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 lea ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. 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

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

, before finishing his playing career at Southern League side Farnborough. Born in England, he also played for the Scotland U21 national team.

Career

Born in the English town of

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

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 Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

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 is currently assistant head coach at West Bromwich Albion, a role he previously held at Swansea City, has previously worked as a coach w ...

.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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

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, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

against

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 Sportspeople 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