|
|
|
Gil
Merrick |
Birmingham City FC
23 appearances,
45 goals against, one own goal
five clean sheets, three penalties conceded
P 23 W 11 D
7 L 5 F 57: A
45
63% successful
1951-54
captain: none
minutes played: 2046 |
|
 |
|
Timeline |
| |
Gilbert Harold Merrick |
|
Birth |
26 January 1922 at 28 Shakespeare Street,
Sparkhill, Warwickshire [registered in
King's Norton, March 1922]. To Harold and Nellie (née Howle).
Attended Fenton Road School in Acocks Green. |
|
First marriage |
to Dorothy Jean Voce
[registered in Birmingham, December 1944]. Two children,
Jill and Neil. Jean died in May 1996. |
|
|
Appeared on Midland
Electoral Registers, particularly in 1945, where Gilbert H. and [Joan M.]
were living at 85 Fenton Road, in Acock's Green, Birmingham. In 1955, he
and Dorothy were living at 56 Brays Road in Sheldon. Also lived at 8 Bills
Lane, Solihull in 1961. |
|
Second marriage |
to Ivy on 20 April 2007. |
|
Death |
3 February 2010 at 28 Bills
Lane, Shirley, Birmingham, aged
88 years 8 days. |
|
Source |
 Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & |
|
Biographies |
I See It All -
Gil Merrick (Museum Press, London, 1954)
Gil Merrick: Mr
Birmingham City - Keith
Dixon (Breedon Publishing Ltd, Derby, April 2009) |
| |
x.
- A Football Compendium, Peter J. Seddon (1999). |
|
Club Career |
|
Club(s) |
Gil signed
professional forms for £10 with Birmingham FC, in August 1939, at the age
of 17, after being spotted by Walter Taylor in a trial game for Solihull
Town FC and Shirley Town FC. He had only signed amateur forms with
Solihull only weeks before. He had been playing for Fenton Rovers FC,
Shirley Juniors FC and Olton Sports FC. He remained with Birmingham City
FC until 1964. He debuted during the war, and then
after 485 league appearances, he hung up
his gloves in May 1960. |
|
Club honours |
Football League
South Champions 1945-46; Football League
Division Two winners 1947-48, 1954-55; FA
Cup runners-up 1955-56; |
|
Individual honours |
Football League
(eleven appearances) |
|
Distinctions |
Gil is the son of
a sheet metal worker who had played semi-professionally for Birmingham.
Gil´s grandfather had worked for the haulage firm which had helped to
build the St Andrew´s ground in 1906.
The Railway Stand at St. Andrews
was renamed the Gil Merrick Stand in April 2009.
Birmingham Walk of
Stars August 2009.
Birmingham City FC
Hall of Fame October 2009; |
|
Height/Weight |
6'
1", 13st.
0lbs [1951]. |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English
Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990]. |
|
Management Career |
|
Club(s) |
He took
over the managerial reigns of Birmingham City FC in May 1960, a role he
kept until 29 April 1964, when the board of directors asked for Merrick's
resignation, which he duly gave. He became part-time manager of Bromsgove
Rovers FC in early 1967 and managed Atherstone Town FC in 1970. |
|
Club honours |
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup runners-up 1960-61; League Cup
winners 1962-63; |
|
England Career |
|
Player number |
One of three who became the 710th
players (710) to appear for England.
73rd goalkeepr to appear. |
|
Position(s) |
Goalkeeper |
|
First match |
No. 267, 14
November 1951,
England 2
Ireland
0, a British
Championship match at Villa Park, Trinity Road, Aston, Birmingham, aged 29 years
292 days. |
|
Last match |
No. 290, 26 June 1954,
Uruguay
4
England 2, a World Cup
Finals group match at
Sankt Jakob Stadium, Sankt
Jakob, Basel, Switzerland, aged
32 years 151 days. |
|
Major tournaments |
World Cup
Finals 1954;
British Championship 1951-52,
1952-53, 1953-54; |
|
Team honours |
British Championship winners 1953-54. shared 1951-52, 1952-53; |
|
Individual honours |
None |
|
Distinctions |
Merrick's stats
were savaged by a final season in which he conceded thirty goals in ten
matches. He only conceded fifteen in his first thirteen matches. The first
twelve were without defeat. |
|
Beyond England |
|
He also worked for 35 years as personnel
manager for S&U, a financial services firm in Solihull.
Also a Physical Education teacher at
Greenmoor College in Edgbaston. -
An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who.
Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.172/3./Obituary |
|
The Numbers |
|
parties |
Apps |
comp
apps |
unused |
minutes |
GA |
GA Av.
min |
Comp GA |
Clean
Sheets |
Cln
Sht Av |
cln sht best |
 |
captain |
|
18 |
23 |
11 |
two |
2046 |
45 |
47 min |
19 |
5 |
63% |
188 min |
one |
none |
|
minutes are an approximation, due to the fact that many matches rarely stick to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries and errors. |
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
23 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
57 |
45 |
+12 |
2 |
5 |
2.478 |
1.957 |
63 |
+6 |
Venue Record
|
Venue |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
Home |
8 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
26 |
17 |
+9 |
0 |
2 |
3.25 |
2.125 |
68.8 |
+3 |
|
Away |
13 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
25 |
20 |
+5 |
2 |
3 |
1.923 |
1.538 |
65.4 |
+3 |
|
Neutral |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
8 |
-2 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
4.00 |
25.0 |
-1 |
Competition Record
|
Competition |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
WCP
|
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
+7 |
0 |
0 |
3.667 |
1.333 |
100.0 |
+3 |
|
WCF |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
=0 |
0 |
1 |
2.667 |
2.667 |
50.0 |
=0 |
| World Cup |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
12 |
+7 |
0 |
1 |
3.167 |
2.00 |
75.0 |
+3 |
|
British Championship |
8 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
24 |
11 |
+13 |
0 |
1 |
3.00 |
1.375 |
87.5 |
+6 |
|
The 1953-54 records of the World Cup preliminaries and British Championship are
duplicated, and one set is deducted from the grand total. |
| Friendly |
12 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
25 |
26 |
-1 |
2 |
3 |
2.083 |
2.167 |
50.0 |
=0 |
Tournament Record
|
World Cup Preliminary Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
WCP/BC 1953-54 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
+7 |
0 |
0 |
3.667 |
1.333 |
100.0 |
+3 |
|
WCP
All |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
+7 |
0 |
0 |
3.667 |
1.333 |
100.0 |
+3 |
|
World Cup Final Tournaments |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
WCF 1954 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
=0 |
0 |
1 |
2.667 |
2.667 |
50.0 |
=0 |
|
WCF
All |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
8 |
=0 |
0 |
1 |
2.667 |
2.667 |
50.0 |
=0 |
|
World Cup |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
WC 1952-54 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
12 |
+7 |
0 |
1 |
3.167 |
2.00 |
75.0 |
+3 |
|
WC
All |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
12 |
+7 |
0 |
1 |
3.167 |
2.00 |
75.0 |
+3 |
|
British Championship Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
| BC 1951-52 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
+3 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.50 |
100.0 |
+2 |
| BC 1952-53 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
6 |
+3 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
2.00 |
66.7 |
+1 |
| BC/WCP
1953-54 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
+7 |
0 |
0 |
3.667 |
1.333 |
100.0 |
+3 |
|
BC
All |
8 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
24 |
11 |
+13 |
0 |
1 |
3.00 |
1.375 |
87.5 |
+6 |
|
All Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
| WC |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
12 |
+7 |
0 |
1 |
3.167 |
2.00 |
75.0 |
+3 |
| BC |
8 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
24 |
11 |
+13 |
0 |
1 |
3.00 |
1.375 |
87.5 |
+6 |
The 1953-54 records of the
World Cup preliminaries and British Championship are
duplicated, and one set is deducted from the grand total.
|
11 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
32 |
19 |
+13 |
0 |
2 |
2.909 |
1.727 |
77.3 |
+6 |
Match History
|
Club:
Birmingham City F.C.
- 23 full appearances (2046 min) 45ᵍᵃ |
manager: Walter
Winterbottom - 23 full appearances (2046 min)
45ᵍᵃx |
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