Kris Boyd facts for kids
Boyd playing for Rangers in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kris Boyd | ||
| Date of birth | 18 August 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Irvine, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Kilmarnock | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2006 | Kilmarnock | 153 | (63) |
| 2006–2010 | Rangers | 143 | (101) |
| 2010–2011 | Middlesbrough | 27 | (6) |
| 2011 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 10 | (6) |
| 2011 | Eskişehirspor | 2 | (0) |
| 2012 | Portland Timbers | 26 | (7) |
| 2013–2014 | Kilmarnock | 44 | (25) |
| 2014–2015 | Rangers | 29 | (3) |
| 2015–2019 | Kilmarnock | 109 | (33) |
| Total | 543 | (244) | |
| National team | |||
| 2002–2005 | Scotland U21 | 8 | (1) |
| 2003–2006 | Scotland B | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2010 | Scotland | 18 | (7) |
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Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal-scorer. Today, he works as a sports expert, sharing his opinions on games.
Boyd grew up in a village called Tarbolton in South Ayrshire, Scotland. He started his career with Kilmarnock. Later, he moved to Rangers in 2006. He was the top goal-scorer for Rangers in every season he played at their home stadium, Ibrox. He holds the record for the most goals ever scored in the Scottish Premier League, with 167 goals!
After his time in Scotland, Boyd played for a short while in England with Middlesbrough. He also had a loan spell at Nottingham Forest. In 2011, he joined a Turkish club called Eskişehirspor, but he left after five months. Then, in 2012, he moved to the Portland Timbers in the Major League Soccer in the United States. He later returned to play for both Kilmarnock and Rangers again.
Kris Boyd also played for the Scottish national team. He scored seven goals in 18 games for his country. Now, you can often see him as a football expert on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.
Contents
Early Football Life
When Kris Boyd was a young boy, he actually played as a defender for Rangers in 17 matches. However, he was later released from their youth team. At the age of 12, he joined the youth program at Kilmarnock, which was about ten miles from his home. It was there that he changed his position and became a striker, focusing on scoring goals.
Club Career Highlights
First Time at Kilmarnock
Kris Boyd signed his first professional contract with Kilmarnock when he was 16 years old, on 25 August 1999. He played his first game for the club as a substitute in the last match of the 2000–01 season against Celtic. The next season, he got more chances to play and scored four goals.
In the 2002–03 season, Boyd started playing really well. He won the SPL Young Player of the Month award for August. He scored 12 goals that season and was named Kilmarnock's Young Player of the Year. His great performance caught the eye of other clubs, like Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the 2003–04 season, he scored 15 goals. In September 2004, he set a Scottish Premier League record by scoring all five of Kilmarnock's goals in a single game against Dundee United. He continued to score many goals, with 19 in the 2004–05 season.
First Time at Rangers
Kris Boyd officially joined Rangers on 1 January 2006. He was signed for about £500,000. He played his first game for Rangers on 7 January 2006 in the Scottish Cup. In that game, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) in a 5–0 win against Peterhead. He scored 20 goals in just 17 games for Rangers in the second half of that season. This meant he ended the season with a total of 37 goals for both Kilmarnock and Rangers. He was the first player to be the top scorer for two different clubs in one season!
In January 2007, Boyd scored his 100th Scottish Premier League goal. This goal was also his first against Celtic, helping Rangers win 2–0. By the end of that season, he had scored 25 goals for Rangers.
The 2007–08 season was very successful for Boyd. He scored his 50th and 51st goals for Rangers on 26 September 2007. This made him the second-fastest Rangers player to reach 50 goals for the club. He won his first trophy on 16 March 2008 when Rangers won the League Cup. He scored both of Rangers' goals in the final and the winning penalty in the shootout. He also scored two goals in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, which Rangers won 3–2. He finished that season with 25 goals.
In January 2009, Rangers received an offer of almost £4 million for Boyd from Birmingham City. However, Boyd decided to stay at Rangers. In the 2008–09 season, he won his first Scottish Premier League title and another Scottish Cup. He was again the top scorer for Rangers with 31 goals, his highest total yet.
On 30 December 2009, Boyd scored five goals in a huge 7–1 win against Dundee United. By doing this, he became the all-time leading goal scorer in the Scottish Premier League, passing Henrik Larsson. On 1 May 2010, he scored his 100th league goal for Rangers. In the 2009–10 season, Boyd was the top scorer for Rangers and in the Scottish Premier League again, with 26 goals. He also won the Scottish Premier League and the League Cup for the second time. On 28 May 2010, Rangers announced that Boyd would be leaving the club.
Time in England and Turkey
On 5 July 2010, Boyd signed a two-year contract with Middlesbrough, a team in the English Championship. He scored his first goal for Middlesbrough on 22 August 2010. On 1 February 2011, he scored his 200th club career goal! On 8 March 2011, Boyd joined Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season. He scored six goals in ten games for Forest.
After his time in England, Boyd signed a three-year contract with the Turkish club Eskişehirspor on 8 July 2011. However, he ended his contract on 19 December 2011. He played only 76 minutes of league football for the club.
Playing in the USA
On 30 January 2012, Kris Boyd signed with the Portland Timbers in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. He scored his first goal for the Timbers on 4 March 2012 in a pre-season game. Eight days later, he scored in his first league game, helping the Timbers win 3–1. He scored seven goals in 26 games for Portland in the 2012 Major League Soccer season. On 31 January 2013, he left the club.
Return to Kilmarnock (Second and Third Times)
In February 2013, Boyd returned to Kilmarnock for a short time. In the 2013–14 season, he had one of his best seasons for Kilmarnock, scoring 22 goals in 37 matches. His great goal-scoring even led to him being called back to play for Scotland.
Boyd signed a three-year contract with Kilmarnock again in June 2015. On 13 August 2016, he scored his 100th goal for Kilmarnock. On 28 January 2016, he scored the fastest goal in Scottish Premiership history, after just 10 seconds! On 6 March 2017, Boyd scored his 200th top-flight league goal. This made him only the fifth player since World War II to reach that many goals. In December 2017, he scored both goals in a 2–1 win against his former club, Rangers.
In the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership season, Boyd played exceptionally well under manager Steve Clarke. He finished as the top goal-scorer in the league with 18 goals.
On 6 April 2019, Boyd scored from a penalty kick, which was his 300th goal in his professional football career across all his clubs and for Scotland. He announced his retirement from professional football in June 2019.
International Career
Kris Boyd played for the Scotland under-21 team many times. He also played for the senior Scotland national team. On 11 May 2006, he made his debut for Scotland and scored two goals in a 5–1 win against Bulgaria. He continued to score important goals in European Championship qualifying games.
On 11 October 2008, Boyd said he would not play international football anymore under the manager George Burley. This was because Burley didn't play him in a game, choosing another player instead. However, after Burley was no longer manager, Boyd said he was "ready and willing" to play for Scotland again. He was called up to the squad in December 2009. His last international game was in September 2010.
How He Played
Kris Boyd was known as a "goal poacher." This means his main skill was scoring goals, especially from inside the penalty box. He was very good at being in the right place at the right time to score. When he first joined Rangers, he scored an amazing average of two goals for every three games he played!
Sometimes, if he didn't score, people would question his overall contribution to the team. However, his ability to find the back of the net was always his strongest point.
Personal Life
In 2016, Kris Boyd's younger brother, Scott, passed away. After this sad event, Kris Boyd started the Kris Boyd Charity. This charity aims to help people with mental health problems and encourage open discussions about these important issues.
Honours
Club
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 2008–09, 2009–10
- Scottish Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09
- Scottish League Cup: 2007–08, 2009–10
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 2007–08
International
Scotland
- Kirin Cup: 2006
Individual Awards
- Scottish league top goalscorer (5 times): 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2017–18
- Broke the SPL goalscoring record: January 2010
- Scottish Premier League Player of the Month (3 times): November 2005, January 2006, December 2009
- Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: December 2017
- Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: August 2002, January 2003
Images for kids
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Boyd during his time with Eskişehirspor
See also
In Spanish: Kris Boyd para niños
- List of footballers in Scotland by number of league goals (200+)
