Dean Jeffrey Gerken is an English footballer who plays for Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

 as a goalkeeper.

Colchester United

Gerken was born in Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

. He started his career at Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 as a youngster before moving to Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 rivals Colchester United

Colchester United F.C.

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

. As a teenager he attracted the attention of England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence

Ray Clemence

Raymond Neal "Ray" Clemence, MBE is one of English and European football's most decorated goalkeepers ever and was part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s.-Scunthorpe United:...

. He made his first-team debut against Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 in League One

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 in 2004, as a stand-in for Simon Brown

Simon Brown (footballer born 1976)

Simon James Brown is an English footballer, who currently plays for Cambridge United. Brown is a goalkeeper.-Playing career:...

 and Richard McKinney. In the 2004–05 season, replacing first-choice goalkeeper Aidan Davison

Aidan Davison

Aidan John Davison is an English-born Northern Irish former footballer and football coach who is Head Coach of American side FC JAX Destroyers.As a player he played as a goalkeeper from 1987 until 2008...

, Gerken kept four clean sheets in 17 appearances.

More appearances in Colchester's successful 2005–06 campaign gave Gerken another four clean sheets, including the crucial 0–0 draw at Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

 that clinched Colchester's promotion

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 to the Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

.

Gerken made the number one position his own as the over-achieving U's ended the 2006–07 season in tenth place. Gerken was crowned Colchester's Young Player of the Year for 2007. He signed an extended contract in July 2007, and played 40 League games during the 2007–08 season, at the end of which Colchester were relegated back to League One.

On 15 January 2009, Gerken signed a one-month loan deal with League Two side Darlington

Darlington F.C.

Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

. He went straight into the starting eleven for their next game, a 5–1 defeat of Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

.

Gerken returned to his parent club soon after, due to Darlington going into administration.

Bristol City

On 30 June 2009, it was confirmed that Bristol City had completed the signing of Gerken for an undisclosed fee, to end his seven-season stay with Colchester United. Gerken was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure in the early hours of 25 October 2009 after he was allegedly spotted urinating in public.

External links

• Profile at Colchester United F.C.