Shaun Goater MBE

Personalia: Born: 25/2 1970 Birthplace: Hamilton (Bermuda) Nationality: Bermuda (?/?) Height: 6`1" (184cm) Weight: 12st. 0lb (75kg) Position: Striker Nickname: "The Goat" League Appearances: Season: Club: Games: Goals: 1988-1990 Manchester United 0 0 1990-1996 Rotherham United 209 70 1993-1994 Notts County (loan) 1 0 1995-1998 Bristol City 75 40 1997-1998 Manchester City 7 3 1998-1999 Manchester City 45 19 1999-2000 Manchester City 40 23 2000-2001 Manchester City 26 7 2001-2002 Manchester City 42 28 2002-2003 Manchester City 26 7 2003-2004 Reading - - Total: 471 197

Shaun Goater was born in Bermuda, 25.2.70. A striker who is strong on the ball with lightening pace. The Bermudan international, started his career as a trainee at Manchester United, and joined Bristol City from Rotherham United during the summer of 1996 for £175.000. He soon showed what a bargain he was, and his goals has always seen him near the top of the goalscorer's charts. In his time at Millmoor, he made 262 appearances, scoring an impressive 86 goals.

Goater asked for a transfer some time back, as his contract was up at the end of the 97/98-season, and he stated that he wanted to try playing at a higher level. For £400.000. Joe Royle managed to scoop the striker just before transfer deadline in march 1998, to help City out of the swamp of the 1st division, a task which proved to difficult for the lethal striker.

After the drop to division 2, the Goat proved to be the most important reason why City enjoyed back-to-back promotions the following season. Coupled with some very important goals by Paul Dickov, the Bermudan was the leading goalscorer the following 4 seasons. In 2002 the"Goat" reached the magical total of thirty for the season at Crewe in March to become the first City player since Francis Lee in 1971 to score thirty in a season.

His last season with the Blues was enlightened with two brilliant performances against Manchester United. The first at Maine Road gave him the ultimate revenge on the club that rejected him in 1990. With two goals and set-up for Anelka, he was the driving force behind an unpredicted 3-1 win. At Old Trafford he came on as a late subsitiute and scored the vital equaliser only minutes before the game was over. By then he had lost the place in the line-up to Robbie Fowler, and although the teams performance and goalscoring rate dropped significantly after that he was never given a real chance to combat for the place in the team.

At the end of the 2002/2003 season, Shaun was given the chance to captain the City side in their last game of the season, and that also marked the end of an aera with the Goat, a truly amazing player with a wonderful and professional attitude towards everyone around him. He scored 87 goals in 186 league games for the Blues. Shaun won the Nationwide Division 1 in 2001/2002 and contributed to setting a goalscoring record for that Division in the process. He have a runners up medal from the same division in 1999/2000, and was on the winning side in the Nationwide Division 2 Play off in 1998/1999.

June 13th 2003: Manchester City striker Shaun Goater has been honoured with an MBE for services to sport and young people in his home country of Bermuda.

August 1st 2003: Shaun agreed terms for a move to First Division high fliers Reading. The 33-year-old hitman put pen to paper on a three-year deal after passing a medical and agreeing terms with the Thames Valley side earlier the same day. Goater, moved for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £500,000, to spearhead Alan Pardew’s promotion campaign, with the two clubs having agreed a fee earlier in the week.