackle in the play-off 2nd leg against Charlton Athletic, which eventually Swindon went on to win on penalties. His sending off meant he was suspended from the play-off final against Millwall on 29 May.

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 Albion. On 4 August 2010 it was also revealed that Brighton manager Gus Poyet had given Greer the captain's armband for the 2010/11 season.

Greer made his Brighton debut in the second game of the season on 14 August 2010 against 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 which Greer's red card caused. Greer helped guide Brighton to winning the League One title and promotion to the Championship in the 2010–11 season, and stayed as captain for the 2011–12 season. Greer scored his first Brighton goal in a 2–0 win over Barnsley in October 2011. In January 2012 he received another straight red card for violent conduct, in Brighton's 3–0 win over Southampton (his sending off came only three minutes before the end of the match). At the end of the season, Greer was subject to a bid from Barnsley, which was rejected and Gus Poyet later stated that he wasn't up for sale.[10]

Greer was released by Brighton at the end of the 2015/16 season. He then signed a one-year contract with Blackburn Rovers.[11] Greer made his league debut for Blackburn on 6th August 2016 against Norwich City at Ewood Park

International career

On 21 May 2013, Greer was called up to the Scotland team for the first time for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Croatia. He received a second call up on the 23 August 2013.[12] 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.[13][14] He made a first competitive appearance in October 2014, partnering Russell Martin in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Poland.[13][14]

Honours

Club

Brighton & Hove Albion

Individual

References

  1. "Wycombe 1–4 Stockport". BBC. 5 April 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  2. "Scotland Future 2–0 Poland Future". BBC Sport website. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  3. "Rep of Ireland B 0–0 Scotland B". BBC Sport website. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  4. "Greer completes Doncaster switch". BBC Sport website. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  5. "Doncaster 1–2 Bournemouth". BBC. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  6. "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR". Official website. 26 January 2009.
  7. "GREER SIGNS UP". Official website. 23 February 2009.
  8. "O'Driscoll wields the axe". Sky Sports. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  9. "SWINDON TOWN: Greer is leader of the pack". Swindon Advertiser. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  10. "Poyet – Greer not for sale". Sky Sports. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  11. "Gordon Greer: Blackburn Rovers bring in former Brighton defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  12. "Greer receives Scotland call". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  13. 1 2 Gavin Berry: Gordon Greer took daunting challenge in his stride as he battled Poles in Warsaw, Daily Record
  14. 1 2 Scotland: Brighton captain Gordon Greer 'honoured' by first start, BBC Sport
  15. "PFA Divisional Awards: Npower League One". Professional Footballers Association. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
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