Gary Gardner

Gary Gardner
Gardner playing for Aston Villa in 2012
Personal information
Full name Gary Gardner[1]
Date of birth (1992-06-29) 29 June 1992
Place of birth Solihull, England
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Birmingham City
(on loan from Aston Villa)
Number 20
Youth career
2005–2011 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011– Aston Villa 33 (1)
2011 → Coventry City (loan) 4 (1)
2014 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 3 (0)
2014 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 17 (2)
2015 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 18 (4)
2016 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 20 (2)
2017–2018 → Barnsley (loan) 29 (2)
2018– → Birmingham City (loan) 10 (0)
National team
2009 England U17 6 (0)
2009–2011 England U19 2 (1)
2009 England U20 2 (0)
2011–2012 England U21 5 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:56, 7 October 2018 (UTC)

Gary Gardner (born 29 June 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Birmingham City, on loan from fellow Championship club Aston Villa. A product of the Aston Villa Academy, Gardner has spent brief loan spells at Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and Barnsley. He has made a number of appearances at different international levels for England. He is the younger brother of Birmingham City player Craig Gardner.

Club career

Aston Villa

Gardner started his career at Aston Villa with older brother Craig, but before he could even make an appearance for the under-18s, he was forced out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in December 2009. He later returned from injury and became an important member of Aston Villa's under-18 and reserve sides.[3]

Gardner scored twice in Aston Villa reserves' 10–1 win over Arsenal on 10 January 2011, firstly catching out Gunners' goalkeeper James Shea to break the deadlock before scoring another from the penalty spot. He also claimed assists for Andreas Weimann and Jonathan Hogg's goals.[4] The midfielder made his unofficial début for Aston Villa's first team in a pre-season friendly, coming on as a substitute for captain Stiliyan Petrov in the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy final loss to Chelsea.[5]

He also represented Aston Villa in the inaugural season of the NextGen series, a European competition similar in format to the UEFA Champions League for younger footballers to compete in. During the group stage, Gardner scored single goals against Fenerbahçe[6] and Rosenborg.[7] In Villa's last group match, Gardner scored all three goals in a 3–0 victory over Ajax.[8] On 25 January, he scored a last minute equaliser in the quarter-final match against Marseille; Villa went on to lose the tie 2–1 in extra time.[9] Gardner's six goals made him the competition's joint second-highest goalscorer that year and the highest scoring midfielder, alongside Rosenborg's Mushaga Bakenga and Betinho of Sporting CP.

Coventry City (loan)

On 24 November 2011, Gardner joined Coventry City on an initial one-month loan deal.[10] Two days later, he scored just 9 minutes into his début for the club in a 2–1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.[11] After making just four appearances for the Sky Blues in the Championship, Gardner was recalled from his loan spell by his parent club on 21 December.[12]

On 31 December 2011, Gardner made his first league appearance for Villa in a 3–1 away win at Chelsea. He came off the bench as a substitute for Marc Albrighton in the 78th minute.[13] He came off the bench once again on 7 January 2012 as Villa beat Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup Third Round.[14] On 21 January 2012, Gardner made his first start for Villa in a 3–2 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers.[15] Gardner maintained his place in the team as the season progressed due to major injury concerns and the illness of captain Stiliyan Petrov.

On 22 August 2012, Gardner suffered another anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee – the same injury that kept him out in for a year in 2009. The injury would keep him out of action for up to 8 months.[16] Gardner returned to the Villa first team as an unused substitute against Chelsea on 11 May 2013 and made his playing comeback on the final day of the season against Wigan.

Sheffield Wednesday (loan)

On 12 February 2014, Gardner joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on an emergency loan until 12 March 2014.[17]

Nottingham Forest (loan)

On 10 January 2015, Gardner joined Nottingham Forest for the remainder of the season.[18] On 28 February 2015, Gardner won Sky Sports #goaloftheday for his wonder strike against Reading in a Championship league game, with fellow Forester Ben Osborn taking third place for his opener in the same match.[19]

On 30 October 2016 he scored his first goal for Aston Villa in a 1–1 draw with rivals Birmingham City.[20]

Barnsley (loan)

On 31 August 2017, Gardner joined Barnsley on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[21] He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 3–2 win against Sheffield United on 7 April 2018.[22]

Birmingham City (loan)

Gardner joined another Championship club, Birmingham City, on 9 August 2018 on loan for the 2018–19 season.[23] He made his debut in the starting eleven for the 2–0 defeat away to Reading in the EFL Cup first round, and kept his place for the next league match, a goalless draw at home to Swansea.[24]

International career

Gardner has played for England at numerous international levels, including under-17s, under-18s, under-20s and the under-21s.

On 10 November 2011, Gardner came on as a substitute, replacing Jason Lowe in the 62nd minute, and scored his first two goals for the England under-21s against Iceland under-21s.[25]

Personal life

Gardner is the brother of fellow professional football, Craig Gardner, also a product of the Aston Villa youth system. The siblings contribute funds to a boxing gym in their hometown of Birmingham, which was featured on an episode of Soccer AM in 2011.[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 October 2018
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 2011–12[27] Premier League 1402000—160
2012–13[28] Premier League 200000—20
2016–17[29] Championship 2610010—271
2017–18[30] Championship 000010—10
Total 4212020—461
Coventry City (loan) 2011–12[27] Championship 410000—41
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2013–14[31] Championship 301000—40
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2014–15[32] Championship 1720030—202
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2014–15[32] Championship 1840000—184
2015–16[33] Championship 2022000—222
Total 3862000—406
Barnsley (loan) 2017–18[30] Championship 29210——302
Birmingham City (loan) 2018–19[24] Championship 1000010—110
Career total 143126060—15512

References

  1. ↑ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Gary Gardner Aston Villa profile". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Gary Gardner". Aston Villa F.C. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Match report: Villa Res 10–1 Arsenal Res". Aston Villa F.C. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "Villa in Hong Kong report: McLeish's men fall in final to Chelsea". Aston Villa F.C. 30 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "MatchReport: Aston Villa vs Fenerbahce". NextGen Series. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Aston Villa – Rosenborg". NextGen Series. 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "NextGen Series report: Villa U19s 3–0 Ajax U19s". Aston Villa Football Club. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "NextGen Series quarter-final match report: Villa 1–2 Marseille [AET]". Aston Villa Football Club. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "Gary Gardner joins Coventry on loan from Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Brighton 2–1 Coventry". BBC News. 26 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Villa recall England U21 star Gardner from Coventry loan spell". Daily Mail. London. 21 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "Chelsea 1 – 3 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 1 – 3 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Wolves 2 – 3 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner faces long lay-off". BBC Sport. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Gary Gardner joins Sheffield Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Nottingham Forest sign Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner on loan". Nottingham Forest F.C. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  19. ↑ Sky Sports News HQ [@SkySportsNewsHQ] (28 February 2015). "Gary Gardner wins #goaloftheday poll" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ "Birmingham 1–1 Aston Villa". BBC. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Gary Gardner Joins The Reds!". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. 31 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Barnsley 3–2 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "Gary Gardner: Birmingham City sign Aston Villa midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  24. 1 2 "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  25. ↑ "England U21 5–0 Iceland U21". BBC Sport. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "The gloves are on!". Soccer AM. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  27. 1 2 "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  29. ↑ "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  30. 1 2 "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  31. ↑ "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  32. 1 2 "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Gary Gardner in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
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