Chris Kirkland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chris Kirkland

Kirkland warming up with Wigan Athletic in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Edmund Kirkland
Date of birth	(1981-05-02) 2 May 1981 (age 44)
Place of birth	Barwell, England
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Colne (Head Goalkeeping Coach)
Youth career
0000–1998	Coventry City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2001	Coventry City	24	(0)
2001–2006	Liverpool	25	(0)
2005–2006	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	10	(0)
2006	→ Wigan Athletic (loan)	9	(0)
2006–2012	Wigan Athletic	122	(0)
2010	→ Leicester City (loan)	3	(0)
2011	→ Doncaster Rovers (loan)	1	(0)
2012–2015	Sheffield Wednesday	85	(0)
2015–2016	Preston North End	5	(0)
2016	Bury	0	(0)
Total		284	(0)
International career
2001–2003	England U21	8	(0)
2006	England	1	(0)
Managerial career
2018	Liverpool Women (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Chris Kirkland (born 2 May 1981) is an English coach and former professional goalkeeper. He is currently the head goalkeeping coach at Colne. During his 18-year playing career from 1998 to 2016, he played in 321 league and cup matches. He also played one game for the English national team in 2006.

Kirkland started his career at Coventry City. He was seen as a very promising young goalkeeper. In August 2001, he joined Premier League club Liverpool for £6 million. However, he faced many injuries during his time there. These injuries almost made him stop playing football.

After a successful loan, he joined Wigan Athletic in July 2006. He also had loan spells at Leicester City and Doncaster Rovers. In May 2012, he signed with Sheffield Wednesday. He then played for Preston North End and briefly for Bury before retiring in August 2016.

After retiring, Kirkland became a coach. He started with Port Vale in January 2017. The next year, he joined the coaching staff for Liverpool Women. He even briefly managed the team for about a month and a half.

Club Career Highlights

Starting at Coventry City

Chris Kirkland was born in Barwell, England. He grew up there with his parents, Marie and Eddie. His father, Eddie, helped him practice his goalkeeping skills for many hours. After a tryout with Blackburn Rovers didn't work out, he signed a contract with Coventry City in July 1998.

Kirkland played his first game for Coventry in the League Cup in September 1999. He helped his team win 3–1 against Tranmere Rovers. His manager, Gordon Strachan, started picking him for Premier League games. This was even though he was young and less experienced than the main goalkeeper.

At the end of the 2000–01 season, he played for the England under-21s. His teammates also voted him Coventry's Players' Player of the Year. Many big clubs were interested in him. In August 2001, Liverpool bought him for £6 million. At 20 years old, he became the most expensive goalkeeper in British football history at that time.

Time at Liverpool

Kirkland played his first game for Liverpool in October 2001. He was usually the backup goalkeeper to Jerzy Dudek during the 2001–02 season. In December 2002, after some mistakes by Dudek, manager Gérard Houllier made Kirkland the main goalkeeper.

He played 14 games in a row and kept six clean sheets. However, he got an ankle injury in January 2003. This injury kept him out for the rest of the season. It meant he missed the 2003 League Cup final, which Liverpool won. He also had other injuries, like a torn groin and a broken finger.

At the start of the 2004–05 season, Kirkland became Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper again. He played 14 matches before a back injury sidelined him in December. He had played in four Champions League matches. However, he couldn't be in the squad for the 2005 final because of his injury. Liverpool won the final, and his teammate Scott Carson offered him his winner's medal, but Kirkland didn't accept it.

In July 2005, Kirkland went on a season-long loan to West Bromwich Albion. He wanted to get his career back on track. He kept a clean sheet in his first game for them. But another injury meant he was replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak. Liverpool's manager, Rafael Benítez, told him he needed to leave if he wanted to play regularly. This was because new signing Pepe Reina was playing very well.

Playing for Wigan Athletic

Kirkland warming up with Wigan Athletic in 2010

In July 2006, Kirkland joined Wigan Athletic on a six-month loan. The manager, Paul Jewell, knew Kirkland had potential but worried about his injuries. The move became permanent in October for £2.5 million.

Kirkland won the club's Players' Player of the Year award for the 2007–08 season. A great moment that season was saving a penalty kick in a 5–3 win. In May 2008, he signed a new contract with Wigan until 2012.

In November 2009, Kirkland's team lost 9–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Despite this, his former manager, Steve Bruce, still admired him. In March 2010, manager Roberto Martínez praised Kirkland's consistent performances.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Kirkland was replaced by Ali Al-Habsi. In November 2010, he joined Leicester City on loan. He played three games there before returning to Wigan due to a back injury. He also had a brief loan spell at Doncaster Rovers in October 2011, but another back problem sent him back to Wigan quickly.

Time at Sheffield Wednesday

In May 2012, Kirkland signed a two-year contract with Sheffield Wednesday. He made his debut in August 2012. In October, during a game against Leeds United, a fan ran onto the pitch and attacked him. Kirkland needed treatment, and the attacker was later jailed.

Kirkland was the main goalkeeper for most of the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. However, he became the second-choice goalkeeper behind Keiren Westwood in the 2014–15 season. He left the club in July 2015 after turning down a new contract offer.

Later Career and Retirement

On 12 August 2015, Kirkland joined Preston North End on a one-year contract. He was a backup goalkeeper there. He was released by the club in May 2016 when his contract ended.

In June 2016, Kirkland joined Bury. However, he left the club for personal reasons before the season started in August. He later shared that he had been dealing with mental health challenges for four years.

International Career

Kirkland played eight games for the England under-21 team. He was often chosen for the senior England squad from 2003. However, he didn't play his first game until August 2006. He came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Greece.

When Kirkland was eleven, his father and some family friends made bets that he would play for England before he turned 30. When he played, they each won £10,000!

Coaching Career

In January 2017, Kirkland started coaching goalkeepers at Port Vale. He did this as a favor to his friend and former teammate, Michael Brown. He also started his own Chris Kirkland Goalkeeper Academy.

In July 2018, Kirkland returned to Liverpool to coach the goalkeepers for the women's team. He was briefly the caretaker manager of the team in September 2018. After a new permanent manager was appointed, he went back to his role as goalkeeping coach and also became assistant manager. He left in March 2019 to focus on his growing academy. In June 2020, he became the head goalkeeping coach at Colne.

Personal Life and Mental Health Advocacy

Chris and his wife Leeona have a daughter named Lucy, born in November 2006. In April 2008, Kirkland worked with other football players to launch the Get Started program. This program helps young people who have been in trouble. He visited a Youth Offenders' Institution to support the program.

In July 2022, Kirkland bravely spoke about his past struggles with mental health. He shared his experiences to help others. In July 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University for his important work in mental health awareness.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

This table shows how many games Chris Kirkland played for each club and in different competitions.

International Appearances

This table shows how many games Chris Kirkland played for the England national team each year.

Honours and Awards

Coventry City

• FA Youth Cup runner-up: 1998–99

Liverpool

• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05

Individual Awards

• Coventry City Players' Player of the Year: 2000–01
• Wigan Athletic Players' Player of the Year: 2007–08

See also

In Spanish: Chris Kirkland para niños