Gary Daniel Liddle (born 15 June 1986) is an English 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 lea ...

who is currently manager of

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

side Whitby Town. He played in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for Hartlepool United,

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, Bradford City, Chesterfield, Carlisle United and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. Liddle came through the ranks at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

where he won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 2004. After leaving Middlesbrough, Liddle signed for local League Two side Hartlepool United where he would play an important role in Hartlepool's promotion to League One as runners-up. He would remain at the League One side for six seasons before departing for Notts County in 2012. Liddle won several individual awards in his first season with the Magpies and would stay with Notts County for two years before subsequently signing for Bradford City, Chesterfield, Carlisle United and Walsall. He was sent on loan to former club Hartlepool United in 2019 who were now in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. He then signed permanently for the club where he would play an integral role in central defence as Hartlepool won the 2021 National League play-off final. He left at the end of Hartlepool's first season back in the Football League having made 364 appearances over three spells at the club, making him the tenth highest appearance maker in the club's history. Liddle then joined

side

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

. In his first season, he was awarded as the club's Player of the Season as South Shields earned promotion to the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. In the following season, Liddle signed for Spennymoor Town.

Career

Middlesbrough

Liddle was born in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. He began his career with hometown side

. He was a regular in the academy sides and won the 2003–04

. He signed a professional contract with Middlesbrough on 14 July 2003.

Hartlepool United

In August 2006, Liddle joined nearby League Two club Hartlepool United on a free transfer, signed by Danny Wilson. He made his debut in a League Cup win at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 22 August 2006 in central defence. He made a good impression during his first season with Hartlepool and performed well at right-back, centre-half and midfield. He shared the Players' Player of the Year award with Michael Nelson that year as Pools were promoted back to League One at the first attempt. He remained a mainstay in the side in the following seasons. In 2010, Liddle was booked in a game at Leyton Orient, which meant an instant suspension was triggered after collecting his 10th yellow card of the season. However, no-one at the club realised he had been cautioned and he played 48 hours later against Brighton & Hove Albion. Pools then recognised later he should have not appeared and informed the FA. Pools were charged with fielding an ineligible player and deducted three points. That meant with one game of the season to go, they were in a relegation battle, but a draw at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on the final day of the season kept them up. On 13 August 2011, while playing in a home league match against

, Liddle suffered an injury, as his

zygomatic bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from ), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone, situated at the upper and lateral part of the face and forming part of the lateral wall and floor of the orbit, of the temporal fos ...

became fractured in two places. He was able to complete the match, which ended in a 1–1 draw. However, he was sidelined afterwards. For his return to playing, he wore a protective mask. On 19 May 2012, it was announced that Liddle was released from Hartlepool United after six years after he rejected a new deal. He made 238 appearances for the club during his first spell with the club.

Notts County

Liddle signed for League One club

on 21 June 2012 on a two-year contract. Liddle stated that it was

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...

's desire to manage in 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 sys ...

that played a big part in the switch. "Keith wants to manage in the Championship with Notts. That's why I came here. Hopefully I can help him do that". Before the start of the 2012–13 season, Liddle admitted there was a challenge to earn a first team spot. "It's the most competitive squad I've ever been in, If I get the shirt I will have to play well to keep it and if I'm not in the team I'll have to work even harder in training to get in there." He made his competitive debut for the club in a 2–1 victory over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, partnering Dean Leacock in the centre of defence. Liddle made a good start to his career at Notts County and was awarded the PFA Fans' Player of the Month for September, continuing to play at centre back, he ensured County remained unbeaten in that month. Liddle made his final and 46th league appearance of the season against Coventry City. It meant he had played every minute of the 2012–13 season, equalling a record last set by County's Pedro Richards 30 years ago. He then won four awards at the clubs' end of season award ceremony. Including; The Manager's Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year and the Supporters' Club Player of the Year. He left Notts County in 2014, having made 78 league appearances over his two seasons with the club.

Bradford City

Liddle signed for Bradford City on 9 June 2014 on a one-year contract with the option of an additional year. He made his debut on 9 August 2016 in a 3–2 home win against Coventry City. In January 2015, he played for Bradford in their 4–2 away win at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

leaders Chelsea in the FA Cup fourth round. He also started for Bradford in the FA Cup quarter-finals, however they were eliminated by Championship club

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in a replay. Liddle left Bradford in February 2016 having made 61 league appearances during his spell with the Bantams.

Chesterfield

Liddle signed for Chesterfield on 1 February 2016 for an undisclosed fee. He was named the club's captain. Liddle was sent off in his third appearance for the 'Spireites', on 16 February 2016 in an away game to

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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

for an 18th minute foul. Liddle scored his first goal for the club on 13 August 2016, scoring the first in a 3–1 victory over

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, heading into an empty net after a Ched Evans free kick was saved.

Carlisle United

Liddle signed for League Two club Carlisle United on 13 January 2017 on a one-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He was released by Carlisle at the end of the 2018–19 season. He made 117 appearances in all competitions for the Cumbrians, scoring twice.

Walsall

On 26 July 2019, Liddle moved to

, signed by his former Hartlepool teammate Darrell Clarke. He made 16 appearances for the Saddlers, before leaving on loan for his former club Hartlepool United, now playing in the

where he played as a central defender.

Return to Hartlepool United

Liddle re-signed for Hartlepool permanently for a second time after a successful loan spell in the previous season from

. Liddle's first appearance in his third spell at Hartlepool saw him reach the landmark of 300 appearances for Hartlepool United in a 2–1 win against

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

. Liddle played in the 2021 National League play-off final as Hartlepool defeated

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

on penalties to earn promotion back to the Football League. Following their promotion, Liddle signed a new one-year deal with the club. On 5 March 2022, Liddle made his 700th career appearance in a 2–1 win at Harrogate Town. On 6 June 2022, it was announced that Liddle had decided to leave Hartlepool upon the expiration of his contract. During his three spells with Hartlepool United, Liddle made 364 appearances, making him the tenth highest appearance maker in the club's history.

South Shields

On the same day Liddle announced his departure from Hartlepool, he signed for

. He played every minute for Shields during the 2022–23 season and won the club's Player of the Year award as the club won promotion to the

. Additionally, he was also named in the 2022–23 Northern Premier League Team of the Season. In March 2023, it was announced that Liddle had left South Shields by mutual consent.

Spennymoor Town

Following his departure from South Shields, Liddle signed for fellow National League North side Spennymoor Town in March 2023 on a deal until the end of the season. In doing so, he linked up with his former Hartlepool manager Graeme Lee. Lee said of the signing "I worked with Gary at Hartlepool United and he's an outstanding competitor, a leader on and off the pitch and someone who can come in and help us during the final month. He's looked after himself exceptionally well and still has plenty to give so I am really pleased that we've been able to add him to the squad."

Whitby Town

On 25 May 2023, it was announced Liddle had signed for Northern Premier League side Whitby Town. He signed a two-year deal with The Seasiders which saw him take up a player-coach role. In October 2024, Liddle was appointed manager at Whitby. On 9 February 2025, Liddle announced his retirement from playing. On 5 April 2025, Liddle came out of retirement in a game against Lancaster City.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Middlesbrough *

: 2003–04 Hartlepool United *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

second-place promotion: 2006–07 *

play-offs:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

South Shields *

: 2022–23 Individual * Hartlepool United Players' Player of the Year (joint): 2006–07 * Notts County Player of the Year: 2012–13 *Notts County Manager's Player of the Year: 2012–13 *Notts County Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13 *

Team of the Year: 2022–23 *South Shields Player of the Year: 2022–23

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liddle, Gary 1986 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Middlesbrough F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players South Shields F.C. players Spennymoor Town F.C. players Whitby Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Whitby Town F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers 21st-century English sportsmen