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Gareth McAuley: In Profile | Help spread the word: Share on Facebook 
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Gareth McAuley joined Ipswich Town from Leicester City this summer, and looks set to become Jason De Vos’ successor as club captain. Paul Bloomfield looks at the defender’s career so far.Gareth McAuley began his career in his homeland of Northern Ireland, playing for Linfield. His four-year stay at the club included a loan spell at Ballyclare Comrades, before moving to Crusaders in 2000. The centre-back enjoyed two successful seasons there before moving on to Coleraine where he tasted glory, winning the Irish Cup. Gareth made the move to England in the summer of 2004, joining Lincoln City. He went on to help the club reach the League 2 Play-Offs on two occasions. Gareth’s performance in the 2005/2006 season earned him a place in the League 2 Team of the Season Incidentally, Lincoln have a record in the Play-Offs that Ipswich can empathise with. The Imps have reached the play-offs five times in recent years, and have ended up losing out at either at the semi-final, or final stage. McAuley’s rising profile earned him a move to Championship side Leicester City in the summer of 2006, after his contract at Lincoln had come to an end. Town fans may remember him for the two headed goals he netted in Ipswich’s 2-0 home defeat in February 2007. Another notable game the defender was involved in during his time at Leicester was a Carling Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season. Gareth gave his side the lead in what was the first of three goals that the Foxes netted in a remarkable encounter. Despite this feat, he was unable to prevent Chelsea from recovering to win the match 4-3. Town boss Jim Magilton made his first attempts to sign the central defender during last season’s January transfer window. Leicester turned down two offers from Town, before the player put pen to paper on a new three-year deal with Leicester City. However, following Leicester’s unexpected relegation from the Championship last season, Jim was finally able to land his man this summer. The 28-year-old, who has been capped ten times by his country, has joined Ipswich for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract. By Paul Bloomfield (26th July 2008) Click to view author Paul Bloomfield's profile Fancy writing for LiveFootball? Click here to find out more. |