- Chris Gunter
-
Chris Gunter 
Gunter representing WalesPersonal information Full name Christopher Ross Gunter Date of birth 21 July 1989 Place of birth Newport, Wales Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Playing position Fullback Club information Current club Nottingham Forest Number 16 Youth career 1997–2006 Cardiff City Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2006–2008 Cardiff City 28 (0) 2008–2009 Tottenham Hotspur 5 (0) 2009 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 8 (0) 2009– Nottingham Forest 100 (2) National team‡ 2005–2006 Wales U17 11 (2) 2006 Wales U19 3 (0) 2006– Wales U21 5 (0) 2007– Wales 35 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:20, 22 October 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 09:17, 14 November 2011 (UTC)Christopher Ross "Chris" Gunter (born 21 July 1989) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest, and the Wales national team, as a defender. Though a Newport native, he moved to Cardiff as a child and later joined Cardiff City's youth system. An attacking full back, he is capable of playing on both flanks but usually plays on his preferred right side.
Gunter has been a Welsh international since the U17 level and holds the record as the second youngest debutant for the U21 team. In 2007 he became the youngest Cardiff City player ever to play for the full Welsh team.
Contents
Club career
Cardiff City
Born in Newport, Gunter started out as a striker when he played for Durham Colts and Albion Rovers but switched to full-back at a young age and signed for the Cardiff City youth side at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 August 2006 along with fellow Cardiff academy graduate Darcy Blake.
Primarily a right-sided defender, Gunter made his debut for Cardiff City on 22 August 2006 against Barnet in the League Cup.
In March 2007 he won the Football League's Apprentice of the Year award[1] after impressing in the first team squad due to injuries to some regular players and during the summer of 2007, Gunter was the subject of two bids from Premier League club Everton. Both, however, were rejected.[2]
Tottenham Hotspur
According to reports on the 21 December, Cardiff agreed a substantial fee with Tottenham Hotspur and therefore allowed Gunter to enter into talks with the club. Cardiff also stated that Tottenham had "met their valuation of the player" which had previously been reported at £4m.[3] On 22 December, Gunter passed a medical at White Hart Lane with a view to a £2 million move. The move was made official on 24 December and he joined the club after the transfer window opened on 1 January 2008.[4] Gunter made his debut for Spurs in an FA Cup 3rd Round Replay against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.
On 12 March 2009, Gunter moved on loan to Nottingham Forest for the rest of the 2008–09 season.[5]
Nottingham Forest
On 17 July 2009 Tottenham Hotspur accepted a bid of £1.75 million from Nottingham Forest.[6] Forest completed the signing of Gunter on 20 July on a four-year contract.[7] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over Plymouth Argyle on 27 September 2009.[8][9] It was also Gunter's first goal in senior football. In the recent match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace on 23 March 2010, Gunter made his 100th senior club appearance. In May 2010 he was selected in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for the 2009–10 season. Gunter received a 3 match ban for violent conduct following an altercation with Sanchez Watt during Forest's league game against Leeds United. Gunter has been a regular member of the Forest team since joining the club, normally playing at right-back. Gunter scored his first goal of the 2011-12 season against Doncaster Rovers.[10]
International career
Youth teams
Gunter started his Wales career during the 2003–04 season, making four appearances for the schoolsunder-15 development squad before moving up to the Welsh Schools under-16 squad and played in a friendly against Republic of Ireland plus three Victory Shield internationals. He then made 11 appearances at Wales under-17 level during 2005–06, playing in two rounds of the UEFA Championships as Wales qualified from the opening group to reach the elite stage. His next step was playing for the Wales U19 squad in the Milk Cup.[11]
At age 16 years and 299 days, Gunter was the youngest player to play for the Wales Under-21 team when he played against Cyprus Under-21 until former club mate Aaron Ramsey broke the record in August 2007.
Senior team
He eventually made his full international debut for Wales in a friendly match against New Zealand on 26 May 2007 at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham; in doing so he became the youngest ever Cardiff City player to play for the senior Wales team. Gunter started as a left-back in a young and inexperienced Wales team in the teams' Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Germany giving very impressive performances in the games which ended 2–2 and 0–0. He was ever present at right back during 2010 World Cup qualifying and is the only player in the squad to have played in all ten matches. He was called up for a November friendly against Scotland but withdrew due to illness. On 8 October 2010, Gunter was sent off in the 94th minute for a last-man foul against Dimitar Rangelov in the 0-1 home loss against Bulgaria in a Euro 2012 qualifying match.
Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals England League FA Cup League Cup Total 2006–07 Cardiff City Championship 15 0 0 0 1 0 16 0 2007–08 13 0 0 0 4 0 17 0 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 2008–09 3 0 1 0 1 0 5 0 Nottingham Forest (loan) Championship 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 2009–10 Nottingham Forest 46 1 2 0 2 0 50 1 2010–11 42 0 2 0 0 0 44 0 2011–12 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 Total England 129 1 5 0 8 0 144 1 Career total 129 1 5 0 8 0 144 1 Personal life
As a youngster Gunter attended Durham Road Junior School before moving on to St Julian's High School as a teenager. He also followed Cardiff City, along with his brother Marc, as a supporter and continued to go to away games on supporters coaches up until 2006. Gunter also holds a BTEC National Diploma in sports Studies.[13] Gunter was a former flatmate of fellow Welshman Aaron Ramsey who plays for Spurs' London rivals Arsenal.[14]
References
- ^ "Gunter and Ledley secure prizes". BBC Sport. 5 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/6417713.stm.
- ^ "Everton fail in bids for Gunter" BBC Sport Retrieved on 26 November 2007
- ^ "Gunter agrees to Tottenham talks" BBC Sport Retrieved on 22 December 2007
- ^ "Tottenham confirm Gunter transfer" BBC Sport Retrieved on 24 December 2007
- ^ Forest loan for Gunter TottenhamHotspur.com 12 March 2009
- ^ "Gunter: Fee and terms agreed". Nottingham Forest F.C.. 18 July 2009. http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10308~1725600,00.html. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Gunter & McKenna sign for Forest". BBC Sport (BBC). 20 July 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/nottm_forest/8156299.stm. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
- ^ "Plymouth 0 – 1 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport (BBC). 27 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8263833.stm. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ "Forest looking for revenge in Watford". Nottingham Evening Post. 26 December 2009. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Forest-looking-revenge-Watford/article-1643929-detail/article.html.
- ^ Moxley, Neil (16 August 2011). "Doncaster 0 Nottingham Forest 1: Gunter gets McClaren off the mark at last". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2026742/Doncaster-0-Nottingham-Forest-1-Chris-Gunter-gets-Steve-McClaren-mark.html. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ "Cardiff is a great place to be right now – Gunter" South Wales Echo Retrieved on 26 November 2007
- ^ http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10308~37181,00.html
- ^ "Birthday boy is still in touch with his roots" South Wales Echo. Retrieved on 26 November 2007
- ^ Gunter hails super tenant Ramsey
External links
- Chris Gunter player profile at Nottingham Forest website
- Chris Gunter – FIFA competition record
- Chris Gunter career stats at Soccerbase
- Chris Gunter player profile at Tottenham Hotspur website
- Wales profile
2009–10 Football League Championship PFA Team of the Year GK: Lee Camp · DF: Chris Gunter · DF: Fabricio Coloccini · DF: Ashley Williams · DF: José Enrique · MF: Graham Dorrans · MF: Peter Whittingham · MF: Kevin Nolan · MF: Charlie Adam · FW: Andy Carroll · FW: Michael ChopraNottingham Forest F.C. – current squad 1 Camp · 3 Cunningham · 4 Chambers · 5 Morgan · 6 Boateng · 7 Anderson · 8 Derbyshire · 9 Miller · 10 McGugan · 11 Reid · 12 McCleary · 14 Greening · 15 Cohen · 16 Gunter · 17 McGoldrick · 19 Moussi · 20 Tudgay · 21 Smith · 23 Blackstock · 24 Findley · 27 Moloney · 28 Majewski · 30 Watson · 31 Byrne · 32 Meadows · 33 Lynch · 38 Darlow · 40 Bamford · 44 Lascelles · Manager: Cotterill
Categories:- 1989 births
- Living people
- People from Newport
- Welsh footballers
- Wales international footballers
- Wales under-21 international footballers
- Association football defenders
- Association football fullbacks
- Cardiff City F.C. players
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
- Nottingham Forest F.C. players
- Premier League players
- The Football League players
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
