Gary McSheffrey (born 13 August 1982) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player who was most recently manager of 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 ...

. As a player he was a striker and

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who made more than 450 appearances in

the 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 ...

and

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 ...

, including 247 for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, where he became the youngest player ever to play in the Premier League. He went on to play for

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, and

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 ...

before returning to Coventry in 2010. Released in September 2013, he signed for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

later that month. In January 2014, he signed for Scunthorpe United on a free transfer until the end of the 2013–14 season before moving on to Doncaster Rovers,

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

, and

Frickley Athletic Frickley Athletic Football Club is a football club based in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Westfield Lane. History Although the club itself claims it was formed in 1910, the team was activ ...

. He scored more than 100 league goals during his career. McSheffrey played internationally for England at under-20 level. After a short spell as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

of Doncaster, he was appointed manager in December 2021.

Club career

Coventry City

McSheffrey was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, and began his football career at home town club

. When he made his first-team debut against local rivals

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

at the age of 16 years and 198 days on 27 February 1999, a game that Coventry won 4–1, he became the youngest player ever to play in the

. He held the record for over four years until

Aaron Lennon Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...

made his

debut at a younger age in August 2003. During his time at Coventry he spent loan spells at

earlier in the 2004–05 season helping them achieve promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, and Swedish side

IK Brage Idrottsklubben Brage, also known as IK Brage or simply Brage, is a Swedish football club located in Borlänge. The club is affiliated with Dalarnas Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Domnarvsvallen. The club colours, reflected in th ...

. He represented England at under-18 and under-20 levels. Playing primarily on the left wing in the 2005–06 season, McSheffrey ended up among the top scorers in the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

with 15 league goals. It was form like this that brought him to the attention of local rivals

during the summer of 2006. After weeks of bidding, Coventry accepted an offer valued at £4 million. This has since been estimated at £2.3m cash with a further £1.3m depending on promotion and appearances. The deal was completed on 16 August 2006, and McSheffrey became a Birmingham City player three days after his 24th birthday.

Birmingham City

McSheffrey scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for his new club in a league match against Preston North End on 9 December 2006. He was part of the 2006–07 promotion-winning side, returning to the Premier League after just one season in the Championship. McSheffrey was also their top scorer with 16 goals, of which 13 were scored in the league. Individual match reports are linked from this page.
His

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

in Birmingham's 3–2 win against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

on 2 December 2007 was his first goal in the Premier League. McSheffrey found his time limited during the 2008–09 season; he helped the side clinch promotion back to the Premier League by winning four out of six league appearances he made. In March 2009, he joined

on loan for what was reported as an initial month. and then to have returned to Birmingham because he needed surgery on a persistent knee problem, but manager

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for ...

confirmed that the loan was in fact for two months. Told in August 2009 that he was free to find another club, and frustrated by lack of opportunity, McSheffrey made just one start and four substitute appearances in the

2009–10 Premier League The 2009–10 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. A total of 20 teams competed in the league, with Chelsea unseating the three ...

Leeds United (loan)

On 29 January 2010, McSheffrey joined Leeds United of

Football 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 ...

on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his debut the following day, producing a

man-of-the-match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

performance on the left wing in Leeds' 2–0 League home win against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. In an interview after the game McSheffrey said "there'd be no better club to be with at Championship level" should Leeds succeed in gaining promotion. Ineligible for an FA Cup replay against

, McSheffrey returned to the starting line-up for the 2–2 draw with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

. He started on the left wing for Leeds against Carlisle United 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 ...

Northern Final second leg. Leeds won the game 3–2, but ended up losing the tie after losing the penalty shootout 6–5, with McSheffrey converting one of the penalties for Leeds. He scored his first and only goal for Leeds against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

after his mis-hit cross eluded goalkeeper

Clayton Ince Clayton Ince CM (born 13 July 1972) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and had lengthy spells in the English Football League at Crewe Alexandra and Walsall. He is his country's most capped goalkeeper wit ...

, but Walsall won 2–1 to inflict Leeds' first home defeat in more than a year. McSheffrey was dropped to the bench against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

and replaced in the starting line-up by Aidan White, but after White suffered an injury McSheffrey returned to Leeds' starting line-up against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. McSheffrey earned promotion with Leeds to the Championship, after finishing as runners up in League One.

Return to Coventry City

In May 2010, Birmingham City announced that McSheffrey was one of five players to be released when their contracts expired at the end of June. He agreed to return to Championship club Coventry City, where he agreed a one-year deal, with the option of a further year, to begin on 1 July 2010. His return to Coventry was a largely disappointing spell in his career, despite being a regular starter, fans felt that his best years were past him. McSheffrey was one of eight players told in June 2013 that they did not feature in manager Steven Pressley's future plans, and one of five who had to train on their own during pre-season. On 3 September, his contract was cancelled.

Chesterfield

Ten days later, he signed a four-month contract with

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

Scunthorpe United

On 14 January 2014, McSheffrey signed for Scunthorpe United until the end of the 2013–14 season. McSheffrey made his United debut on 25 January in a 3–3 draw away to Dagenham & Redbridge, and his home debut two days later in a goalless draw with

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

. His first goal for the club came from a free kick in a 2–1 win against Walsall on 30 August. He played 37 times for United in the league that season, scoring four goals, as they finished 16th behind

by one point.

Doncaster Rovers

On 23 March 2016, McSheffrey signed for fellow League One club

on loan until the end of the season.

Eastleigh

McSheffrey joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

on 7 September 2017 on a deal until January 2018. He scored twice from 11 league appearances before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent for family reasons in late November.

Grimsby Town

McSheffrey joined League Two club

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on 15 March 2018 until the end of the season. He was released at the end of the season.

Coaching career

McSheffrey played a one-match trial for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

in their

Lincolnshire Senior Cup The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a football (soccer) competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised by the Lincolnshire FA. The competition can be traced back to the formation of the Lincolnshire FA at a meeting held at th ...

defeat against

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since th ...

in July 2018, before joining the coaching staff at Doncaster Rovers' Academy as professional development phase coach working with the under-18 team. Alongside his coaching role, he played a few matches for Northern Premier League East side

early in the 2018–19 season, and made his debut for

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History T ...

club Rossington Main in October 2020. On 2 December 2021, McSheffrey was appointed caretaker manager of Doncaster Rovers following the sacking of manager

Richie Wellens Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League Two club Leyton Orient. Wellens began his career at Manchester United ...

with the club 23rd in the table. After four matches in charge, he was appointed manager on a permanent basis. On 17 October 2022, McSheffrey was sacked by Doncaster Rovers.

Personal life

McSheffrey has coached children in the Coventry area via the Soccer Rockz football coaching programme, in association with Coventry City Football Club (CCFC). A former pupil of Bishop Ullathorne School, McSheffrey is a Roman Catholic.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Luton Town *

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 ...

: 2004–05 Birmingham City *

second-place promotion: 2006–07 *

second-place promotion: 2008–09 Leeds United *League One second-place promotion: 2009–10 Scunthorpe United *

second-place promotion: 2013–14 Doncaster Rovers *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

third-place promotion: 2016–17 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

2006–07 Football League Championship The 2006–07 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the league under its current title and fifteenth season under its current league division format. The Football Leag ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McSheffrey, Gary 1982 births Living people Footballers from Coventry English Roman Catholics English footballers England youth international footballers Association football forwards Association football wingers Coventry City F.C. players IK Brage players Stockport County F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Frickley Athletic F.C. players Rossington Main F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Superettan players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Sweden Association football coaches English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers English Football League managers