Ben Gibson

Benjamin James Gibson (born 15 January 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Burnley.

Ben Gibson

Gibson playing for Middlesbrough in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin James Gibson[1]
Date of birth	(1993-01-15) 15 January 1993[2]
Place of birth	Nunthorpe, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Playing position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current team	Burnley
Number	12
Youth career
2005–2010	Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2018	Middlesbrough	185	(4)
2011	→ Plymouth Argyle (loan)	13	(0)
2012	→ York City (loan)	8	(0)
2012–2013	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	20	(0)
2013	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	8	(1)
2018–	Burnley	1	(1)
National team
2009–2010	England U17	5	(1)
2011	England U18	1	(0)
2014	England U20	4	(0)
2014–2015	England U21	10	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:46, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

Having graduated from Middlesbrough's Academy, Gibson enjoyed loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, York City and Tranmere Rovers before breaking into the club's first team in 2013. In 2016, he was part of the Middlesbrough team that secured promotion to the Premier League and the following year earned his first call-up to the English national team.

Early and personal life

Gibson was born in Nunthorpe, North Yorkshire,[4] and attended Nunthorpe School[5] and Yarm School.[6] He is a nephew of Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson.[7]

Club career

Middlesbrough

Gibson joined Middlesbrough's Academy from Marton at the age of 12.[8] He was a member of the Middlesbrough team that won the Nike Cup in 2008 and signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 July 2010.[8] He made his first-team debut as a substitute on 25 April 2011 against Coventry City, coming on in the 41st minute for the injured Andrew Davies, with Middlesbrough going on to win the game 2–1.[9] He finished the 2010–11 season with one appearance for Middlesbrough, and having captained the reserve team to The Football Combination East Division title.[10]

Gibson playing for York City in 2012

Gibson signed a three-month loan deal with League Two club Plymouth Argyle on 2 August 2011.[10] After making 13 appearances in this time, Gibson and both clubs involved agreed on 1 November 2011 to extend the loan deal until 29 January 2012.[7] However, the loan was cut short after Middlesbrough recalled him on 30 November 2011.[11] He signed for Conference Premier club York City on loan until the end of 2011–12 on 9 February 2012.[12] After a promising start Gibson was sent off in the 1–0 away victory to Cambridge United.[13] However, after missing the next four games through suspension he won the 2012 FA Trophy Final with York at Wembley Stadium on 12 May, in which the team beat Newport County 2–0.[14] Eight days later he played in the 2–1 victory over Luton Town in the 2012 Conference Premier play-off Final at Wembley on 20 May 2012,[14] seeing the club return to the Football League after an eight-year absence with promotion to League Two.[15] Gibson completed his loan at York with 11 appearances.[14]

On 14 August 2012, Gibson joined League One club Tranmere Rovers on a one-month loan.[16] The month was extended until January 2013 the following month, but in December 2012 was ruled out of action with an abductor problem, thus ending the duration of his first loan spell at Rovers.[17][18] He signed a new four-year contract with Middlesbrough on 18 December 2012.[19] On 13 March 2013, Gibson returned on loan to Rovers, until the end of the season.[20]

The 2013–14 season saw Gibson become more involved in the first team squad for Middlesbrough; the team did not perform well, and manager Tony Mowbray was sacked in October 2013.[21] Aitor Karanka replaced him, and they finished twelfth.[22] The following season saw the club finish fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They reached the final at Wembley Stadium, having won 5–1 on aggregate against Brentford, but were defeated 2–0 by Norwich City.[23] In the 2015–16 season, Gibson helped Middlesbrough secure promotion to the Premier League, having finished as runners-up, behind champions Burnley, in the Championship.[24]

Gibson still remained as a crucial part of Middlesbrough's squad in their 2016–17 Premier League campaign, though they did not record positive results; they dropped into relegation zone in March 2017, with Karanka being sacked later that month.[25][26][27] Their relegation back down to the Championship was confirmed in May 2017, after a 3–0 defeat to champions Chelsea, with the club having only been in the English top flight for one season.[28]

Burnley

Gibson signed for Premier League club Burnley on 5 August 2018 on a four-year contract for a joint club-record fee of £15 million.[29] He made his first appearance for the Clarets on 16 August, a Europa League third qualifying round second leg affair, which saw Burnley victorious over Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir, in a 1–0 success, where Gibson also received a yellow card.[30] Gibson then appeared in their next European fixture the following week, a 3–1 defeat to Greek club Olympiacos, in which he was sent off for a second bookable offence.[31] He made his Premier League debut for the club on 26 December 2018, in which he scored Burnley's only goal of the match, which was a sorrow 5–1 defeat to Everton.[32]

International career

Gibson has competed for the England under-17s, the under-18s, the under-20s and the under-21s.[33] He was part of the under-17 teams that won the 2009 Nordic Cup, where he scored in the final against Scotland,[34] and the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[8]

Gibson made his debut for England under-21s in the first leg of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs against Croatia[35] on the back of an impressive campaign for Middlesbrough. His performances made him a key member of the under-21 set up and he formed an effective partnership with John Stones. Gibson scored his first goal for the under-21s in England's final friendly before the European Championships against Belarus.[36] He went on to play 90 minutes in all of England's three group stage matches in the tournament although could not stop their disappointing early departure.[37][38][39]

Gibson received his first call-up to the English national team on 24 March 2017, replacing the injured Chris Smalling for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lithuania.[40]

Style of play

Gibson plays at centre back or left back.[8]

Career statistics

As of match played 28 August 2019

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Middlesbrough	2009–10[41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2010–11[42]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2011–12[43]	Championship	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2012–13[44]	Championship	1	0	—		0	0	—		1	0
	2013–14[45]	Championship	31	1	1	0	1	0	—		33	1
	2014–15[46]	Championship	36	0	2	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	0
	2015–16[47]	Championship	33	1	0	0	3	0	—		36	1
	2016–17[48]	Premier League	38	1	2	0	1	0	—		41	1
	2017–18[49]	Championship	45	1	2	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	50	1
	2018–19[50]	Championship	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		185	4	7	0	6	0	5	0	203	4
Plymouth Argyle (loan)	2011–12[43]	League Two	13	0	1	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	16	0
York City (loan)	2011–12[14]	Conference Premier	8	0	—		—		3[lower-alpha 3]	0	11	0
Tranmere Rovers (loan)	2012–13[44]	League One	28	1	2	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	33	1
Burnley	2018–19[50]	Premier League	1	1	2	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 4]	0	5	1
	2019–20[51]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		1	1	2	0	1	0	2	0	6	1
Career total			235	6	12	0	10	0	12	0	269	6

1. Appearances in Championship play-offs
2. Appearance in Football League Trophy
3. Two appearances in FA Trophy, one in Conference Premier play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

York City

• Conference Premier play-offs: 2011–12[14]
• FA Trophy: 2011–12[14]

Middlesbrough

• Football League Championship runner-up: 2015–16[47][52]

References

1. "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
2. "Ben Gibson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
3. "Ben Gibson". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
4. "B. Gibson: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
5. Vickers, Anthony (24 January 2015). "Ben Gibson: 'Beating Man City gave me one of the best days of my childhood'". Teesside Gazette. Middlesbrough. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
6. "Former Pupils' Page". Yarm School. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
7. "Gibbo stays on". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012.
8. "Ben Gibson". Middlesbrough F.C. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
9. "Boro 2–1 Coventry City". Middlesbrough F.C. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012.
10. "Ben Becomes A Pilgrim". Middlesbrough F.C. 2 August 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013.
11. "Argyle loanee Ben Gibson goes back to Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
12. "Ben Gibson joins York City on loan from Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
13. "Cambridge U v York City 12 Apr 2012". Sky Sports. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
14. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
15. Maiden, Phil (20 May 2012). "Luton 1–2 York". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
16. "Tranmere Rovers sign Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
17. "Tranmere Rovers extend Ben Gibson loan deal until January". BBC Sport. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
18. "Ben Gibson: Tranmere Rovers loan could be ended by injury". BBC Sport. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
19. "Ben Gibson signs new four-year Middlesbrough deal". BBC Sport. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
20. "Gibson Returns To Rovers". Tranmere Rovers F.C. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
22. "Aitor Named Head Coach". Middlesbrough F.C. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
23. "Middlesbrough 0–2 Norwich City – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
24. "Middlesbrough 1–1 Brighton: Boro promoted to Premier League – as it happened". The Guardian. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
25. Shaw, Dominic (4 March 2017). "Stoke City 2–0 Middlesbrough RECAP: Desperately disappointing afternoon as Boro drop into relegation zone". Gazette Live. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
26. "Aitor Karanka: Middlesbrough sack manager after three and a half years". BBC Sport. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
27. "Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson says tired Aitor Karanka 'sacrificed himself'". Sky Sports. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
28. "Bye Boro! Middlesbrough relegated from Premier League". CBBC Newsround. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
29. "Ben Gibson: Burnley sign Middlesbrough centre-back for joint club record fee". BBC Sport. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
30. "Burnley 1–0 İstanbul Başakşehir". BBC Sport. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
31. "Olympiakos 3–1 Burnley". BBC Sport. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
32. "Burnley 1–5 Everton". BBC Sport. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
33. "Ben Gibson". The Football Association. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
34. "Scotland U17s defeated in Nordic Cup final". Daily Record. Glasgow. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
35. uefa.com (10 October 2014). "Under-21 2015 - History - England-Croatia – UEFA.com".
36. Association, The Football. "Ben Gibson helps England secure Euro send-off victory". www.thefa.com.
37. uefa.com (18 June 2015). "Under-21 2015 - History - England-Portugal – UEFA.com".
38. uefa.com (21 June 2015). "Under-21 2015 - History - Sweden-England – UEFA.com".
39. uefa.com (24 June 2015). "Under-21 2015 - History - England-Italy – UEFA.com".
40. "Ben Gibson: Middlesbrough defender gets England call-up". BBC Sport. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
41. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
42. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
43. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
44. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
45. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
46. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
47. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
48. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
49. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
50. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
51. "Games played by Ben Gibson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
52. "Championship: 2015/16: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

External links

• Profile at the Burnley F.C. website
• Ben Gibson at Soccerbase