Shaun Goater

Early career

Goater's trial resulted in the offer of a professional contract, but he did not break into the first team. In 1989, Goater signed for Rotherham United in order to play first team football. At this time, Goater suffered homesickness, finding it difficult to adapt to the English climate: "It took me a good two years to get used to life in England. At first I thought the sun never shone and it wasn't for me." However, he gradually got used to living in England, and over the course of seven seasons at Rotherham he gained a reputation as a reliable lower division striker, scoring 86 goals in 262 appearances, with a winner's medal for the 1996 Football League Trophy the highlight. A 1992 League Cup tie against Everton gave Goater his first experience of playing against a Premier League team. In the first leg, Goater scored the only goal of the game as Rotherham won 1–0. However, Everton won the return leg 3–0 and Rotherham were eliminated. In 1993, Goater also had a brief loan spell at Notts County, though he made only one appearance for the Nottingham club due to a work permit problem. Towards the end of the 1995–96 season, Goater had a disagreement with Rotherham manager Archie Gemmill, and decided his future lay elsewhere. In the 1995–96 close season, Goater received offers from Spanish club Osasuna and newly formed South Koreans Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but having recently married, he decided to stay in England. Shortly after, he moved to Bristol City for…

Goater has also played for the Bermudian national team 22 times, scoring 20 goals though due to Bermuda's lowly standing in world football he never played in a major international tournament. He made his first international appearance at the age of 17 against Canada. Other sources list him with 36 appearances, scoring 32 goals. During the 1992–93 season, Goater missed eight weeks of the club season in order to represent his country in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. However, Bermuda finished bottom of a group containing El Salvador, Canada and Jamaica. His final appearance was in June 2004 against El Salvador. When playing for Bermuda, Goater was often the only professional player in the team. Bermudian journalist Chris Gibbons described the difference between Goater and his teammates: "He's a class above every other player on the island. Before he went to England he was just quick, but now he's a totally different player, a lot more aggressive and a much better header of the ball. The problem has been that he sets up chances for the others without them being on the same wavelength." However, Goater noted that this had a detrimental aspect: "My fitness dropped off while I was with Bermuda. It was like being on holiday. The team just ate what they liked. I kept to my professional diet for about two or three weeks until peer pressure took over."

International goals

Scores and results list Bermuda's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bermuda…

After retiring, Goater returned to Bermuda, receiving an official welcome from the Premier of Bermuda Alex Scott on his arrival. A week later, Southend played the Bermuda national team in an appreciation game for their former striker. Goater has expressed a wish to enter coaching following his retirement, and studied for the UEFA B coaching licence in 2005. Since 2003, Goater has organised the annual Shaun Goater Grass-roots Soccer Festival, a football coaching event for children in Bermuda. On 14 September 2006, Goater and the United Soccer Leagues announced that Bermuda would receive a professional football team that would play in the third division of American football, the USL Second Division. Goater had roles as both a director and player of the team, the Bermuda Hogges. Goater left Bermuda Hogges in 2008, to concentrate on youth coaching with North Village Rams in his home town. He was appointed as the head coach in 2008. He served as the head coach of the Rams from 2008 to 2013, in the process winning seven trophies, including the league, three Friendship titles, Charity Cup and two Dudley Eve titles. On 8 August 2015, it was announced that Goater would join Northern Premier League Division One North club New Mills as assistant manager to Andy Fearn. In September 2015, Fearn and Goater resigned from New Mills after nine defeats in nine games. On 17 February 2017, Goater was appointed manager of Northern Premier League Division One North club Ilkeston. On 5 February…

Goater was born in the Bermudian capital Hamilton, living with his mother Lynette, his grandmother and two aunts. His introduction to English football came in April 1987 when he was invited to join the Saltus Grammar School football and basketball tour. He spent two weeks playing against various English high school teams, including the Leicester City youth team. At the age of 17, he left home to further his education in the United States, where he had a soccer scholarship at Columbia High School, New Jersey. Whilst home in Bermuda during his Thanksgiving break, Goater was spotted by scouts from Manchester United, who invited him to England for a trial. With encouragement from his mother, who was a former football player herself, Goater accepted, forfeiting his scholarship by doing so. At this time, Goater did not play as a striker, but instead played as a creative midfielder.