Gavin Ronald Oliver (born 6 September 1962) 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 made more than 350

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 ...

appearances playing as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Career

Oliver played for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, Tranmere Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion and

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. He began his career as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

but switched to playing as a

following an injury to a player in that position in a youth match. He joined Sheffield Wednesday's groundstaff in July 1979, and turned professional in August 1980. After loan spells at Tranmere Rovers and Brighton & Hove Albion he signed for Bradford City for £20,000 in November 1985. After retiring as a player, in November 2007 he was working as

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

's recruitment officer.

References

1962 births Living people Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff {{England-footy-defender-1960s-stub