Gil Merrick
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Gilbert Harold Merrick | ||
Date of birth | 26 January 1922 | ||
Place of birth | Sparkhill, Birmingham, England | ||
Date of death | 3 February 2010 | (aged 88)||
Place of death | Birmingham,[1] England | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
1938–1939 | Birmingham | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1939–1960 | Birmingham City | 485 | (0) |
International career | |||
1951–1954 | England | 23 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1960–1964 | Birmingham City | ||
1967–1970 | Bromsgrove Rovers | ||
1970–1973 | Atherstone Town | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Gilbert Harold Merrick (26 January 1922 – 3 February 2010) was an English footballer and football manager. Considered one of the best goalkeepers in the UK during the mid-1950s, Merrick was one in a long line of great
Birmingham City renamed the Railway Stand at their St Andrew's stadium the Gil Merrick Stand for the start of the 2009–10 season.
Domestic career
Merrick was born in
When
By the 1955–56 season, Merrick had once again firmly established himself in the Birmingham City goal, as the Blues produced their best ever season, finishing sixth in the First Division and reaching the
Merrick also played in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, in which Birmingham were knocked out at the semi-final stage by Barcelona, losing 2–1 in a replay at the St. Jakob Stadium in Basel. He also played some part in the 1958–60 tournament, but had lost his place in the Birmingham team to Schofield when Birmingham lost to Barcelona in the final.
After only playing one game in the 1959–60 season, Merrick retired to become manager of the team he had served loyally for more than 20 years.
International career
Merrick was capped 23 times by
The following is a complete list of Merrick's England appearances.[2]
- England score given first.
Cap | Date | Opponents | Score | Competition | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 November 1951 | Ireland | 2–0 | 1952 Home Championship |
Villa Park, Birmingham |
2 | 28 November 1951 | Austria | 2–2 | Friendly | Wembley, London |
3 | 5 April 1952 | Scotland | 2–1 | 1952 Home Championship | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
4 | 18 May 1952 | Italy | 1–1 | Friendly | Comunale, Florence
|
5 | 25 May 1952 | Austria | 3–2 | Friendly | Prater, Vienna
|
6 | 28 May 1952 | Switzerland | 3–0 | Friendly | Hardturm, Zurich |
7 | 4 October 1952 | Ireland | 2–2 | 1953 Home Championship |
Windsor Park, Belfast |
8 | 12 November 1952 | Wales | 5–2 | 1953 Home Championship | Wembley, London |
9 | 26 November 1952 | Belgium | 5–0 | Friendly | Wembley, London |
10 | 18 April 1953 | Scotland | 2–2 | 1953 Home Championship | Wembley, London |
11 | 17 May 1953 | Argentina | 0–0 | Friendly | Monumental, Buenos Aires
|
12 | 24 May 1953 | Chile | 2–1 | Friendly | Nacional, Santiago
|
13 | 31 May 1953 | Uruguay | 1–2 | Friendly | Centenario, Montevideo |
14 | 10 October 1953 | Wales | 4–1 | 1954 Home Championship |
Ninian Park, Cardiff |
15 | 21 October 1953 | FIFA XI | 4–4 | Friendly | Wembley, London |
16 | 11 November 1953 | Ireland | 3–1 | 1954 Home Championship | Goodison Park, Liverpool |
17 | 25 November 1953 | Hungary | 3–6 | Friendly | Wembley, London |
18 | 3 April 1954 | Scotland | 4–2 | 1954 Home Championship | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
19 | 16 May 1954 | Yugoslavia | 0–1 | Friendly | JNA, Belgrade
|
20 | 23 May 1954 | Hungary | 1–7 | Friendly | Nepstadion, Budapest
|
21 | 17 June 1954 | Belgium | 4–4 | 1954 World Cup | St Jakob, Basel |
22 | 20 June 1954 | Switzerland | 2–0 | 1954 World Cup | Wankdorf, Bern |
23 | 26 June 1954 | Uruguay | 2–4 | 1954 World Cup | St Jakob, Basel |
Managerial career
After his retirement, Merrick took over from
Although Merrick spent well in the transfer market, bringing in such players as Jimmy Harris and Welshman Ken Leek, Blues failed to make much impact on the First Division, and finished 17th in the 1961–62 season. Blues once again entered the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but went out in the second round to Espanyol.
By far the best achievement in Merrick's reign at the club came in the 1962–63 season, when he successfully led the Blues to the
Merrick had two more spells in management, with non-league Bromsgrove Rovers and Atherstone Town.[5]
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Birmingham City | May 1960 | June 1964 | 202 | 64 | 46 | 92 | 31.7 |
Bromsgrove Rovers | 1967 | Unknown | – | – | – | – | – |
Atherstone Town | 1970 | Unknown | – | – | – | – | – |
Honours
As Birmingham City player
- Football League South war league champions: 1945–46
- Football League Second Division champions: 1947–48, 1954–55
- 1955–56
As Birmingham City manager
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup runners-up: 1960–61
- 1962–63
Personal
- In April 2009, Birmingham City F.C. announced their intention of renaming one of the stands at their St Andrew's stadium in Merrick's honour. From the 2009–10 season, the Railway Stand would be known as the Gil Merrick Stand.[6]
- In August 2009, Merrick was chosen by public vote as Birmingham City's representative on the Birmingham Walk of Stars.[7]
- In October 2009, Merrick was the first inductee to the Birmingham City F.C. Hall of Fame.[8]
References
General
- Birmingham City A Complete Record by Tony Matthews (1995)
- FA Website (www.thefa.com)
- Gil Merrick – Daily Telegraph obituary
Specific
- ^ a b c d Ponting, Ivan (6 February 2010). "Gil Merrick: England goalkeeper unfairly blamed for the heavy defeats against Hungary in 1953 and 1954". The Independent. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Gil Merrick". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "England in World Cup 1954 – Final Tournament". England Football Online. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Birmingham City ask Merrick to resign". The Guardian. 29 April 1964. p. 16.
Yesterday Mr W. Adams, the secretary of Birmingham City, issued the following statement: 'Mr Gil Merrick met the board this morning who notified him that changes and complete reorganisation of the club were to take place, and asked him to resign. To this Mr Merrick agreed.'
- ^ "Gil Merrick passes away". Atherstone Town F.C. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Ten point pledge: The Gil Merrick Stand". Birmingham City F.C. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ Evans, Gregg (15 August 2009). "Birmingham City legend Gil Merrick to get Walk of Stars plaque". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Tattum, Colin (5 February 2010). "Colin Tattum tribute to the great Gil Merrick". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 August 2015.