Shaun Goater facts for kids
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Goater in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonard Shaun Goater | ||
| Date of birth | 25 February 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Hamilton, Bermuda | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1985 | North Village | ||
| 1985–1986 | Boulevard | ||
| 1986–1987 | North Village | ||
| 1988–1989 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
| 1989–1996 | Rotherham United | 209 | (70) |
| 1993 | → Notts County (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Bristol City | 75 | (40) |
| 1998–2003 | Manchester City | 184 | (84) |
| 2003–2005 | Reading | 43 | (12) |
| 2005 | → Coventry City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Southend United | 34 | (11) |
| 2007–2008 | Bermuda Hogges | 9 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | North Village Rams | 7 | (1) |
| Total | 567 | (221) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–2004 | Bermuda | 22 | (20) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008–2013 | North Village Rams | ||
| 2017 | Ilkeston | ||
| 2024–2025 | Aston Villa Women (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leonard Shaun Goater (born on February 25, 1970) is a former professional footballer from Bermuda. He also worked as a coach and a sports commentator. Currently, he is part of the coaching team for Aston Villa Women.
As a player, Shaun Goater was a striker for many English clubs in the 1990s and 2000s. His first professional club was Manchester United, but he didn't play for their main team. He made his first league appearance in 1989 after joining Rotherham United.
He played for Rotherham for seven years before moving to Bristol City in 1996. Two years later, he joined Manchester City for £400,000. He is most famous for his time at Manchester City, where he scored over 100 goals between 1998 and 2003. He was the club's top scorer for four seasons in a row.
After leaving Manchester City, Goater played for Reading, Coventry City, and Southend United. He retired in May 2006. He also played for the Bermuda national team 36 times, scoring 32 goals.
Contents
Shaun Goater's Early Life
Goater was born in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. He lived with his mother, grandmother, and two aunts. He first experienced English football in April 1987 when he joined a school football tour. He played against various English high school teams, including the Leicester City youth team.
At 17, he moved to the United States for school, where he had a soccer scholarship. While visiting Bermuda for Thanksgiving, scouts from Manchester United noticed him. They invited him to England for a trial. His mother, who also played football, encouraged him to accept, even though it meant giving up his scholarship. At this time, Goater played as a creative midfielder, not a striker.
Shaun Goater's Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Shaun Goater's trial with Manchester United led to a professional contract. However, he didn't get to play for their main team. In 1989, Goater joined Rotherham United to get more playing time. He found it hard to get used to life in England at first, missing his home. He said, "It took me a good two years to get used to life in England. At first I thought the sun never shone and it wasn't for me."
But he slowly settled in. Over seven seasons at Rotherham, he became known as a reliable striker in the lower divisions. He scored 86 goals in 262 games. A big moment was winning the Football League Trophy in 1996. In 1992, he played against Premier League team Everton in the League Cup. Goater scored the only goal in the first game, helping Rotherham win 1–0. However, Everton won the next game, and Rotherham was knocked out.
In 1993, Goater had a short loan spell at Notts County, but he only played one game because of a work permit issue. Towards the end of the 1995–96 season, Goater had a disagreement with his manager and decided to leave Rotherham.
Moving to Bristol City
After leaving Rotherham, Goater had offers from clubs in Spain and South Korea. But since he had recently gotten married, he chose to stay in England. Soon after, he moved to Bristol City for £175,000. Goater scored in his debut game against Gillingham, but Bristol City lost 3–2.
The next season, Bristol City aimed for promotion to the First Division. Goater scored many goals and was even named in the best team of the year for the division. In less than two years with Bristol City, he scored 45 goals in 81 games. On March 26, 1998, Goater signed with Manchester City for £400,000.
Shaun Goater at Manchester City
Shaun Goater joined Manchester City when the club was struggling. The new manager, Joe Royle, was trying to save them from being relegated to the third division. Goater scored three goals in his first seven games, but it wasn't enough. Manchester City was relegated for the first time ever.
At first, some fans weren't sure about Goater. But as he scored more goals, they started to love him. They even made a song for him: "Feed The Goat And He Will Score." In the 1998–99 season, Goater scored 21 goals, becoming Manchester City's top scorer. His last goal that season was a winning goal in a play-off game against Wigan Athletic. This sent Manchester City to Wembley Stadium for a final, where they won and were promoted.
The 1999–2000 season was even better for Goater. He was the club's top scorer again with 29 goals. Fans also voted him Manchester City's Player of the Year. Manchester City was promoted for the second year in a row. That summer, Goater was honored in Bermuda, and June 21 was named "Shaun Goater Day" on the island.
The next season, Goater played in top-flight football for the first time at age 30. He was Manchester City's top scorer for the third season in a row with 11 goals, but the team was relegated again.
In the 2001–02 season, Goater became the first Manchester City player since 1972 to score more than 30 goals in a season. Manchester City won the league and was promoted as champions. Goater was the top scorer for the club for the fourth time in a row, and also the top scorer in the division.
Even though Manchester City bought new strikers, Goater stayed with the team. He didn't start many games but still scored seven goals. This included his 100th goal for the club, which he scored in a derby match against local rivals Manchester United. In February 2003, Goater scored the fastest goal by a substitute in Premier League history against Manchester United, just 9 seconds after coming on!
Before the end of the 2002–03 season, Goater announced he would leave Manchester City to play more regularly. In his last game for Manchester City, he was asked to be the team captain. In total, Goater scored 103 goals in 212 games for Manchester City.
Later Career and Retirement
Goater joined Reading on August 1, 2003. The chairman of Reading called it "the biggest transfer in Reading Football Club's history." However, Goater's time there wasn't easy. The manager who signed him left, and the new manager didn't plan to use Goater much. In his second season at Reading, Goater played only four times and was loaned to Coventry City.
Goater thought about retiring, but instead joined Southend United for one last season as a professional. He joined them on August 3, 2005. At Southend, Goater helped guide younger players and scored 11 goals, helping the team get promoted for the second year in a row. His last game before retiring was on May 6, 2006, against Bristol City, one of his old clubs. About 400 Manchester City fans traveled to Southend to celebrate his career.
After retiring, Goater returned to Bermuda. He has also appeared on local media in Manchester, including writing a column for Manchester City's program.
Shaun Goater's International Career
Goater also played for the Bermuda national team 22 times, scoring 20 goals. Bermuda is not a top football nation, so he never played in a major international tournament. He first played for his country at age 17 against Canada. Other records show he played 36 games and scored 32 goals.
In the 1992–93 season, Goater missed eight weeks of his club season to play for Bermuda in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. However, Bermuda finished last in their group. His last game for Bermuda was in June 2004 against El Salvador.
When Goater played for Bermuda, he was often the only professional player on the team. This meant he was much better than his teammates. However, Goater said this also made his fitness drop because the team didn't follow a professional diet.
International Goals
Here are some of the goals Shaun Goater scored for Bermuda:
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 April 1989 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda |  Barbados |
2–1 | 2–1 | Daily Nation Trophy |
| 2 | 13 May 1990 | Mindoo Phillip Park, Castries, Saint Lucia |  Saint Lucia |
1–0 | 2–0 | 1990 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 26 May 1990 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | Barbados |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 5 | 29 May 1990 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | Barbados |
1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 6 | 2–0 | |||||
| 7 | 3–0 | |||||
| 8 | 4 February 1992 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda |  Norway |
1–3 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 9 | 26 April 1992 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda |  Haiti |
1–0 | 1–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 25 May 1992 | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti | Haiti |
1–0 | 1–2 | |
| 11 | 4 July 1992 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda |  Antigua and Barbuda |
1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 12 | 2–1 | |||||
| 13 | 1 November 1992 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador |  El Salvador |
1–4 | 1–4 | |
| 14 | 8 November 1992 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica |  Jamaica |
2–2 | 2–3 | |
| 15 | 15 November 1992 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada |  Canada |
1–3 | 2–4 | |
| 16 | 5 March 2000 | Sherly Ground, Road Town, British Virgin Islands |  British Virgin Islands |
3–0 | 5–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 4–0 | |||||
| 18 | 5–1 | |||||
| 19 | 31 March 2004 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda |  Nicaragua |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 2–0 |
Shaun Goater's Coaching Career
After retiring from playing, Goater went back to Bermuda. He wanted to become a coach and studied for his UEFA B coaching license in 2005. Since 2003, Goater has organized the "Shaun Goater Grass-roots Soccer Festival." This is a football coaching event for children in Bermuda.
In 2006, Goater helped create a professional football team in Bermuda called the Bermuda Hogges. He was both a director and a player for the team.
Goater left Bermuda Hogges in 2008 to focus on coaching young players at North Village Rams in his hometown. He became the head coach in 2008 and coached the Rams until 2013. During this time, he helped them win seven trophies, including the league title.
In 2015, Goater briefly worked as an assistant manager for New Mills. In 2017, he was appointed manager of Ilkeston. In 2019, he joined the staff of Macclesfield Town's under-18s team.
On October 8, 2021, Goater returned to Manchester City as part of their academy coaching staff. He joined as part of a program to increase the number of Black, Asian, and mixed heritage coaches in professional football. Goater worked with different age groups in the academy.
In April 2023, Goater became an assistant manager for Manchester City W.F.C., helping manager Gareth Taylor.
On August 28, 2024, Goater left Manchester City to become the Assistant Head Coach at Aston Villa W.F.C.. On December 11, 2024, he was named caretaker manager for Aston Villa Women after the previous manager left. Goater led his first game later that day, winning 4–1 against Charlton Athletic.
On January 22, 2025, Aston Villa hired a new manager, Natalia Arroyo. Goater then returned to his role as assistant coach. During his time as caretaker manager, Goater was in charge for 4 matches, winning 3 and drawing 1. He had hoped to get the manager job permanently.
Shaun Goater's Personal Life
Shaun Goater is married to Anita, his childhood sweetheart. They have two daughters, Amaya and Anais. Anais was born on October 3, 2000, in Wythenshawe, Manchester.
In 2003, Goater was awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his contributions to sport and young people in Bermuda. His autobiography, a book about his life, was published in September 2006. It is called Feed the Goat: The Shaun Goater Story.
Shaun Goater's Achievements
As a Player
Rotherham United
- Football League Trophy: 1995–96
Manchester City
- Football League First Division: 2001–02
- Football League Second Division play-offs: 1999 (promoted through play-offs)
Southend United
- Football League One: 2005–06 (league champion)
Individual Awards
- Football League First Division top scorer: 2001–02
- PFA Team of the Year: 1997–98, 2001–02 (chosen as one of the best players in his division)
- Manchester City Player of the Season: 1999–2000
- Member of the British Empire: 2003
As a Manager
North Village Rams
- Bermudian Premier Division: 2010–11
- Charity Shield (Super Cup): 2010–11
- Dudley Eve Trophy: 2009–10, 2010–11
- Friendship Trophy: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
See also
In Spanish: Shaun Goater para niños
