Matthew Shaun Kilgallon (born 8 January 1984) 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
centre-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 ...
.
Kilgallon began his career at
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
, where he came through the youth set up before becoming a fixture in their first team. He moved to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
where he spent three years before moving to
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 ...
. He has had spells on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
at
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
. He made five appearances for the
England U21
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
s.
Early life
Kilgallon was born in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, North Yorkshire and was raised in the nearby village of
Appleton Roebuck
Appleton Roebuck is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 692 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 792 in the 2011 census and including Acaster Selby. The village is about ...
. He attended
Tadcaster Grammar School
Tadcaster Grammar School founded in 1557, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located near Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, educating children aged 11–18 years old, and has an on-site sixth form.
The school is located in t ...
.
Club career
Leeds United
Kilgallon played in
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
's youth system before signing for
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
at the age of 12. He signed schoolboy forms with the club in 1998, before being offered a three-year scholarship the following year. He signed a one-year professional contract with Leeds at the end of his scholarship. Kilgallon was first called up to the first team for a
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
match away to
Metalurh Zaporizhya
MFC Metalurh Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Футбо́льний клуб «Металу́рг» Запорі́жжя ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Zaporizhzhia. Reestablished in 2017, it is a " phoenix club" of the original Soviet ...
on 3 October 2002, although he did not make the matchday squad.
In his first season in the Championship with Leeds, he was mainly playing
left-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 ...
with
Paul Butler and
Sean Gregan
Sean Matthew Gregan (born 29 March 1974) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or centre back.
He played in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion, and in the Football League with Preston North End and ...
the main
centre-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 ...
partnership. Kilgallon also displaced
Clarke Carlisle
Clarke James Carlisle (born 14 October 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender and was chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association.
Born in Preston, he began playing football at a young age, taki ...
and
Michael Duberry
Michael Wayne Duberry (born 14 October 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
He started his career with Premier League side Chelsea, and also played in the top flight for Leeds United and Reading, and i ...
in the pecking order. He played in their run to the
2006 Championship play-offs, helping them make the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, which Leeds lost 3–0 against
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 ...
at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
.
[
Kilgallon was the subject of a failed bid of over £1 million from newly promoted ]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 Foo ...
club 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 ...
in August 2006. He played in most of Leeds's matches of the first half of the 2006–07 season, keeping experienced centre-backs Paul Butler, Sean Gregan and Hayden Foxe
Hayden Vernon Foxe (born 23 June 1977) is an Australian former professional soccer player who works as assistant coach with Western United. He played football as a centre-back at the top level in Germany, Japan, Belgium, England and Australia ...
out of the team.
Sheffield United
Kilgallon signed for Premier League Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on 8 January 2007 for a £1.75 million fee, rising to £2 million with add-ons. Despite recovering from an early injury, he did not make his debut until starting in a 1–0 loss away to Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
on 31 March 2007.[
Having been used sparingly in the Premier League,][ Kilgallon established himself in the team in the Championship.][ He scored his first goal for Sheffield United on 15 December 2007, with a deflected header in the 64th minute of a 1–0 home victory over local rivals ]Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
. He was virtually ever-present in the team in the 2008–09 season, and was voted Sheffield United Player of the Year at the end of the season.
Kilgallon started the 2009–10 season as a regular starter once more, but with his contract due to expire the following summer, discussions over a new contract with the club were unsuccessful. At the turn of the year, Kilgallon announced that he intended to see out the remainder of his contract and rejected the opportunity to open transfer talk with Premier League club Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
.
Sunderland
Kilgallon signed for Premier League club 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 ...
on 21 January 2010 on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut six days later, starting in a 2–0 loss away to Everton.[ Kilgallon struggled to make an impact during Sunderland's winless run until a man-of-the-match performance against ]Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
on 24 April 2010, his first start in months.
On 19 August 2010, Kilgallon joined Championship club Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on loan for the 2010–11 season. After a man-of-the-match performance at left-back against Sheffield United, his loan was cut short by injury. On 12 January 2011, Kilgallon joined another Championship club, Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
, on loan for the rest of the 2010–11 season.
After his loan return from Doncaster Rovers, he was not given a squad number for the 2011–12 Premier League
The 2011–12 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 13 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012 with Manchester Ci ...
. However, after Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
was dismissed in November 2011, Kilgallon was given a squad number by new manager Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...
. He returned to the first-team squad as an unused substitute during Sunderland's 2–1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 11 December 2011. On 1 January 2012, Kilgallon made his first Sunderland appearance since May 2010, coming on as a 26th-minute substitute for the injured Wes Brown
Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Brown began his career with Manchester United, joining the club's academy at the age of 12 in 1992. After turning professional ...
against Manchester City
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 Salford to the west. The tw ...
.[ Kilgallon helped keep a clean sheet as Sunderland beat the league leaders 1–0. Two days later, he made his first Sunderland start since May 2010, playing alongside ]John O'Shea
John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre.
Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...
in central defence in a 4–1 away win against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
. He suffered an ankle injury during a 1–0 away defeat against Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 15 January 2012 and did not reappear until 31 March, starting in an away match against Manchester City.[ He was substituted in the 81st minute with Sunderland winning 3–1, before the team conceded twice to draw 3–3.
During the 2012–13 season, Kilgallon failed to appear in the league until starting in a 0–0 home draw to ]Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
on 27 November 2012.[ After playing in Sunderland's 3–0 loss away to ]Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
on 2 January 2013, he did not feature again in the league under Martin O'Neill, but returned to the starting line up for Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward, ...
's first match in charge, a 2–1 defeat away to Chelsea, in which scored an own goal
An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
.[ However, this proved to be Kilgallon's last appearance and Sunderland][ and he was released at the end of the season.
]
Blackburn Rovers
Kilgallon signed for Championship club Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
on 8 July 2013 on a two-year contract. He made his first start for the club in a 2–1 loss to Wigan Athletic as the captain Scott Dann
Scott Dann (born 14 February 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Reading. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009. Af ...
was injured.[ Kilgallon signed a new one-year contract at Blackburn in May 2015. He was released at the end of the 2015–16 season.
]
Bradford City
Kilgallon signed for League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club 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 ...
on 1 August 2016 on a one-year contract with the option of a second year. He was named Bradford City's Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season.
Hamilton Academical
After his contract was cancelled by mutual consent, Kilgallon signed for Scottish club Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...
on 31 August 2018. He left Hamilton in May 2019.
Hyderabad FC
Kilgallon signed a deal with Hyderabad FC
Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club replaced Pune City after they ...
in 2019 for Indian side Hyderabad FC
Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club replaced Pune City after they ...
.
In August 2020, Kilgallon joined Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
side Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level. .
On 6 October 2021, Kilgallon announced his retirement from professional football.
International career
Kilgallon was capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
by England at under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 level.
Career statistics
Honours
Individual
* Bradford City Player of the Year: 2017–18[
* Sheffield United Player of the Year: 2008–09][
]
References
External links
Matthew Kilgallon profile
at the Bradford City A.F.C. website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilgallon, Matthew
1984 births
Living people
Footballers from York
English footballers
England men's youth international footballers
England men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football defenders
York City F.C. players
Leeds United F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Middlesbrough F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Hamilton Academical F.C. players
Scottish Professional Football League players