Gerard Lavin (born 5 February 1974) is a former

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

right-back 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 ...

. He played 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 ...

for

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

, before finishing his playing career at Southern League side

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

. Born in England, he also played for the Scotland U21 national team.

Career

Born in the English town of

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

to Scottish parents, Lavin started his career as a schoolboy at

. He became an apprentice at the club upon leaving school, and signed professionally in May 1992. Over the next three years Lavin made 149 first team appearances, most of them at

right back 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 ...

in place of injured club captain

Nigel Gibbs Nigel James Gibbs (born 20 November 1965) is an English professional football manager and former player. He has been an assistant coach at Swansea City and has previously worked as a coach with the Under-19 squad of Tottenham Hotspur. A Watford ...

.Jones p. 143 Lavin scored three goals during his time at Watford, including one after 13 seconds in a match against future club

. After Watford finished 7th in the First Division in 1994–95, Lavin was sold to Millwall for £750,000. Watford were relegated the following season. At Millwall Lavin made 97 appearances over four years, scoring once in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

against

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 ...

, before being leaving on a Bosman free transfer in 1999, and joining

. He made his début for City on 7 August 1999 against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, but was sent off for deliberately kicking the ball at Reading fans. The ball broke a Reading fan's wrist, and Lavin was later convicted of assault. Lavin made a further 22 appearances for Bristol in 1999–2000, but struggled to make the first team the following season. He was loaned to

, and in May 2001 joined

. He played three times in the first team before breaking his leg against QPR. Over the next two seasons he struggled to recover from the leg break and was forced to retire at the age of 30.

References

;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavin, Gerard 1974 births Living people People from Corby English people of Scottish descent English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Scotland men's under-21 international footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Watford F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Footballers from Northamptonshire