By 4two
January 22 2003

The 32 year old keeper signed for Walsall in the summer attempting to do what the likes of Carl Emberson and Lee Harper have failed to do and displace Jimmy Walker from the number 1 shirt at Bescot.

27. Gavin Ward

Personal Details.

Date of Birth : 30.6.70

Height : 6.3

Weight : 14st 12lb

Date Joined : 9.8.02

Career Details.

Club	League Appearances	FA Cup	League Cup	Other
Aston Villa	-	-	-	-
Shrewsbury	-	-	-	-
West Brom	-	-	-	-
Cardiff	58(1)	1	0	7
Leicester	38	0(1)	3	4
Bradford	36	3	6	2
Bolton	25(3)	4	2	0
Burnley (loan)	17	0	0	0
Stoke	79	2	7	12
Walsall	3(1)	0	0	0

 

Walsall Career

Will always be remembered by Walsall fans as the goalkeeper who dropped Tom Bennett's corner into his own net in the 2001 Play Off semi final second leg against Stoke City. He trained with Wigan Athletic in pre-season, but when Walsall were left short in the goalkeeping department following Marcus Hahnemann's choice of Reading ahead of us, Ward received a call from his old coach at Leicester (Colin Lee) and "had no hesitation in coming here".

He has failed to dislodge James Walker on a permanent basis, making only four appearances, all of them enforced by Walker's disciplinary problems. Gavin was thrown in at the deep end, making his debut as a substitute against Preston in place of Walker who had been sent off for handball outside of his area. Walsall promptly threw away a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3.

His first start for the Saddlers came against former club Stoke, Gavin played well and Walsall won 4-2. Not surprisingly, Jimmy was recalled but then received a two match ban for comments made to referee Phil Joslin after his sending off. Ward came in for these two games, playing ok in a  0-1 home defeat to high flying Sheffield Utd - only beaten by a top quality goal from Michael Brown. Gavin's fortunes changed in his next match however as his error gifted Pablo Counago a goal for Ipswich and the Saddlers lost 3-2. Unless Walker picks up an injury or receives another ban, it looks like another long stint on the bench for Gavin.

Attributes

A capable shot stopper who uses his height well to claim crosses, Gavin Ward brings much needed competition to the goalkeeping department at Bescot. A vastly experienced goalie who has played right across the divisions, he is a good player to have in any squad.