Matt Gilks

Matt Gilks

Gilks training with Blackpool in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Gilks [1]
Date of birth	(1982-06-04) 4 June 1982 (age 41) [2]
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Bolton Wanderers (goalkeeping coach)
Youth career
1995–2000	Rochdale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2007	Rochdale	176	(0)
2007–2008	Norwich City	0	(0)
2008–2014	Blackpool	182	(0)
2008	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	4	(0)
2014–2016	Burnley	0	(0)
2016–2017	Rangers	0	(0)
2017	Wigan Athletic	14	(0)
2017–2019	Scunthorpe United	42	(0)
2019	Lincoln City	12	(0)
2019–2020	Fleetwood Town	5	(0)
2020–2022	Bolton Wanderers	36	(0)
Total		471	(0)
International career
2012–2013	Scotland	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Matthew Gilks (born 4 June 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach for Bolton Wanderers, the last team he played for.

He played for Blackpool, Burnley, Norwich City, Rochdale, Rangers, Wigan Athletic, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United, Lincoln City, Fleetwood Town, and Bolton Wanderers.

Born in England, he qualified to represent Scotland. He was first selected for the Scotland national team in August 2010 and made his international debut in August 2012. ^[4]

Club career

Rochdale

Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where he started out with Heyside Juniors, ^[5] Gilks joined Rochdale at the age of 13. He was promoted from their youth team in 2001. After being coached by Fred Barber, ^[6] he eventually replaced Neil Edwards in the first team, becoming a regular starter. He made a total of 198 appearances for the club in league and cup competitions, and by the time he was 24, he was the longest-serving player at Rochdale. ^[7] Being an Oldham Athletic fan growing up, and living about a mile from Boundary Park, he states Andy Rhodes and Jon Hallworth as his heroes. ^[6]

Norwich City

On 1 July 2007, Gilks signed a two-year contract with Championship club Norwich City, moving on a free transfer due to his contract with Rochdale having expired. ^[7] He was though, unable to break into the Canaries first team, spending most of the 2007–08 season sitting on the substitutes bench, ^[8] which also included a spell out of action with ligament damage after twisting his ankle in November 2007 in training. ^[9]

Blackpool

In the summer of 2008, and without having made a first-team appearance for the Canaries, Gilks signed for fellow Championship club Blackpool as makeweight in a part-exchange deal which saw Wes Hoolahan go in the opposite direction. He made his debut on 12 August 2008 in a 2–0 League Cup defeat by Macclesfield Town. ^[10]

After failing to break into the first team, and considering quitting the game due to lack of opportunities and a self-perceived lack of ability during a training session, ^[6] he signed for League Two club Shrewsbury Town on a month's loan on 21 November to cover an injury crisis at the club. ^{[8] [11] [12]} He made his debut the following day in a goalless draw with Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. ^[13] He made three further appearances for the Shrews, with his final match coming on 13 December, a 1–0 defeat by Grimsby Town at Blundell Park, ^[14] before returning to Blackpool.

While Simon Grayson was Blackpool manager, he did not usually name a substitute goalkeeper, preferring to have five outfield players on the bench. After he left the club, in late December 2008, caretaker manager Tony Parkes immediately began naming Gilks as a substitute. After a number of matches as an unused substitute, Gilks made his league debut for Blackpool on 31 January 2009, after Paul Rachubka was sent off three minutes into the Seasiders' match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Gilks was brought on and helped the Seasiders to a 1–0 win. ^[15]

On 22 September 2009, he saved a penalty kick in the Seasiders' 4–3 defeat by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in the third round of the 2009–10 Football League Cup. His first league start of the 2009–10 season came in the 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Bloomfield Road on 17 October. After three consecutive clean sheets, Gilks was named in The Championship "Team of the Week", along with teammates Stephen Crainey and Marcel Seip, following his performance in Blackpool's goalless draw with Swansea City on 24 October at the Liberty Stadium. ^{[16] [17]} On 16 February 2010, he saved a penalty kick in the 2–0 home win over Middlesbrough. ^[18] His 200th career Football League appearance came in a 1–0 home win over Ipswich Town on 6 March 2010, when he was also named Man of the Match. ^[19] In addition, he was again named in The Championship "Team of the Week", following his performance, which saw a fourth clean sheet in five games. ^{[20] [21]}

On 13 November 2010, in a goalless draw at West Ham United, Gilks suffered an injury to his knee cap that kept him out much of the remainder of the 2010–11 campaign. ^[22] After working with former Manchester United Strength and Conditioning Coach Mick Clegg, ^[6] he returned to the first team on 16 April 2011, in a home defeat by Wigan Athletic. Despite Blackpool's relegation from the Premier League in 2011, Gilks signed a new two-year contract with the club in July. ^[23] His contract with Blackpool expired at the end of the 2013–14 season. ^[24] He left the club to sign for Burnley, despite being offered a new contract with Blackpool. ^[24]

Burnley

Gilks signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Burnley in July 2014. ^{[25] [26]} He made his first appearance for Burnley in a League Cup tie; Gilks initially served as a backup to established first choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton. ^[27]

Rangers

On 24 June 2016, Gilks signed for Rangers on a two-year deal. ^[28] He made his debut for the club in a League Cup match against Annan Athletic on 19 July. ^[29] He played in all five of Rangers' League Cup ties, keeping clean sheets in the first four. ^[30] Rangers lost 1–0 to Celtic in the semi-final, but Gilks made several excellent saves and was praised by the media and teammates for his performance. ^[31]

Wigan Athletic

Gilks signed for Wigan Athletic on 31 January 2017. ^[32] On his home debut against Preston North End he saved a Jordan Hugill penalty and the resultant rebound to help his side gain a 0–0 draw. ^[33]

Scunthorpe United

Gilks signed for Scunthorpe United on 16 June 2017 on a free transfer, ^[34] becoming the club's first choice goalkeeper for the 2018–19 season.

Lincoln City

On 31 January 2019, Gilks signed for Lincoln City on a free transfer, and would go on to make 12 League appearances as the Imps won League Two. ^[35]

Fleetwood Town

On 1 August 2019 Gilks signed for Fleetwood Town. ^[36]

Bolton Wanderers

On 6 August 2020, Gilks signed for Bolton Wanderers, as a player-goalkeeping coach. ^[37] His debut came on 13 November in which he was named Man of the Match in a 2–0 win against local rivals Salford City. ^{[38] [39]} He played a total of 35 matches ^[40] as Bolton won promotion to League One ^[41] and finished second in Bolton's Player of the Season award voting. ^[42]

On 8 June 2021 he signed a new one year contract. ^[43] Gilks kept his spot as first choice goalkeeper for the first match of the 21–22 season, however after a poor performance in a 3-3 draw against MK Dons, where he was at fault for two of MK Dons's goals, he lost his place to new signing Joel Dixon. ^{[44] [45] [46]} On 10 January 2022, Gilks retired as a player to focus on being the full time goalkeeping coach. ^[47]

International career

On 22 August 2010 the Scottish FA confirmed that manager Craig Levein was considering Gilks for a call-up to the Scotland national squad for their upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Liechtenstein. Gilks qualifies to play for Scotland through his Scottish grandmother. Levein said of Gilks: "He is one we became aware of a while ago and have kept track of his progress. Obviously he was a key figure in Blackpool's promotion to the Barclays Premier League and while I will not name my squad until tomorrow, he is one I think we need to take a closer look at. He comes highly recommended, is playing regularly for his club and the next logical step is for our goalkeeping coach to work closely with him." ^[48]

Two days later he was selected in the Scotland squad, joining fellow Blackpool player Charlie Adam. ^{[49] [50]} On his call up Gilks said: "My grandmother was Scottish and they've traced the roots back and checked it. I'm eligible and it's great to be in the squad. Everybody knows that I am English but England doesn't come knocking on the door of Blackpool Football Club and I think that's a problem. They look at the bigger clubs. To be honest it was nice of Scotland to come and have a look at me and find out about me." ^[51]

In November 2010, Gilks had to withdraw from the Scotland squad through injury. ^[52] He again withdrew on 10 August 2011, hours before kick-off in a friendly against Denmark, with an ankle injury. ^[53] On 15 August 2012 he made his debut for Scotland as a first-half substitute in a friendly against Australia. ^{[4] [54]}

Coaching career

On 6 August 2020, Gilks signed for Bolton Wanderers as a player-goalkeeping coach. ^[37] On 10 January 2022, Gilks retired as a player to focus on being the full time goalkeeping coach. ^[47]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 October 2021

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
Rochdale	1999–2000 [55]	Third Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2000–01 [56]	Third Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2001–02 [57]	Third Division	19	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	22	0
	2002–03 [58]	Third Division	20	0	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	22	0
	2003–04 [59]	Third Division	12	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
	2004–05 [60]	League Two	30	0	3	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
	2005–06 [61]	League Two	46	0	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	50	0
	2006–07 [62]	League Two	46	0	2	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	51	0
	Total		176	0	10	0	4	0	7	0	197	0
Norwich City	2007–08 [63]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Blackpool	2008–09 [64]	Championship	5	0	0	0	1	0	—		6	0
	2009–10 [65]	Championship	26	0	0	0	3	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	32	0
	2010–11 [66]	Premier League	18	0	0	0	0	0	—		18	0
	2011–12 [67]	Championship	42	0	3	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	48	0
	2012–13 [68]	Championship	45	0	2	0	1	0	—		48	0
	2013–14 [69]	Championship	46	0	1	0	1	0	—		48	0
	Total		182	0	6	0	6	0	6	0	200	0
Shrewsbury Town (loan)	2008–09 [64]	League Two	4	0	—		—		0	0	4	0
Burnley	2014–15 [70]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2015–16 [71]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	2	0	—		2	0
Rangers	2016–17 [72]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	5	0	—		5	0
Wigan Athletic	2016–17 [72]	Championship	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Scunthorpe United	2017–18 [73]	League One	42	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	48	0
	2018–19 [74]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		42	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	48	0
Lincoln City	2018–19 [74]	League Two	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Fleetwood Town	2019–20 [75]	League One	5	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	6	0
Bolton Wanderers	2020–21 [40]	League Two	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	0
	2021–22 [76]	League One	1	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
	Total		36	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	39	0
Career total			471	0	19	0	20	0	17	0	527	0

Notes

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 10 September 2013 ^[77]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2012	2	0
	2013	1	0
Total		3	0

Honours

Blackpool

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2010 ^[78]

Lincoln City

• EFL League Two: 2018–19 ^[79]

Bolton Wanderers

• EFL League Two third-place (promotion): 2020–21 ^{[80] [40]}

Individual

• Blackpool Player of the Year: 2013–14 ^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• List of Scotland international footballers born outside Scotland

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Bolton Wanderers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 10. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 167. ISBN   1-85291-651-6.
3. "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
4. "Allan McGregor likely to miss Scotland's World Cup opener". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
5. "Matt Gilks Interview // Getting to Know You" – Scotland National Team, YouTube
6. "The Big Interview – Matt Gilks" – Goalkeeper Magazine, YouTube
7. "Norwich to sign Rochdale keeper". BBC. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
8. "Gilks solves Shrews keeper crisis". BBC. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
9. "Gilks looks set for rapid return". BBC. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
10. "Macclesfield 2–0 Blackpool". Soccerbase . 12 August 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
11. "New Keeper Joins". Shrewsbury Town F.C. 21 November 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
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22. "Blackpool dealt Matt Gilks injury blow". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 November 2010.
23. "Crainey, Gilks, Evatt & Eastham pen new Blackpool deals". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 July 2011.
24. "Blackpool: Barry Ferguson one of 17 to leave Championship club". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
25. Burnley snap up former Blackpool keeper Gilks, Burnley Express.
26. "Matt Gilks: Burnley sign goalkeeper from Blackpool". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
27. "Scotland: Matt Gilks called up to replace Allan McGregor". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
28. "Gers Sign Matt Gilks". Rangers.co.uk. 24 June 2016.
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32. "Wigan Athletic: Matt Gilks arrives as Jordi Gomez joins Rayo Vallecano". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
33. "Wigan 0–0 Preston". BBC. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
34. "Iron sign experienced goalkeeper Gilks". Scunthorpe United F.C. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
35. "Lincoln City: Keeper Matt Gilks joins from Scunthorpe and Lee Angol on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
36. "Joey Barton signs ex-Blackpool and Burnley keeper Matt Gilks to put pressure on Fleetwood Town number one Alex Cairns". blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
37. "Wanderers confirm Matt Gilks appointment". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
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43. "Keeper Signs New Deal". www.bwfc.co.uk.
44. "'He's allowed to have an off-day' - Ian Evatt will stand by keeper Matt Gilks". The Bolton News.
45. "Ian Evatt: Wanderers keeper Gilks needs more time to recover from Covid". The Bolton News.
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47. "Jones Named New Vice-Captain". www.bwfc.co.uk.
48. "Gilks can be tartan tower of strength". Scottish F.A. 22 August 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
49. "GILKS JOINS CHARLIE IN SCOTLAND SQUAD". Blackpool F.C. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
50. "Scotland squad announcement Tuesday, 24 August 2010". Scottish F.A. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
51. "Grandma Gilks proves Scottish call-up". Blackpool Gazette . 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
52. "Gilks poised for Pool return" – SkySports.com, 9 March 2011
53. "Blackpool's Matt Gilks withdraws from Scotland squad" – BBC Sport, 10 August 2011
54. "Scotland 3–1 Australia". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
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60. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
61. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
62. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
63. "Squad stats: 2007/08". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
64. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
65. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
66. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
67. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
68. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
69. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
70. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
71. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
72. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
73. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
74. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
75. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
76. "Games played by Matt Gilks in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
77. "Gilks, Matt". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
78. Fletcher, Paul (22 May 2010). "Blackpool 3–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
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80. "League Two Betting | 2022/23 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.

External links

• Matt Gilks at Soccerbase