Gary Bennett
MBE
Personal information
Full name Gary Ernest Bennett[1]
Date of birth (1961-12-04) 4 December 1961[1]
Place of birth Manchester,[1] England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Ashton United[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 Manchester City 0 (0)
1981–1984 Cardiff City 87 (11)
1984–1995 Sunderland 369 (23)
1995–1996 Carlisle United 26 (5)
1996–1998 Scarborough 87 (18)
1998–2000 Darlington 34 (4)
2001 Worksop Town
2001–2002 Scarborough 1 (0)
Managerial career
2000–2001 Darlington
Sunderland University
Sunderland West End
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gary Ernest Bennett MBE (born 4 December 1961) is an English former professional footballer. A defender, he began his career with Manchester City before moving on to Cardiff City in 1981. In 1984, Bennett joined Sunderland and he went on to make over 350 appearances for the club, placing him fifth on the club's all-time appearance list.[4] He left Sunderland in 1995, after eleven years at the club, and later played for Carlisle United, Scarborough and Darlington. During his career, he made over 600 appearances in the Football League, scoring 61 times.[3]

In August 2000, he was appointed manager of Darlington, having previously been in charge of the reserve team at the club. He spent 14 months in charge of the club before returning to his role as reserve team manager but left the club in May 2002. Bennett is also actively involved with the Show Racism the Red Card campaign and was inducted into the organisation's hall of fame in 2004.

Playing career

Born in Manchester, Bennett began his career with his hometown club Manchester City where he was part of the youth setup, alongside his older brother Dave. He left the club in 1981 without making a first team appearance to join Third Division side Cardiff City,[4] again linking up with his brother. The pair helped the Bluebirds win promotion from the Third Division in the 1982–83 season.[5]

He left Cardiff for a tribunal set fee of £65,000, as well as a £20,000 bonus once Bennett had appeared in 40 matches for the club,[6] in July 1984 to follow manager Len Ashurst to Sunderland,[7] becoming only the second black player to play for the club after Roly Gregoire.[8] He made a goal scoring debut for the club at Roker Park during a 3–1 victory over Southampton, heading past Peter Shilton after just two minutes.[4][6] Bennett went on to play 369 league games with Sunderland scoring 23 goals, appearing in the 1985 Football League Cup Final, losing 1–0 to Norwich City, and the 1992 FA Cup Final, losing 2–0 to Liverpool.[4] He was also voted the club's player of the season for the 1986–87 and 1993–94 seasons and more than 21,000 people attended his testimonial match at Roker Park against Rangers in July 1993.[4][9] He left Sunderland in 1995 after eleven years at the club, joining Carlisle United.

In 1996, Bennett joined Scarborough as a player-coach, having been convinced to join the club by his former Carlisle manager Mick Wadsworth. He spent two seasons with the side, forming a defensive partnership with Jason Rockett, and helped the club reach the Division Three play-offs in the 1997–98 season. At the end of the season, Wadsworth departed the club to take up a coaching role at Newcastle United and Scarborough received an offer of £20,000 for Bennett from Darlington.[10] He accepted the move, again being appointed player-coach, however he missed large amounts of playing time at the Feethams as he suffered from bone bruising.[11]

Managerial career

During his spell as a player-coach at Darlington, Bennett also managed the club's reserve side, helping them win the Pontins League First Division and the Durham Challenge Cup. He was appointed manager of the first team in August 2000, replacing David Hodgson who had originally signed him for the club in 1998.[12] Hodgson had led the club to the play-off final, losing 1–0 to Peterborough United, but had grown tired of continued conflict with the board. Following his departure, the job was offered to Bennett. However, the club struggled to reproduce their form from the previous season and Bennett was sacked after 14 months in charge, having finished in 20th in Division Three in his only full season in charge, being replaced by Tommy Taylor.[11][13] Despite his sacking, Bennett returned to his role as reserve team manager until his contract expired in May 2002.[14]

Bennett later worked as a coach at Middlesbrough's academy before setting up his own coaching school alongside Julio Arca.[10] He also coaches the football teams at the University of Sunderland.[15]

Bennett is also actively involved in campaigns to eliminate racism from football and was one of the first players to participate in the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.[16] He was interviewed for their first film in 1996.[16] He officially joined the organisation in 2003 after retiring from playing and has coached the SRTRC football team. He was inducted into the organisations hall of fame in 2004.[16] He has also participated at events run by fellow campaign Kick It Out.[17]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to anti-racism in football.[18][19]

Bennett received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland in November 2022 in recognition of his achievements as a footballer, coach and anti-racism advocate.[20][21]

Personal life

Bennett released an autobiography, entitled The Black Cat, in 2011.[8] His daughter Janée Bennett is a musician and was nominated for a Brit Award in 2016 for her role in co-writing Jess Glynne's "Hold My Hand".[22]

Career statistics

Playing career

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[nb 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cardiff City 1981–82 Second Division 191??????191
1982–83 Third Division 368??????368
1983–84 Second Division 322??????322
Cardiff City total 87113061009612
Sunderland 1984–85[23] First Division 373108000463
1985–86[24] Second Division 283002100304
1986–87[25] 414102021465
1987–88[26] Third Division 382102000412
1988–89[27] Second Division 403203000453
1989–90[28] 363008030473
1990–91[29] First Division 372103000412
1991–92[30] Second Division 393601000463
1992–93[31] First Division 150000000150
1993–94[32] 380305000460
1994–95[33] 200301000240
Sunderland total 369231803515142725
Carlisle United 1995–96[34] Second Division 265000051316
Scarborough 1996–97[35] Third Division 4491042004911
1997–98[36] 4390021104610
Scarborough total 87181063109521
Darlington 1998–99[37] Third Division 294310010335
1999–2000[38] 5010000060
Darlington total 344410010395
Scarborough 2001–02[39] Conference 1000000010
Total 6046126147512268969
  1. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including Football League play-offs and Football League Trophy

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %Ref
Darlington 2 August 2000[12] 24 October 2001[12] 7222311930.6 [40]

Honours

Cardiff City

Sunderland

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gary Bennett". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. ↑ Rollin, Glenda, ed. (1999). Playfair Football Annual 1999–2000. Headline. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7472-5975-6.
  3. 1 2 "Gary Bennett". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Player of the Day: Gary Bennett". Sunderland A.F.C. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Bennett brothers backing Cardiff City to seal Premier League place". WalesOnline. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Gary Bennett Q & A". Roker End. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Interview: Former Sunderland captain Gary Bennett Q&A". Ultimate Football 90. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Sunderland legend Gary Bennett gives his views on football's recent race rows". North East Life. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "Hateley at the double as Rangers dominate". Herald Scotland. 29 July 1993. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Where Are They Now? Gary Bennett". The Scarborough News. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Where are they now? Gary Bennett". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "Gary Bennett". League Managers Association. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Bennett to leave Darlington". BBC Sport. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Bennett leaves Darlington". BBC Sport. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  15. ↑ "Services -Football (Men's)". University of Sunderland. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 "Hall of Fame". Show Racism the Red Card. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Kick It Out support young people in Sunderland through community event". Kick It Out. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N17.
  19. ↑ "2022 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  20. ↑ Clark, Kevin (30 November 2022). "Double celebration for Sunderland AFC legend Gary Bennett as he receives MBE from King Charles". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Benno's achievements honoured". Sunderland Association Football Club. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Sunderland legend's daughter is up for a Brit award". Sunderland Echo. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "1984–85". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "1985–86". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "1986–87". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  26. ↑ "1987–88". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "1988–89". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "1989–90". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "1990–91". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "1991–92". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "1992–93". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "1993–94". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  33. ↑ "1994–95". Stat Cat. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  34. ↑ "Gary Bennett". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Gary Bennett in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Gary Bennett in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Gary Bennett in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Gary Bennett in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  39. ↑ "Games played by Gary Bennett in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  40. ↑ "Gary Bennett". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  41. ↑ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 147.
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