1. Christopher Edmund Kirkland was born on 2 May 1981 and is an English football coach and former professional goalkeeper who is the head goalkeeping coach at Colne.
38 Facts About Chris Kirkland
1. 2.
Chris Kirkland had further loan spells at both Leicester City and Doncaster Rovers before being signed by Sheffield Wednesday in May 2012.
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Chris Kirkland joined Preston North End in August 2015 and had a brief spell with Bury before retiring in August 2016.
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Chris Kirkland was born in Barwell, Leicestershire, where he grew up with his parents, Marie and Eddie, and attended Heathfield School and then Henley College Coventry.
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Chris Kirkland's father, Eddie, was a crane driver and spent many hours helping his son practise his goalkeeping skills.
6.
Chris Kirkland signed professional terms with the club in July 1998.
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Manager Gordon Strachan began selecting him in Premier League matches ahead of Swedish international Magnus Hedman despite saying Chris Kirkland was "big Bambi who couldn't kick the ball out of the penalty box".
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Chris Kirkland played 14 consecutive matches, during which he kept six clean sheets, but sustained an ankle injury in January 2003, which ruled him out for the rest of the season, meaning he missed the victorious 2003 League Cup final.
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Chris Kirkland spent six weeks out of action after tearing his groin whilst on England under-21 duty in September 2003.
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Chris Kirkland had played four Champions League matches but was unable to be named in the squad for the 2005 final due to injury; Scott Carson, who took his place on the bench in Istanbul, later offered his Champions League winners medal to Kirkland, who refused to accept it.
11.
In July 2005, Chris Kirkland agreed to go on a season-long loan to Bryan Robson's West Bromwich Albion to kick-start his career again.
12.
Chris Kirkland again spent time out of action with a broken finger, and was told by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez that he would have to move away from Anfield if he wanted to play regular first-team football as new signing Pepe Reina had made an excellent start to his Liverpool career.
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In July 2006, Chris Kirkland joined Wigan Athletic on a six-month loan spell.
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Chris Kirkland committed his future to Wigan in May 2008 when he signed a new contract, tying him to the club until 2012.
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On 22 November 2009, Chris Kirkland conceded nine goals in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
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Chris Kirkland was replaced in the starting line-up by Ali Al-Habsi.
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On 25 November 2010, Chris Kirkland joined Championship club Leicester City on loan until January.
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Chris Kirkland returned to Wigan for treatment on his back injury, after making three appearances at The Walkers Stadium.
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Chris Kirkland was going to join Cardiff City on an emergency loan in February 2011 as cover for goalkeeper Tom Heaton, but the deal fell through after he picked up a virus.
20.
On 12 October 2011, Chris Kirkland joined Championship Doncaster Rovers on loan until January after attracting interest from new manager Dean Saunders.
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However, after less than a week into his loan spell at the Keepmoat Stadium, Chris Kirkland was sent back to parent club Wigan following another back spasm.
22.
In May 2012, Chris Kirkland signed a two-year contract with Championship club Sheffield Wednesday; manager Dave Jones said whoever played best out of Chris Kirkland and Stephen Bywater during pre-season would win a first-team place.
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Chris Kirkland required several minutes of treatment after the assault, which was captured on television cameras and immediately followed a Leeds goal.
24.
On 12 August 2015, Chris Kirkland joined Championship club Preston North End on a one-year contract.
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Chris Kirkland was signed as an understudy to on loan goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and remained on the bench after Pickford was recalled, as Sam Johnstone and Anders Lindegaard joined the club on loan.
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Chris Kirkland joined League One club Bury on a one-year contract in June 2016.
27.
Chris Kirkland later revealed that he had been fighting a four-year battle with depression.
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Chris Kirkland won eight caps with the England national under-21 team and was regularly selected for the senior squad from 2003 onwards, but did not make an appearance until he came on as a substitute for the second half of a friendly against Greece in August 2006.
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Chris Kirkland was identified at an early age as a goalkeeper with an "uncommon mixture of height, agility and bravery".
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Chris Kirkland began coaching the goalkeepers at League One club Port Vale in January 2017 as a favour to his friend and former teammate Michael Brown.
31.
In July 2018, Chris Kirkland returned to Liverpool as a goalkeeping coach for the women's team.
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Chris Kirkland took on the additional duty as assistant manager.
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Chris Kirkland quit the role in March 2019 to focus on the growing demands of running his goalkeeping academy.
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Chris Kirkland was appointed as head goalkeeping coach at Colne in June 2020.
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Chris Kirkland and his wife Leeona had a daughter, Lucy, born on 14 November 2006, which caused him to miss an international friendly match against Netherlands the next day.
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Chris Kirkland visited Hindley Youth Offenders' Institution in support of the scheme, which is delivered by The Prince's Trust in partnership with the Premier League, the PFA and the Football Foundation.
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In July 2022, Chris Kirkland opened up about his painkiller addiction and revealed he had previously considered taking his own life.
38.
In July 2024, Chris Kirkland was awarded an honorary doctorate for his mental health work by Edge Hill University.