Bernard Gallacher (22 March 1967 – 28 August 2011) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who made 113 appearances in the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, playing predominantly at left-back.

Career

Born in

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

, Scotland, Gallacher joined

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

as a 16-year-old apprentice on leaving school in 1983. He progressed through youth levels, signing a professional contract in March 1985, before making his first team debut on the final day of the 1986-87 season against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, at the end of a season where Villa were relegated from the First Division. Gallacher appeared in all but one of Aston Villa's 44 Second Division games the following season as Villa gained promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt as Second Division runners-up. His final game for the club was against Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

in November 1990. In all he made 57 league appearances for Villa. Gallagher spent a loan spell at Blackburn before joining Doncaster Rovers and then

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. In 1994 his career was ended by injury at the age of 27 following a short term as a non-contract player with Northampton Town.

Death

Gallacher died in Good Hope Hospital,

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

, England on 28 August 2011, aged 44.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallacher, Bernie 1967 births 2011 deaths Scottish footballers Aston Villa F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players People from Johnstone Footballers from Renfrewshire Association football fullbacks