Coventry City Player of the Year 1999–00
Scotland, 13 caps, 1 goal
One of the positive things to come from Ron Atkinson's period as manager of Coventry City was his ability to attract the big players to Highfield Road. They didn't come much bigger than the Scottish international captain who had been a significant cog in the Leeds United machine during the early 1990s and helped them win the League Championship in 1992.
In 1996 he became the highest paid player in the Coventry City's history and at £3 million a club record signing when he rejected a contract at Elland Road and arrived at the club . His first season was not memorable as City struggled against relegation but on two significant occasions his dead ball deliveries came to the rescue. First at Anfield his delightful corners bemused David James and City stole three points, then, he made both the goals in the 2-1 victory at Tottenham which extracted the Sky Blues from the relegation mire on a tense final day. The following season as Strachan finally got the team winning regularly, Gary was on the sideline injured but he blossomed in the next two seasons and was deservedly Player of the Season in 1999-00 despite strong claims from Keane and Hadji and his 13 goals even topped the precocious Keane's total and was the best scoring season of his long and illustrious career.
His contract was over that summer and his tremendous form had attracted the interest of Liverpool. He had a golden season at Anfield helping the Reds win three major trophies. In 2002 he returned to Coventry as player-manager and although his talent shone brightly on the pitch he was hampered by a lack of funds to sign decent players. In January 2004 he stepped down from the post to nurse his sick wife who subsequently died. After a long spell out of the game he returned as manager of Leeds United in early 2008 and lead the team to the League 1 play-off final where they lost to Doncaster. Gary played for Motherwell and Leicester before joining Leeds and won 57 full caps for his country.
Penalties (18 - 17 scored)
1996-97
26 December 1996 v Leeds United A, Premier League, scored (keeper Nigel Martyn)
28 December 1996 v Middlesbrough H, Premier League, scored (keeper Gary Walsh)
3 May 1997 v Derby County H, Premier League, scored (keeper Mart Poom)
1997-98
1 October 1997 v Blackpool H, Coca-Cola Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg, scored (keeper Steve Banks)
1 October 1997 v Blackpool H, Coca-Cola Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg, scored (keeper Steve Banks)
1998-99
5 December 1998 v Wimbledon A, Premier League, scored (keeper Neil Sullivan)
3 April 1999 v Sheffield Wednesday A, Premier League, scored (keeper Pavel Srnicek)
1999-00
14 August 1999 v Wimbledon A, Premier League, scored (keeper Neil Sullivan)
11 September 1999 v Leeds United H, Premier League, scored (keeper Nigel Martyn)
31 October 1999 v Watford H, Premier League, scored (keeper Alec Chamberlain)
15 January 2000 v Wimbledon H, Premier League, scored (keeper Neil Sullivan)
2002-03
14 September 2002 v Grimsby Town H, Division One, scored (keeper Danny Coyne)
21 September 2002 v Wimbledon A, Division One, scored (keeper Kelvin Davis)
9 November 2002 v Burnley A, Division One, scored (keeper Marlon Beresford)
4 January 2003 v Cardiff City A, FA Cup 3rd Round, scored (keeper Neil Alexander)
2003-04
16 August 2003 v Walsall H, Division One, missed, hit the post (keeper Jimmy Walker)
25 November 2003 v Norwich City A, Division One, scored (keeper Robert Green)
8 December 2003 v Sunderland H, Division One, scored (keeper Mart Poom)
Free kick goals (2)
1998-99
13 February 1999 v Everton A, FA Cup 5th Round
2002-03
11 September 2002 v Colchester United, Worthington Cup 1st Round
Scottish First Division winner 1984–85 with Motherwell
PFA Team of the Year 1988–89 Second Division with Leicester City
PFA Team of the Year 1989–90 Second Division with Leicester City
Football League First Division winner 1991–92 with Leeds United
PFA Team of the Year 1991–92 First Division with Leeds United
FA Charity Shield winner 1992 with Leeds United
PFA Team of the Year 1993–94 Premier League with Leeds United
FA Cup winner 2001 with Liverpool
Football League Cup winner 2001 with Liverpool
FA Charity Shield winner2001 with Liverpool
UEFA Cup winner 2001 with Liverpool
UEFA Super Cup winner 2001 with Liverpool
SCOTLAND, 13 caps (as captain), 1 goal
1996-97
31 August 1996 Austria 0-0 Scotland, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, in Vienna, captain, booked
5 October 1996 Latvia 0-2 Scotland, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, in Riga, captain, booked
11 February 1997 Estonia 0-0 Scotland, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, in Monaco, captain, booked
29 March 1997 Scotland 2-0 Estonia, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, at Kilmarnock, captain
2 April 1997 Scotland 2-0 Austria, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, at Celtic Park, captain, replaced
30 April 1997 Sweden 2-1 Scotland, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, inGothenburg, captain
27 May 1997 Scotland 0-1 Wales, friendly, at Kilmarnock, captain
1 June 1997 Malta 2-3 Scotland, friendly, in Valletta, captain
8 June 1997 Belarus 0-1 Scotland, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, in Minsk, captain, goal
1997-98
7 September 1997 Scotland 4-1 Belarus, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, at Aberdeen, captain, replaced
11 October 1997 Scotland 2-0 Latvia, 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group 4, at Celtic Park, captain
12 November 1997 France 2-1 Scotland, friendly, in St Etienne, captain
1998-99
31 March 1999 Scotland 1-2 Czech Republic, UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying Group 9, at Celtic Park, captain, replaced
3 previous caps with Leicester City and 41 previous caps and 4 goals with Leeds United (total 57 caps, 5 goals).
Selected for FIFA 1990 World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992 and UEFA Euro 1996 (captain) squads
Scottish Football Hall of Fame
Scottish FA International Roll of Honour
2 previous Scotland B caps, 1 goal
1 previous Scotland U21 cap




