Matt Gilks will be entertaining diners at hospitality prior to kick off when Rochdale play Oldham Athletic, his story is a brilliant example of a local lad who made good playing at all levels in professional football including representing Scotland.
DOB: 4th June 1982
Dale debut: 17th March 2001 v Chesterfield A 1-1
Also played for: Blackpool, Burnley, Norwich City, Glasgow Rangers, Wigan Athletic, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United, Lincoln City, Fleetwood Town, Bolton Wanderers.
Time at Dale: Born in Rochdale, he started out as a goalkeeper with Heyside Juniors before joining Rochdale at the age of thirteen playing in an older age group due to the elevation of Stephen Bywater. Keith Hicks, Rochdale’s Centre of Excellence Director at the time, commented “We had two first class goalkeepers on the books and both went on to represent International teams, which was amazing saying that facilities were very meagre including playing matches at a Primary School and training at the same venue in the warmer months plus a Sports Hall at St Cuthberts High School in the winter but numerous kids came through the system to play in the first team so we must have done something right” Matt quotes “Although I was born in Rochdale, I lived in Chadderton and then Royton so I grew up an Oldham Athletic supporter. They were playing in the Premier League at the time and I was a season ticket holder but I was aware that Rochdale were interested in me and I joined my older brother, Daniel and his friend Graham Hicks at the COE then offered a Youth Scholarship-I came to love Rochdale eventually” He was promoted from the youth team in 2001 having being coached by Fred Barber, he eventually replaced Neil Edwards in the first team, becoming a regular starter. He made a total of 198 appearances for the Club in League and Cup competitions and by the time he was twenty four years old, he was the longest-serving player at Rochdale.
His move to Norwich City caused some unrest with the Dale management with Steve Parkin stating “It’s news to me, if it is the case that Norwich are interested in the player then I think that shows how well Matt has been playing but I’ve no knowledge of it, there has been no approach through me”
Matt quotes Gareth Griffiths, Wayne Evans and Neil Edwards as players who helped him during his time at Dale, describing them as top seasoned pros who did everything they could to develop him.
During his stint at Rochdale he made 176 Football League appearances, keeping 47 clean sheets.
What are you doing since leaving Dale?: On 1st July 2007, he signed a two-year contract with Championship club Norwich City, moving on a free transfer due to his contract with Rochdale having expired, the start of a long career involving numerous professional Clubs at all levels in England and Scotland. Matt’s time at Bolton Wanderers coincided with his move into coaching, initially combined with playing then concentrating on developing goalkeepers there.
International career? On 22nd August 2010, the Scottish FA confirmed that manager Craig Levein was considering Matt for a call-up to the Scotland national squad for their upcoming UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Liechtenstein as he qualified to play for Scotland through his Scottish grandmother. “My grandmother was Scottish and they’ve traced the roots back and checked it. I’m eligible and it’s great to be in the squad. Everybody knows that I am English but England doesn’t come knocking on the door of Blackpool Football Club and I think that’s a problem, they look at the bigger clubs and to be honest it was nice of Scotland to come and have a look at me and find out about me” Mat won his first cap as a substitute in a 3-1 friendly win over Australia at Easter Road in August 2012, his first start coming three months later in a 2-1 friendly win over Luxembourg at the Stade Josy Barthel followed by his first competitive cap when he replaced the injured David Marshall at half-time, and went on to make a string of crucial saves, in the 2-1 FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying win over Macedonia in Skopje.