Gerry Taggart

Gerry Taggart

Personal information
Full name	Gerald Taggart
Date of birth	18 October 1970 (1970-10-18)
Place of birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Oldham Athletic (assistant manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1990	Manchester City	13	(1)
1990–1995	Barnsley	247	(20)
1995–1998	Bolton Wanderers	81	(5)
1998–2004	Leicester City	117	(9)
2003–2004	→ Stoke City (loan)	8	(2)
2004–2006	Stoke City	48	(3)
2007	Tamworth	2	(0)
Total		547	(44)
National team
1990–2002	Northern Ireland	51	(7)
Teams managed
2007	Leicester City (caretaker manager)
2010–	Oldham Athletic (assistant manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gerald "Gerry" Taggart (born 18 October 1970 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a former professional footballer. On 10 June 2010, he was announced as the new assistant manager at Oldham Athletic.

Playing career

Manchester City

Taggart started his career as a trainee with Manchester City in 1989. Gerry spent one season with the club making 13 appearances, and scoring one goal.

Barnsley

Limited chances in the Manchester City team saw Taggart drop down a division to take up the option of joining Barnsley where he spent five seasons, making the Northern Irish national team in the process. Taggart spent most of his time at Barnsley under former Northern Ireland player Danny Wilson, where he made 247 appearances and scored 20 goals for the club.

Bolton Wanderers

He signed for Bolton Wanderers for a club record £1.5 million on 1 August 1995, as they prepared for the Premier League after winning promotion from Division One. However, he was unable to prevent them from being relegated after just one season among the elite.

In his second season with the club (1996/1997) Taggart helped Bolton reach the Premiership after they had amassed 98 points and 100 goals in that season and gained promotion as Champions of the First Division. The following season Taggart was relegated back to the First Division. In a total of three seasons with the club, Taggart made 81 appearances, scoring 5 goals for Bolton, with one such goal coming in the last ever game at the clubs old Burnden Park ground against Charlton Athletic in April 1997.

Leicester City

Taggart again played in Premiership football when he signed for Leicester City on 16 June 1998. Taggart was often partnered with Steve Walsh and Matt Elliott in Leicester's defence. In 2000 he won a League Cup winners medal with Leicester.

He scored his last European goal in a 1-1 UEFA Cup draw against Red Star Belgrade on 15 September 2000, at Filbert Street. In the 2001/2002 season Leicester were relegated from the Premiership. Taggart spent a following two seasons with the club, but falling out of favour in the first team, he spent the end of the season on loan with Stoke City.

Stoke City

After showing some impressive displays while on loan, Stoke City signed Taggart permanently on 26 February 2004.

At Stoke, Taggart formed a partnership with Michael Duberry in Stoke City's defence, however injuries began to hamper Taggart's time with the club. He retired from the playing and took up a coaching role with the club. Taggart only stayed with the club for two seasons, before being released on 8 June 2006.

Taggart was a coach at Stoke when they met the team he was playing for, Tamworth, in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2006.

Tamworth

Taggart had spent the 2006/2007 season back with his former club Leicester City in order to take his coaching badges. He signed for Conference North division side Tamworth on 16 May 2007. He and former team mate Robert Ullathorne both participated in the Football League Cup Final 1999 for Leicester City in which they lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Coaching career

Taggart returned to Leicester on 13 September 2007 as first team coach under Gary Megson. He and Frank Burrows became caretaker managers following Megson's departure to Bolton Wanderers on 25 October 2007.

Taggart left Leicester on 10 June 2010, when it was announced he would become the new assistant manager at Oldham Athletic alongside former Leicester team mate Paul Dickov.

International career

Taggart played international football for his native Northern Ireland, making his debut in 1990 and spending 13 years at the back for Northern Ireland with his final appearance coming in 2003 while at Leicester. Taggart earned 51 caps for Northern Ireland, scoring seven goals. He retired from his Northern Ireland and international football career on 18 August 2003.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 February 1991	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Poland	1-1	3-1	Friendly match
2	5 February 1991	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Poland	3-1	3-1	Friendly match
3	13 November 1991	Odense, Denmark	Denmark	1-2	1-2	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
4	28 April 1992	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Lithuania	2-0	2-2	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	2 June 1993	Riga, Latvia	Latvia	2-0	2-1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	9 November 1996	Nuremberg, Germany	Germany	1-1	1-1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	3 June 1998	Santander, Spain	Spain	1-2	1-4	Friendly match

Honours

Manchester City

• Runner-Up
  • FA Youth Cup: 1988/89

Bolton Wanderers

• Winner
  • First Division: 1996/97

Leicester City

• Winner
  • League Cup: 1999/00
• Runner-Up
  • League Cup: 1998/99
  • First Division: 2002/03

External links

• Gerry Taggart career stats at Soccerbase
• National Football Teams