Gary Charles

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English footballer (born 1970)

title: "Gary Charles" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["english-men's-footballers", "english-expatriate-men's-footballers", "england-men's-international-footballers", "england-men's-under-21-international-footballers", "aston-villa-f.c.-players", "derby-county-f.c.-players", "men's-association-football-full-backs", "nottingham-forest-f.c.-players", "leicester-city-f.c.-players", "s.l.-benfica-footballers", "west-ham-united-f.c.-players", "birmingham-city-f.c.-players", "premier-league-players", "1970-births", "living-people", "english-people-convicted-of-assault", "footballers-from-the-london-borough-of-newham", "people-associated-with-the-university-of-nottingham", "british-sportspeople-convicted-of-crimes", "lincoln-city-f.c.-non-playing-staff", "nuneaton-town-f.c.-managers", "english-football-league-players"] description: "English footballer (born 1970)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Charles" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English footballer (born 1970) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox football biography"]

Field	Value
name	Gary Charles
fullname	Gary Andrew Charles
birth_date
birth_place	Newham, England
position	Defender
youthclubs1	Clapton
years1	1987–1993
clubs1	Nottingham Forest
caps1	81
goals1	2
years2	1989
clubs2	→ Leicester City (loan)
caps2	8
goals2	0
years3	1993–1995
clubs3	Derby County
caps3	77
goals3	3
years4	1995–1999
clubs4	Aston Villa
caps4	107
goals4	4
years5	1999
clubs5	Benfica
caps5	4
goals5	1
years6	1999–2002
clubs6	West Ham United
caps6	8
goals6	0
years7	2000
clubs7	→ Birmingham City (loan)
caps7	3
goals7	0
totalcaps	288
totalgoals	10
nationalyears1	1989–1991
nationalteam1	England U21
nationalcaps1	8
nationalgoals1	0
nationalyears2	1991
nationalteam2	England
nationalcaps2	2
nationalgoals2	0
manageryears1	2018
managerclubs1	Nuneaton Town
::

He played as a right-back, notably beginning his career with Nottingham Forest and featured in the inaugural Premier League season under Brian Clough, he also played in England's top flight for Aston Villa and West Ham United as well as in Portugal for Benfica. He also played in the Football League for Leicester City, Derby County and Birmingham City. He was capped twice for England.

In 2018, Charles had a brief spell as manager of non-league side Nuneaton Town, having previously worked as assistant manager of Lincoln City.

Playing career

Born in Newham, London, Charles started his career at Clapton F.C., but first came into notability at Nottingham Forest, when he became a regular alongside Roy Keane, making his debut against Coventry in the League Cup on 2 November 1988, and his league debut against Arsenal four days later. His manager at Forest, Brian Clough, commented on his dribbling abilities by saying: "When he plays a one-two he goes like a gazelle. It's so effortless that at first it looks as if he's not moving, yet he's 40 yards up the field. In June 1991, he made his debut for England, playing two friendlies, against New Zealand on 8 June and Malaysia on 12 June. Only a few weeks earlier, Charles was famously fouled by Paul Gascoigne in the 1991 FA Cup Final. This was the challenge that caused Gascoigne's cruciate ligaments to tear, forcing him out of the game for a year. On 29 March 1992, he made the squad that won the Full Members Cup against Southampton.

On 29 July 1993, he made a £750,000 move to Derby County, appearing 76 times for them during a two-year spell, which included honours for PFA Team of the Year in 1993–94. On 6 January 1995, he signed with Aston Villa for a fee close to £1.4m, and assumed a regular starting role, although he was frequently injured, being out for two seasons recovering from a serious ankle injury. He appeared in 80 league matches in three and a half years with the Villans, winning one League Cup. On 14 January 1999, Charles moved abroad, joining Benfica in Portugal, for a fee of £1m. He was the back-up choice after the failed bid for Oleh Luzhnyi. However, in Portugal, his problem with injuries remained; on 22 January, just six days after arriving, he sustained a sprain in his right hock with rupture of the joint capsule of his knee, being sidelined for two months. He finally made his debut on a 3–0 home loss against Boavista on 14 March 1999, and played in three more games, scoring one goal, before being sidelined again on late April, due to a pubalgia. Spending the entire summer recovering from injury, he was put on the transfer list by Jupp Heynckes, so he made a move to his boyhood team West Ham United on 5 October 1999 for £1.2m. During his three seasons with the Hammers, he was constantly troubled by injuries, so he opted to end his professional career on 29 July 2002.

Coaching career

In October 2011, Charles joined Lincoln City as assistant manager alongside manager David Holdsworth, but has since become the director of football at the University of Nottingham. On 29 March 2018 it was announced that he had accepted the manager's position at National League North side Nuneaton Town. In June 2018, he was replaced as manager at Nuneaton by Nicky Eaden.

Personal life

After the end of his playing career, Charles struggled with alcoholism. He however overcame these difficulties and has attained his UEFA A Coaching licence. In 2018, Charles was reported as being a recovering alcoholic with a business providing care to people who are experiencing depression and alcohol and drug dependency. His son, Jaden, made his professional debut in May 2021.

Honours

Nottingham Forest

Full Members Cup: 1991–92

Aston Villa

Football League Cup: 1995–96

Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 1993–94 First Division

References

(12 February 2018). "'Cloughie said if I didn't put weight on, I had to go live with him and his wife' - Gary Charles on starting out at Nottingham Forest". Nottingham Post.
"Gary Charles Nottingham Forest record".
Hodkinson, Mark. (6 November 2004). "Forgotten man still picking up pieces after two worlds collide". The Times.
(9 October 2014). "Mario Balotelli's flaws at Liverpool lead Brendan Rodgers up blind alley". Simon Austin.
(2 June 2011). "England players: Gary Charles".
(4 May 2011). "Gazza's moment of madness - 20 years on". BBC.
Holley, Duncan. (2003). "In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC". Hagiology Publishing.
(22 March 2018). "Former Derby County and Nottingham Forest man 'set for first management spell'". Derby Telegraph.
(17 January 1999). "Football: On the move". Independent.
(13 May 1999). "Oleg Luzhny perto de chegar a acordo com Arsenal". Record.
(17 November 2012). "When Benfica welcomed a British invasion, but wished it hadn't".
Tovar, Rui Miguel. (2012). "Almanaque do Benfica". Lua de Papel.
Tovar, Rui Miguel. (2012). "Almanaque do Benfica". Lua de Papel.
(5 October 1999). "Gary Charles assina pelo West Ham". Record.
(27 January 2004). "Ex-footballer jailed for dangerous driving". The Daily Telegraph.
(29 March 2018). "Former England and Aston Villa defender Gary Charles appointed as new manager of Nuneaton Town".
(16 June 2018). "Gary Charles shocked at Nuneaton Town departure - finds out on Twitter". Nottingham Post.
(28 January 2004). "Ex-England soccer star who turned to alcohol jailed". The Telegraph.
"From 'new Rooney' to cocaine & a suicide attempt". BBC Sport.
(25 March 2021). "Clough signs Irish youth international as son of former team-mate joins League Two side". The42.
(1 May 2021). "Mansfield Town 4-1 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport.
(25 March 1996). "Milosevic gives; Villa a touch of magic".
Lynch. "The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes".

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