Matthew Kilgallon
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Shaun Kilgallon | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sunderland | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Leeds United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2007 | Leeds United | 80 | (3) |
| 2003 | → West Ham United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Sheffield United | 107 | (4) |
| 2010– | Sunderland | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004–2005 | England U21 | 5 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:19, 28 January 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:31, 8 August 2009 (UTC) | |||
'Matthew Shaun Kilgallon (born 8 January 1984 in York) is an English professional footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is a central defender who can also operate at left back.
Career
Leeds United
A product of the youth set-up at Leeds, Kilgallon first made a senior appearance for Leeds in 2004, scoring two goals that season and working his way into the England Under-21 set-up. Once Leeds had dropped to the Championship, Killa (his nick-name from his team mates) began to make more appearances and held down a more regular place in the 1st eleven. In his first season in the championship, Kilgallon was mainly playing left back with Paul Butler and Sean Gregan the main centre back partnership. Kilgallon also displaced Clarke Carlisle and Michael Duberry in the pecking order. He played a major role in the club's run through to the 2006 championship play-offs, helping them make the final. Which Leeds lost 3–0 against Watford.
Kilgallon played most of Leeds's matches of the first half of the 2006–07 season under Kevin Blackwell and new manager Dennis Wise's new look Leeds team, keeping experienced centre-backs Paul Butler, Sean Gregan and Hayden Foxe out of the team. Leeds were struggling both on and off the pitch and Kilgallon was also losing form.
Having been the subject of a failed £1 million bid from Premiership side Reading at the start of the 2006–07 season, but Leeds insisted he was not for sale, he was finally transferred to Sheffield United during that seasons January transfer window with Leeds needing the funds.
Sheffield United
Kilgallon signed for Sheffield United on 8 January 2007 for £1.75 million rising to £2 million and with a 20% sell on clause.[1] Despite recovering from an early injury he found it difficult to force himself into Neil Warnock’s plans and did not make his first team debut until the 1–0 loss at Bolton on 31 March of that year.[2]
Having been used sparingly in the Premiership, Kilgallon fared better in the Championship and under new management. Having become first choice in the centre of defence he still had to wait until December 2007 to score a goal for the Blades when he netted the winner in a 1–0 home victory over local rivals Barnsley.[3] The following season he was virtually ever present in the Blades first team, his importance being highlighted when he was voted Sheffield United Player of the Season at the end of the 2008–09 season.[4]
Kilgallon started the next season as regular first choice in defence once more, but with his contract due to expire the following summer he rejected new terms with the club meaning his future was dogged by speculation throughout the year.[5] At the turn of the year however, Kilgallon announced that he intended to remain at Bramall Lane and see out the remainder of his contract[6] and rejected a move to Premiership Burnley.[7]
Sunderland
Kilgallon signed for Sunderland on 21 January 2010 on a three and a half year contract. He sorely made his debut in a 2-0 loss to Everton on January 27 2010.[8]
Statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Sheffield United | 2009–10 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 2007–08 | 40 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Leeds United | 2006–07 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| West Ham (loan) | 2003–04 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Leeds United | 2002–03 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 170 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 195 | 6 | |
| Last updated 7 August 2009 | |||||||||||
References
- ^ "Blades sign Kilgallon from Leeds". BBC Sport. 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Bolton 1–0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 2007-03-31. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Sheff Utd 1–0 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ "Killa and Kyle Win Awards". sufc.co.uk. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "Killa to go from Sheffield United". thestar.co.uk. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- ^ "Window of hope as Killa 'happy to stay'". thestar.co.uk. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ "Kilgallon delay a boost for Blades". thestar.co.uk. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ "Sheffield Utd's Matthew Kilgallon seals Sunderland move". BBC Sport. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
External links
- Matthew Kilgallon player profile at sufc.co.uk
- Matthew Kilgallon at Soccerbase
- leedsfans.org page for Kilgallon