Brian Wilbert Gayle (born 6 March 1965) is an English former 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 played as a central defender. Gayle began his career at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

as an apprentice, signing a full contract in October 1984. He spent time with New Zealand club Napier City Rovers before breaking into the first team. He helped Wimbledon to the sixth round of the

1987–88 FA Cup The 1987–88 FA Cup was the 107th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. The competition was won by Wimbledon F.C.'s Crazy Gang who defeated league champions Live ...

, which the club ultimately won, but was given a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

for a foul on Malcolm Allen in the match, against Watford, and did not feature in later rounds. In July 1988, Gayle joined Manchester City for £325,000. He was transferred to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

for £330,000 in January 1990, and then joined Sheffield United in a £750,000 deal in September 1991. While at the Blades, in 1992, Gayle scored an own goal in a match against local rivals Leeds United, which led to a 2–3 defeat. This, coupled with Manchester United losing to Liverpool, gave Leeds the First Division title.

References

1965 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Wimbledon F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Premier League players Napier City Rovers FC players Footballers from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames People from Kingston upon Thames {{England-footy-defender-1960s-stub