Gary Twigg (born 19 March 1984) is a Scottish former
association footballer who played as a
forward.
Career
Derby County
Twigg began his career in 2000 with English club
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
, having graduated through the youth system. He made his debut for Derby at the age of 17 as a striker in a
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
match against
Sunderland in May 2002,
his only appearance that season.
In the
2002–03 season, he made eight first-team appearances, seven as a substitute, branching out into the position of left wing when needed.
Loan to Burton Albion
In September 2003 he joined
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
on loan,
for whom he made four appearances.
Airdrie United
Having been released by Derby, and following an unsuccessful trial period at
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
club
Derry City, he placed roots at
Airdrie United in August 2005,
where he went on to make 65 league and cup appearances in two years, scoring 18 goals.
He won the SFL Player of the Month award for December 2006 after scoring six goals in six games, helping Airdrie to only one defeat out of six league games.
Oxford United
Twigg signed a two-year contract with
Conference National side
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
on 5 July 2007.
Nick Merry
Nicholas Merry (born Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England) is a British businessman who made his money in the United States running a now defunct Florida-based dental biotechnology company called MicroDenteX as well as investment in gemstones in Guine ...
, Oxford United chairman, said, ''"He's got a good record and he's very versatile too. He can play wide or down the middle and he'll be a good asset to us."'' He came on as a substitute on the opening day of the 2007–08 season at home against
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
in which he won and scored a stoppage time penalty to win the game for Oxford on his debut. An ankle injury that required surgery in October led to him missing seven weeks of the season before he returned to the side in December.
However, he was unable to settle and left at the end of December to seek a move back to Scotland. He had made 11 league and cup appearances, scoring three goals.
Hamilton Academical
Twigg signed for
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
on an 18-month contract in January 2008.
He made only four appearances and was transfer listed at the end of the season.
His contract was cancelled at Twigg's request in July 2008 as he had a falling out with the manager Billy Reid.
Twigg then signed for
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
in July 2008,
Shamrock Rovers
In February 2009, he followed manager
Michael O'Neill from Brechin to
Shamrock Rovers, signing for a fee of €15,000. He scored on his debut in a friendly at
Athlone Town
Twigg made his
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
debut on the opening day of the
2009 League of Ireland
The 2009 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 25th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Bohemians were champions while Shamrock Rovers finished as runners-up.
Teams
Overview
The 20 ...
season at Bray Wanderers. He then scored the first ever goal in the
Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now o ...
in a 2–1 win for
Shamrock Rovers over Sligo Rovers in March 2009. Twigg scored his 22nd league goal in a 2–1 win over Sligo Rovers. He scored his 23rd league goal at Dundalk, equalling
Stephen Geoghegan's total from the 1993/94 season. Gary was awarded the League of Ireland Player of the Month for September 2009. Twigg finished the 2009 season as the top scorer in the League of Ireland with 24 goals. He also won the club
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
voted by Rovers fans and the PFAI
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
voted for by his fellow players across the league.
He scored his tenth league goal of the 2010 season in a 3–0 defeat of
Bohemians on 8 August. That night he was presented with the League of Ireland 2009 Player of the Year award. He scored his 50th goal in total for the club in a 2–2 draw with
Bray Wanderers. The result was enough for Rovers to win the
2010 League of Ireland
The 2010 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 26th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions while Bohemians finished as runners-up.
Teams
Overview
Airtrici ...
title, their first league title in 16 years. Twigg again finished the season as the top scorer in the League of Ireland with 20 goals.
In 2011, he was again Rovers' top league goalscorer with 15 goals, helping the club to their 17th title. Twigg also played on the Shamrock Rovers team that was the first Irish club to reach the group stages of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
.
In March 2012 he was awarded his third Airtricity/SWAI Player of the Month.
In October 2012 Shamrock Rovers announced that Twigg would not be signing a new contract and would be leaving at the end of the 2012 season. Twigg again finished the season as top scorer for the third time in his four seasons in the League of Ireland. He scored a total of 88 goals in 160 appearances for The Hoops. These included 15 appearances in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
qualifiers and the
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. His 81 league goals makes Twigg the eighth highest goalscorer in the history of Shamrock Rovers. For the fourth time he was awarded the SWAI Player of the Month for October
Portadown
Twigg signed for
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...
side
Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
on 29 October 2012 on a three-and-a-half-year deal. Twigg scored on his debut for Portadown in a match against Donegal Celtic at Shamrock Park on 5 January 2013, finishing the season with six goals from 11 league games.
Gary scored his first hat-trick for Portadown on 7 September 2013, during an 11–0 hammering of
Ballinamallard United.
Coleraine
Twigg had signed a pre-contract agreement with
Ballymena United
Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds which is owned by the ...
with a view to joining the Sky Blues at the start of the 2016–17
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...
season. However, the arrival of
David Jeffrey as manager coincided with the cancellation of this pre-contract agreement on 1 April 2016.
On 16 July 2016 it was announced that Twigg had rejected the offer of a new contract from Portadown and would be signing for Ballymena's derby rivals
Coleraine.
Honours
Club
;Shamrock Rovers
*
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
(2):
2010,
2011
*
Setanta Sports Cup (1):
2011
Individual
*
PFAI Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFAI Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Irish Player of the Year) award is given to the footballer the Le ...
(1):
2009
*
Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year (1): 2009
*NIFL Player of the Month (1): September 2013
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twigg, Gary
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from Glasgow
Scottish footballers
Association football forwards
Derby County F.C. players
Burton Albion F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Airdrieonians F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Hamilton Academical F.C. players
Brechin City F.C. players
Shamrock Rovers F.C. players
Portadown F.C. players
Coleraine F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Scottish Football League players
League of Ireland players
NIFL Premiership players
Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
Scottish expatriate footballers
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland