Misplaced Pages

Darron Gibson

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MondalorBot (talk | contribs) at 13:59, 27 February 2010 (Robot adding: ar:دارين غيبسون). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 13:59, 27 February 2010 by MondalorBot (talk | contribs) (Robot adding: ar:دارين غيبسون)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Darron Gibson
Personal information
Full name Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team Manchester United
Number 28
Youth career
000?–2004 Institute
2004–2005 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005– Manchester United 12 (2)
2006–2007 → Royal Antwerp (loan) 33 (1)
2007–2008 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 21 (1)
International career
2006 Republic of Ireland U21
2006 Republic of Ireland B 1 (0)
2007– Republic of Ireland 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:08, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:35, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish footballer who plays for Manchester United, having previously been loaned out to Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In 2007, Gibson, who was born in Derry, was at the centre of a dispute between the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association, after he opted to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland. The issue was referred to FIFA and was discussed in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Club career

A former pupil of St Columb's College, Gibson played junior football in the Derry and District League, and then with Institute F.C. before joining Manchester United in 2004. He made his senior debut for United on 26 October 2005 in a League Cup game against Barnet, coming on as a substitute for Lee Martin. During the 2005-06 season he played regularly for Manchester United Reserves, helping them win a treble. He made 19 appearances, scoring twice. In May 2006, he won the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Award as United's youth player of the year and then played regularly for the United senior team during their pre-season summer games. Together with Dong Fangzhuo, Jonny Evans, Fraizer Campbell and Danny Simpson, he was one of several United players who spent the 2006-07 season on loan at Royal Antwerp. In October 2007, he was loaned out again, this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he spent the majority of the 2007-08 season. At Wolves he scored once, against Burnley on 8 December 2007.

Gibson made his Premier League debut on 15 November 2008, appearing as a second half substitute against Stoke City, before making his UEFA Champions League debut ten days later, coming on as a substitute for Darren Fletcher against Villarreal on 25 November 2008. In December 2008, he travelled with the United squad to the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where, despite not making any appearances, he picked up a winners' medal. On 4 January 2009, Gibson scored his first goal for the club, firing home United's third in a 3–0 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup Third Round. He then got another in the Fifth Round of the competition, scoring United's second goal in a 4–1 win away to Derby County on 15 February 2009, winning the "man of the match" award in the process. On 1 March 2009, Gibson started in the centre of midfield alongside Paul Scholes against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, playing the full initial 90 minutes before being replaced by Ryan Giggs at the start of extra time. The match finished goalless at the end of extra time, and United went on to win 4–1 on penalties, granting Gibson the second cup winners' medal of his career. On 24 May, he scored his first league goal for Manchester United in the last game of the 2008–09 Premier League season against Hull City. From the left wing, Federico Macheda played the ball to Gibson on the edge of the penalty area, and the Irish international fired the ball into the far side of the goal from around 25 yards. In response to performances during the season, Gibson was rewarded with a three-year extension to his Manchester United contract, tying him to the club until at least 2012.

Gibson impressed with his midfield ability during a lot of United's fixtures, however the young crop of United stars came under some fire when they lost United's 4 year unbeaten home record in Europe, losing 1–0 to Beşiktaş at Old Trafford. On 1 December 2009, six days on from their embarrassing defeat in the Champions League, Gibson responded to the criticism by scoring both of United's goals in a 2–0 win against Tottenham to send United through the the Semi-finals of the League Cup. On 5 December, Gibson then went on to score his third goal in a week, netting a fantastic long range shot in a 4–0 away win against West Ham.

International career

Gibson was at the centre of a dispute between the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland over the eligibility of players born within Northern Ireland to represent the Republic of Ireland. Normally, players not born within the territory of the Association they wish to represent must demonstrate to FIFA that they have a valid "connection" (ancestry or residence) with that territory. However, the unique position in Northern Ireland, whereby citizenship of the Republic of Ireland is the "birthright" of every person born on the island of Ireland if they so wish, meant that Gibson was eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland at international level. As a result, Gibson was approached to represent both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level.. In the wake of the controversy which this dispute engendered, certain other players from Northern Ireland have sought to take advantage of this application of the eligibility rules by FIFA. However, this does not (as yet, at least) appear to have "opened the floodgates", since of the three other senior players who sought to declare for the Republic of Ireland, Tony Kane and Michael O'Connor both reversed their initial decision and reverted to Northern Ireland and it turns out that a third, Marc Wilson, who opted to stay with the Republic of Ireland, has in any case a grandparent who was born in the Republic.

Northern Ireland

Gibson initially represented Northern Ireland at Under-16 level and was included in Victory Shield squads. However, he was dropped from the team after attending trials with Manchester United and subsequently switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland. Before Gibson made his senior international debut for the Republic of Ireland, Nigel Worthington, the Northern Ireland manager, made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade him to switch his allegiances back.

Republic of Ireland

Gibson first represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17 level. Then during the 2005-06 season he captained both the Republic of Ireland under-19 and under-21 squads. On 14 November 2006, he also played for Republic of Ireland B in a 0-0 draw against Scotland B. In 2007, Gibson was included in several senior Republic of Ireland squads for Euro 2008 qualifiers, before he eventually made his debut in a 4-0 win against Denmark. During the away friendly, he came on as half-time substitute, replacing Andy Reid. In the 54th minute, Gibson fired a shot from outside the penalty area that the Danish keeper, Jesper Christiansen, could only palm away, allowing Shane Long to follow up and score the Republic's third goal. Gibson won his second full cap on 8 September 2007 in an away game against Slovakia. The Euro 2008 qualifier, which finished as a 2-2 draw, saw him again used as substitute, this time replacing Aiden McGeady after 61 minutes.

Gibson made his first start for the Republic of Ireland national team in a 1–0 win at home to Cyprus on 15 October 2008. After Steven Reid dropped out of the Irish squad due to injury, Gibson was called up to provide extra physicality in the centre of the Irish midfield. Manager Giovanni Trapattoni also cited Gibson's confidence on the football pitch as the reason for choosing him ahead of Liam Miller and Andy Reid.

Statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2005–06 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2006–07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Royal Antwerp (loan) 2006–07 31 1 2 0 – 0 0 0 0 33 1
Manchester United 2007–08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2007–08 21 1 3 0 0 0 – 0 0 24 1
Manchester United 2008–09 3 1 3 2 6 0 2 0 0 0 14 3
2009–10 9 1 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 14 3
Total 12 2 4 2 9 2 4 0 0 0 29 6
Career total 64 4 9 2 9 2 4 0 0 0 86 8

Statistics accurate as of match played 23 February 2010

Honours

Club

Manchester United

References

  1. "Gibson can't play for Republic, says Wells": Stuart McKinley, Belfast Telegraph (January 31 2007). Retrieved February 2 2007.
  2. "Republic up ante in Gibson cap row": Daily Mail (September 6 2007)
  3. Fifa to discuss Irish player row
  4. Fifa unable to clarify Irish row
  5. Northern Ireland minister warns of sectarian divide
  6. www.manutdzone.com
  7. Darron Gibson Manchester United FC
  8. www.fai.ie
  9. United five go to Antwerp
  10. Darron Gibson at Soccerbase
  11. "Wolves 2-3 Burnley". BBC. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  12. McNulty, Phil (1 March 2009). "Man Utd 0-0 Tottenham (aet)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  13. Hughes, Ian (24 May 2009). "Hull 0-1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  14. Hibbs, Ben (15 July 2009). "Gibson agrees new deal". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  15. McNulty, Phil (25 November 2009). "Man Utd 0-1 Besiktas". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  16. McNulty, Phil (01 December 2009). "Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 01 December 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  17. Ashenden, Mark (05 December 2009). "West Ham 0-4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 05 December 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  18. FAI responds over NI defections
  19. www.independent.ie
  20. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  21. www. belfasttelegraph.co.uk
  22. NI boss targets Republic's Gibson
  23. Republic of Ireland U19
  24. Republic of Ireland U21
  25. Republic of Ireland B
  26. "Gibson included in Republic squad". BBC Sport. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  27. senior Republic of Ireland debut
  28. Republic of Ireland v Slovakia
  29. Republic of Ireland senior stats
  30. "Gibson included in Republic team". BBC Sport. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  31. Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  32. Endlar, Andrew. "Darron Gibson". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2010.

External links

Manchester United F.C. – current squad
Categories: