Gary Caldwell

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 (age 42)[2]
Place of birth Stirling, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre back[3]
Team information
Current team
 Exeter City (manager)
Youth career
1995–1996 Celtic Boys Club
1996–1997 Hutchison Vale[5][6]
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)
International career
2001–2003 Scotland U21[4] 19 (2)
2002–2013 Scotland 55 (2)
2002–2003 Scotland B[7] 4 (0)
Managerial career
2015–2016 Wigan Athletic
2017 Chesterfield
2018–2019 Partick Thistle
2022– Exeter City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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, Partick Thistle and Exeter City.

Club career

[edit]

Newcastle United

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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] He played alongside his brother Steven in five matches; they were the first siblings to play together for the national team since the 1940s.[31]

Coaching and managerial career

[edit]

Wigan Athletic

[edit]

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.[32]

Caldwell was unable to halt the club's relegation to League One but was assured by club chairman David Sharpe that he would remain in charge.[33] The following season Caldwell guided Wigan to the League One title and promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.[34] Along with club success Caldwell was also recognised with the manager of the month award for February[35] and the LMA League One Manager of the Year award.[36] 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.[37]

Chesterfield

[edit]

In 2017, he was appointed manager of League One club Chesterfield on a one-year rolling contract, following the dismissal of Danny Wilson.[38] 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.[39]

Partick Thistle

[edit]

Caldwell was appointed manager of Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle in October 2018.[40] 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.[41]

In 2021 Caldwell was named interim manager of Newcastle United's U23s team.[42] Later that year he joined Manchester City in a role overseeing their players loaned to other clubs.[43] Caldwell re-joined Hibernian as their assistant manager in December 2021, working alongside Shaun Maloney.[44] They were sacked in April 2022, following a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hearts.[45]

Exeter City

[edit]

On 24 October 2022, Caldwell was appointed manager of League One club Exeter City.[46] Exeter finished the 2022–23 season in 14th place in League One.[47]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newcastle United 2001–02[48] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002–03[49] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003–04[50] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Darlington (loan) 2001–02[48] Third Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Hibernian (loan) 2001–02[9] Scottish Premier League 11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 0
Coventry City (loan) 2002–03[49] First Division 36 0 2 0 3 0 — 41 0
Derby County (loan) 2003–04[50] First Division 9 0 0 0 1 0 — 10 0
Hibernian 2003–04[9] Scottish Premier League 17 1 0 0 2 0 — 19 1
2004–05[9] Scottish Premier League 37 3 4 1 3 0 2[c] 0 46 4
2005–06[9] Scottish Premier League 34 1 4 1 1 0 2[d] 0 41 2
Total 88 5 8 2 6 0 4 0 106 7
Celtic 2006–07[12] Scottish Premier League 21 0 2 0 1 0 4[e] 0 28 0
2007–08[12] Scottish Premier League 35 1 4 1 2 0 10[e] 0 51 2
2008–09[12] Scottish Premier League 36 2 2 1 3 0 6[e] 0 47 3
2009–10[12] Scottish Premier League 14 1 0 0 2 0 9[f] 0 25 1
Total 106 4 8 2 8 0 29 0 151 6
Wigan Athletic 2010–11[51] Premier League 16 2 1 0 0 0 — 17 2
2010–11[52] Premier League 23 0 2 0 1 0 — 26 0
2011–12[53] Premier League 36 3 1 0 0 0 — 37 3
2012–13[54] Premier League 25 1 0 0 1 0 — 26 1
2013–14[55] Championship 2 0 1 0 0 0 2[g] 0 5 0
2014–15[56] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 102 6 5 0 2 0 2 0 111 6
Career total 356 15 23 4 21 0 35 0 435 19
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup, Football League Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  5. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five in UEFA Europa League
  7. ^ Appearances in EFL Championship play-offs

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland[57] 2002 4 0
2003 —
2004 9 1
2005 4 0
2006 6 1
2007 2 0
2008 6 0
2009 5 0
2010 2 0
2011 8 0
2012 7 0
2013 2 0
Total 55 2
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caldwell goal.
List of international goals scored by Gary Caldwell[58]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 May 2004 Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland  Trinidad and Tobago 3–0 4–1 Friendly
2 7 October 2006 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  France 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Managerial record

[edit]
As of match played 23 November 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L Win %
Wigan Athletic 7 April 2015 25 October 2016 71 29 22 20 040.8 [37][59]
Chesterfield 17 January 2017 16 September 2017 29 3 8 18 010.3 [59]
Partick Thistle 15 October 2018 18 September 2019 42 16 11 15 038.1 [59]
Exeter City 24 October 2022 present 107 41 22 44 038.3 [59]
Total 249 89 63 97 035.7

Honours

[edit]

Player

[edit]

Celtic

Wigan Athletic

Scotland U16s

Individual

Manager

[edit]

Wigan Athletic

Individual

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b "Gary Caldwell: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Gary Caldwell". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Scotland U21 player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Smith reveals ethos behind Hutchie success". The Scotsman. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Ex Hutchison Vale Players Now Senior Clubs". Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C. 6 August 2018. 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. ^ a b c d e "Hibernian player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Bobby Sinnet and Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d "Caldwell stays on at Hibs". BBC Sport. 20 July 2004.
  11. ^ a b c Caldwell agrees Celtic summer switch, RTÉ, 20 January 2006.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Celtic player Gary Caldwell". FitbaStats. Bobby Sinnet and Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  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.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ a b c d "In from the cold, Caldwell wins player of the year". Scotland on Sunday. 10 May 2009.
  16. ^ a b "Caldwell apologises to Fernandez". BBC Sport. 30 October 2006.
  17. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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". 12 May 2014.
  26. ^ a b "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic and Scotland defender extends deal". BBC Sport.
  27. ^ a b "Former Scotland captain Gary Caldwell forced to quit". Daily Express. 28 February 2015.
  28. ^ a b "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. ^ "'Hard to beat' - Last brothers to represent Scotland send message to John and Paul McGinn". The Scotsman. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Wigan Athletic: Gary Caldwell named new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Sharpe has belief in Caldwell". Press Association. 8 April 2015.
  34. ^ a b "WIGAN ATHLETIC ARE SKY BET LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONS". Wigan Athletic. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Gary Caldwell named Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month". Football League. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  36. ^ "CLAUDIO RANIERI WINS LMA MANAGER OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BARCLAYS". League Managers Association. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  37. ^ a b "Gary Caldwell: Wigan Athletic manager sacked after 18 months in charge". BBC Sport. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  38. ^ "Gary Caldwell: Chesterfield appoint former Wigan Athletic manager as new boss". BBC Sport. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  39. ^ BBC Sport
  40. ^ "Gary Caldwell: Partick Thistle appoint former Wigan manager as new boss". BBC Sport. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  41. ^ "Gary Caldwell sacked as Partick Thistle boss". BBC Sport. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  42. ^ Banks, Ben (17 August 2021). "Former Partick Thistle manager Gary Caldwell named interim Newcastle United U23s manager". Not the Old Firm. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Celtic hero Gary Caldwell 'set to join' Manchester City staff". Glasgow Times. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  44. ^ "Shaun Maloney appointed Hibernian manager with Gary Caldwell assistant". BBC Sport. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  45. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (19 April 2022). "Hibernian: Shaun Maloney sacked as manager after four months". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  46. ^ "📝 Welcome, Gary Caldwell!". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  47. ^ Daniel Clark (15 May 2023). "Exeter City players in the 2022/23 season - how many can you remember?". Devon Live. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  48. ^ a b "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  49. ^ a b "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  50. ^ a b "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  51. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  52. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  53. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  54. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  55. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  56. ^ "Games played by Gary Caldwell in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  57. ^ "Gary Caldwell". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  58. ^ "Scottish Football Association". scottishfa.co.uk.
  59. ^ a b c d "Managers: Gary Caldwell". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  60. ^ "Celtic 1-0 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  61. ^ "Celtic 2–0 Rangers". BBC. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  62. ^ "Gary Caldwell: 'FA Cup win can spark great escape'". Sports Mole. May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  63. ^ "INCH BY INCH IN EVERY MINUTE OF SKY SPORTS VICTORY SHIELD FOR YOUNG CELT HIGGINS". SPFL. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  64. ^ "Caldwell named player of season". 11 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  65. ^ "EFL Official Website Gary Caldwell named Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month". Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  66. ^ "League Managers Association – CLAUDIO RANIERI WINS LMA MANAGER OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY BARCLAYS". Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
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