Kevin William Gallacher (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottish football pundit and commentator and former professional player.

He played as a forward from 1983 until 2002, notably in the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the title-winning squad in 1994–95. He also played in the top flight for Coventry City and Newcastle United as well as in the Scottish Premier League for Dundee United and in the Football League for Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town. He made 53 appearances for Scotland, scoring 9 goals and was part of their Euro 92, Euro 96 and World Cup 98 squads.

Club career Gallacher started his Scottish League career with Dundee United, where he spent seven years as part of a successful team under the guidance of Jim McLean. He made his first team debut in December 1985 aged 19 years old in a UEFA Cup tie against Neuchâtel Xamax and three days later played against Rangers at Ibrox. He soon established himself in the side with his fast and penetrating wing play. He helped United reach the 1987 UEFA Cup final, scoring against Barcelona in the quarter-finals en route. United, however, lost on aggregate to IFK Göteborg. The following year, Gallacher scored Dundee United's goal in the 1988 Scottish Cup final, in the 2–1 defeat by Celtic. A week later he made his full international debut for Scotland against Colombia.

Gallacher moved to Coventry City in January 1990 for a transfer fee of £950,000 and became a fans favourite for three years. Having played for most of his career to date as a winger, Gallacher was used as a striker for most of his time at Highfield Road, and was the club's top scorer in seasons 1990–91 and 1991–92.

He then joined Blackburn Rovers in March 1993 for £1.5 million, as they looked to fill the gap up front left by the long-term injury absence of Alan Shearer. He made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut in a 4–1 win over Liverpool. However, two broken legs (the second sustained in his first game after the original injury) the following season restricted him to just one Premier League game in 1994–95 when Blackburn won the FA Premier League. He did score in that game, a 2–1 win against Crystal Palace.

Gallacher returned to full effectiveness in 1996–97, however, scoring 10 goals to help avoid a relegation scare. In 1997–98, he formed a potent partnership with Chris Sutton, scoring 16 goals himself as Blackburn finished 6th. However, injuries and inconsistencies meant he missed much of 1998–99, although he was the team's top goalscorer with five goals. Blackburn were relegated in 1999, just four seasons after having won the title.

Gallacher then moved to Newcastle United, becoming Bobby Robson's first signing as Newcastle manager. He was mostly used as a right winger, a role he adapted to well, and despite a lack of goals, was fairly popular with the Newcastle fans for his work rate.

Spells at Preston North End (where he scored twice against Kidderminster Harriers and Sheffield United), Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town followed before hanging up his boots in 2002, ending a career which had seen him score a total of 106 goals in 430 games in the English and Scottish leagues.

International career Gallacher won 53 caps for Scotland and was in the squads for the Euro 92, Euro 96, and 1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He scored nine goals for his country, six of them in 1998 World Cup qualification, a significant contribution to the successful campaign which included perhaps his most famous international goals, a double against Austria at Celtic Park in 1997.Gallacher the brave as Scots defeat Austria, Irish Times, 3 April 1997

Media career Gallacher has worked as a co-commentator and studio analyst for BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports, Setanta Sports, BBC Scotland and Channel 5. In addition to this, he is also a columnist in the Lancashire Telegraph. In 2006, he published a book, Tartan Turmoil: The Fall & Rise of Scottish Football, a semi-autobiographical look at the problems faced by Scottish football. In 2010, he started working for ITV, commentating on FA Cup games.

Personal life Gallacher is the grandson of the late Celtic forward Patsy Gallacher, who died before Kevin was born. His uncles Willie and Tommy were also footballers as is his niece Amy. The Gallachers are also related to another footballing branch of the family, John Divers and his son of the same name who both played for Celtic.

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDundee United1985–86Premier Division2033000102431986–87Scottish Premier Division3710634210157161987–88Scottish Premier Division2648131213971988–89Scottish Premier League31951424044121989–90Scottish Premier League171102041242Total1312723513521318840Coventry City1989–90First Division1530020—1731990–91First Division321120351038161991–92First Division33810421039101992–93FA Premier League2061020—236Total10028401172011735Blackburn Rovers1992–93FA Premier League95———951993–94FA Premier League3074140—3881994–95FA Premier League11000000111995–96FA Premier League1622000202021996–97FA Premier League34102031—39111997–98FA Premier League33164311—38201998–99FA Premier League1641010001841999–2000First Division50—11—61Total144451341032016952Newcastle United1999–2000FA Premier League20251—002532000–01FA Premier League1921021—223Total3946121—476Preston North End2001–02First Division510011—62Sheffield Wednesday2001–02First Division40———40Huddersfield Town2002–03Second Division700010—80Career total43010546103817253539135

International Appearances Scotland national teamYearAppsGoals 1988 4 0 1991 3 0 1992 7 0 1993 5 2 1996 5 0 199710 6 1998 7 0 1999 6 0 2000 4 1 2001 2 0Total 53 9

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition119 May 1993Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn1–03–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification213 October 1993Stadio Olimpico, Rome1–21–332 April 1997Celtic Park, Glasgow1–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification42–02–0530 April 1997Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg1–21–267 September 1997Pittodrie, Aberdeen1–04–173–04–1811 October 1997Celtic Park, Glasgow1–02–0911 October 2000Maksimir Stadion, Zagreb1–11–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Dundee United

UEFA Cup: runners-up 1986–87

Blackburn Rovers

Premier League: 1994–95

Individual

Scottish FA International Roll of Honour: 2000

See also List of Blackburn Rovers F.C. players List of Coventry City F.C. players List of Dundee United F.C. players List of Scotland national football team captains List of Scottish football families

References

External links

International stats at Londonhearts.com