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John Gayle (footballer)
Encyclopedia
John Gayle is an English
former professional footballer, who played as a striker
. He is most recently manager of defunct Devon County Football League
side Newton Abbot
.
, Worcestershire
. A powerful target-man centre forward, he worked in a printers and on a building site before beginning his professional career. He played for a number of non-league sides, Alvechurch
, Highgate United
, Tamworth
, Stratford Town
, Solihull Borough
, Sutton Coldfield Town
and Mile Oak Rovers
, before joining his hometown side Bromsgrove Rovers
. He then moved to Burton Albion
, from where he joined Wimbledon
in March 1989 for a fee of £30,000 in a deal that also saw Steve Cotterill
moving to Wimbledon.
In November 1990, after only 20 league games and 2 goals for Wimbledon and following an alleged training ground bust-up with Keith Curle
, Gayle moved to Birmingham City
for £175,000, helping the Blues to promotion in 1992. He played for Birmingham City against Tranmere in the 1991 Leyland Daf final at Wembley scoring twice in their 3-2 victory with the winning goal scored from a spectacular overhead kick. He moved to Walsall
on loan in August 1993, making 4 league appearances, scoring 1 goal. A day after the end of his loan spell, on 13 September 1993, Gayle was back in the top flight, Coventry City
paying £100,000 for his services. He had scored 10 goals in 44 league games for Birmingham, but failed to settle at Highfield Road, making only 5 league appearances without scoring before being transferred on to Burnley
on 17 August 1994 for £70,000.
This again proved to be only a short stay, Gayle making 14 league appearances and scoring 3 goals before moving to Stoke City
for £70,000 on 23 January 1995. He moved to Gillingham
on loan on 14 March 1996, making 9 league appearances and scoring 3 goals which helped secure the club's promotion from Division Three
. The following season, Gayle was on the move again, joining Northampton Town
on 10 February 1997 for a fee of £25,000. He had played 26 times in the league for Stoke, scoring 4 goals, with almost half of his appearances as a substitute.
He remained at Northampton for over a year, scoring 7 times in 48 league games, before joining Scunthorpe United
on a free transfer on 16 June 1998. 4 goals in 49 league games followed for the Iron, before he was on the move yet again, this time a free transfer taking him to Shrewsbury Town
on 25 November 1999. Gayle played a role in keeping the Shrews in the league, injuries limiting him to 19 league games in which he scored twice.
On 14 December 2000, Gayle was released by Shrewsbury, joining a Torquay United
side in need of a target man that up to that time under manager Wes Saunders
they had never really had. He made his Torquay league debut on 16 December 2000 against Hull City
at Boothferry Park, a rare 2–1 away win for the Gulls, but injured his hamstring during the game and was out for the next month. By the time he returned, Torquay were deeper in trouble at the foot of the league, but Gayle played his part in ensuring survival, appearing mainly as a substitute to add weight to Torquay's lightweight attack late in the game.
However, when he came on as a late substitute in the relegation decider at Barnet
on 5 May 2001, he missed several chances to put the game beyond Barnet's reach, or at least test their goalkeeper, only adding to the anxiety of the fans in the away end. It was no surprise that Gayle was released by Colin Lee
in May 2001, joining non-league Moor Green
where he ended his playing career.
John Gayle subsequently took up a coaching role at a school in Birmingham by the name of Washwood Heath Technology College, a predominantly working-class school with a massive Asian influence, during which time he gave out training sessions in many areas of football and credit to the footballer for reaching out to the ethnic minorities of Birmingham.
In July 2006 Gayle was appointed manager of Devon League side Totnes and Dartington Sports Club. Prior to his appointment, he had been working for the Prince's Trust in Birmingham
. In the summer of 2008 he left Totnes and Dartington to be appointed as first team manager at Newton Abbot.
. Spooner was playing for Bolton in a game against Burnley at Turf Moor
in October 1994 when Gayle clattered into the player severely breaking his right leg and leaving him out of the professional game for three seasons.
The tackle all but ended the future career of Spooner and he had to have a number of operations on the injury as well as a bone graft.
At the time of the writs being issued Spooner had the following to say to the Bolton Evening News.
"I've missed three fantastic years with Bolton, including promotion to the Premiership twice. I'm playing again now but it's just like starting from scratch. That tackle wrecked my career."
A six-figure compensation sum was settled out of court between the two players in April 2000.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former professional footballer, who played as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
. He is most recently manager of defunct Devon County Football League
Devon County Football League
The Devon County Football League was a football competition based in England. It consisted of 20 clubs and sat at step 7 of the National League System....
side Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot A.F.C.
Newton Abbot A.F.C. is a now defunct football club based in Newton Abbot, Devon, England. They were established in 1964. In the 2005-06 season, they reached the 2nd round of the FA Vase. For the 2008-09 season, they were members of the South West Peninsula League Premier Division, but were expelled...
.
Career
Gayle was born in BromsgroveBromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. A powerful target-man centre forward, he worked in a printers and on a building site before beginning his professional career. He played for a number of non-league sides, Alvechurch
Alvechurch F.C.
Alvechurch Football Club is English association football club based in Alvechurch, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, currently playing in the Midland Football Alliance. They are affiliated with the Worcestershire County Football Association.-History:...
, Highgate United
Highgate United F.C.
Highgate United F.C. is an English football club based in the Highgate area of Birmingham but currently playing in the Shirley district of Solihull...
, Tamworth
Tamworth F.C.
Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....
, Stratford Town
Stratford Town F.C.
Stratford Town Football Club is a football club based in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Midland Football Alliance.-History:The club was formed in 1941 as Stratford Rangers, changing their name in 1949...
, Solihull Borough
Solihull Borough F.C.
Solihull Borough F.C. was an English football club from Solihull. In 2007 the club merged with Moor Green to form a new club, Solihull Moors.-History:...
, Sutton Coldfield Town
Sutton Coldfield Town F.C.
Sutton Coldfield Town F.C. are a football club based in Sutton Coldfield, England. They were formed in 1879 and currently play in the Northern Premier League First Division South ....
and Mile Oak Rovers
Mile Oak Rovers F.C.
Mile Oak Rovers & Youth F.C. was a football club based in South Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. The club was established in 1958 and folded in 2010.-History:...
, before joining his hometown side Bromsgrove Rovers
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C.
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. were a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference...
. He then moved to Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
, from where he joined Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
in March 1989 for a fee of £30,000 in a deal that also saw Steve Cotterill
Steve Cotterill
Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...
moving to Wimbledon.
In November 1990, after only 20 league games and 2 goals for Wimbledon and following an alleged training ground bust-up with Keith Curle
Keith Curle
Keith Curle is an English former professional football player, who is currently first team coach at Queens Park Rangers.As a player, he was capped three times by England at senior level.-Playing career:...
, Gayle moved to Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
for £175,000, helping the Blues to promotion in 1992. He played for Birmingham City against Tranmere in the 1991 Leyland Daf final at Wembley scoring twice in their 3-2 victory with the winning goal scored from a spectacular overhead kick. He moved to Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
on loan in August 1993, making 4 league appearances, scoring 1 goal. A day after the end of his loan spell, on 13 September 1993, Gayle was back in the top flight, Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
paying £100,000 for his services. He had scored 10 goals in 44 league games for Birmingham, but failed to settle at Highfield Road, making only 5 league appearances without scoring before being transferred on to Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
on 17 August 1994 for £70,000.
This again proved to be only a short stay, Gayle making 14 league appearances and scoring 3 goals before moving to Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
for £70,000 on 23 January 1995. He moved to Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
on loan on 14 March 1996, making 9 league appearances and scoring 3 goals which helped secure the club's promotion from Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
. The following season, Gayle was on the move again, joining Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
on 10 February 1997 for a fee of £25,000. He had played 26 times in the league for Stoke, scoring 4 goals, with almost half of his appearances as a substitute.
He remained at Northampton for over a year, scoring 7 times in 48 league games, before joining Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
on a free transfer on 16 June 1998. 4 goals in 49 league games followed for the Iron, before he was on the move yet again, this time a free transfer taking him to Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
on 25 November 1999. Gayle played a role in keeping the Shrews in the league, injuries limiting him to 19 league games in which he scored twice.
On 14 December 2000, Gayle was released by Shrewsbury, joining a Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
side in need of a target man that up to that time under manager Wes Saunders
Wes Saunders
Wes Saunders is an English former professional footballer and football club manager.Saunders was born in Sunderland and brought up in Boldon Colliery, attending Boldon Comprehensive school...
they had never really had. He made his Torquay league debut on 16 December 2000 against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
at Boothferry Park, a rare 2–1 away win for the Gulls, but injured his hamstring during the game and was out for the next month. By the time he returned, Torquay were deeper in trouble at the foot of the league, but Gayle played his part in ensuring survival, appearing mainly as a substitute to add weight to Torquay's lightweight attack late in the game.
However, when he came on as a late substitute in the relegation decider at Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
on 5 May 2001, he missed several chances to put the game beyond Barnet's reach, or at least test their goalkeeper, only adding to the anxiety of the fans in the away end. It was no surprise that Gayle was released by Colin Lee
Colin Lee
Colin Lee is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently Chief Executive of League Two side Torquay United and President of Buckfastleigh Rangers Football & Social Club.-Playing career:...
in May 2001, joining non-league Moor Green
Moor Green F.C.
Moor Green F.C. was a non-league association football team originally from the Hall Green area of south Birmingham but later based in the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England...
where he ended his playing career.
John Gayle subsequently took up a coaching role at a school in Birmingham by the name of Washwood Heath Technology College, a predominantly working-class school with a massive Asian influence, during which time he gave out training sessions in many areas of football and credit to the footballer for reaching out to the ethnic minorities of Birmingham.
In July 2006 Gayle was appointed manager of Devon League side Totnes and Dartington Sports Club. Prior to his appointment, he had been working for the Prince's Trust in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In the summer of 2008 he left Totnes and Dartington to be appointed as first team manager at Newton Abbot.
Court proceedings
In January 1998 a lawsuit was issued against Gayle by former Bolton Wanderers defender Nicky SpoonerNicky Spooner
Nicholas "Nicky" Spooner is a retired English footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic, the Charleston Battery, Chester City and Leigh RMI....
. Spooner was playing for Bolton in a game against Burnley at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
in October 1994 when Gayle clattered into the player severely breaking his right leg and leaving him out of the professional game for three seasons.
The tackle all but ended the future career of Spooner and he had to have a number of operations on the injury as well as a bone graft.
At the time of the writs being issued Spooner had the following to say to the Bolton Evening News.
"I've missed three fantastic years with Bolton, including promotion to the Premiership twice. I'm playing again now but it's just like starting from scratch. That tackle wrecked my career."
A six-figure compensation sum was settled out of court between the two players in April 2000.