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Leonard Shaun Goater (born 25 February 1970) is a Bermudian former professional footballer, coach and pundit who is currently part of the coaching staff at Aston Villa Women.
As a player he was a striker for a number of English clubs in the 1990s and 2000s. Goater's first professional club was Manchester United, but he did not reach the first team, making his League debut in 1989 after moving to Rotherham United. He played for Rotherham for seven years before moving to Bristol City in 1996. Two years later he moved to Manchester City for a fee of £400,000.
He is most well known for his time at Manchester City, where he scored over 100 goals between 1998 and 2003, finishing as the club's top scorer for four consecutive seasons. After leaving City, Goater had spells with Reading, Coventry City and Southend United, before retiring in May 2006. He represented Bermuda 36 times, scoring 32 goals.
In the 1995–96 close season, Goater received offers from Spanish club CA Osasuna and newly formed South Koreans Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but having recently married, he decided to stay in England.Feed the Goat, p. 44 Shortly after, he moved to Bristol City for a fee of £175,000. Goater's Bristol City debut came against Gillingham. Goater scored, but Bristol City lost 3–2. City finished the season in fifth, qualifying for the playoffs, but lost to Brentford. The following season Bristol City were pushing for promotion into the First Division, and Goater scored regularly, eventually being named in the PFA Team of the Year for the division. In a little under two years with Bristol City, he scored 45 goals in 81 appearances. On 26 March 1998, Transfer window, Goater signed for Manchester City, who paid Bristol City £400,000 for his services.
The 1999–2000 season was even more successful for Goater. He was the club's top goal scorer again, this time with 29 goals, and was named Manchester City's Player of the Year by the supporters after Manchester City were promoted for the second successive year. In the summer, Goater was awarded the freedom of Bermuda, with 21 June declared as "Shaun Goater Day" on the island. The following season, Goater made his first appearance in top flight football at the age of 30, though injury and the presence of new signings Paulo Wanchope and former World Player of the Year George Weah meant he had to wait three months to do so. Again established in the first team, Goater was Manchester City's top goalscorer for the third consecutive season, but his 11 goals could not save the team from relegation.
During the 2000–01 season, upheaval took place at Manchester City, with manager Royle departing to be replaced by Kevin Keegan. Goater was the club's top scorer with 11 goals in all competitions but not save the club from relegation back to the First Division. In the 2001–02 season, Goater became the first Manchester City player since Francis Lee in 1972 to score more than 30 goals in a season. City were promoted as champions, and he was the club's top scorer for the fourth time in a row, as well as being the top scorer in the division.
Over the summer of 2001–02, there was speculation that Goater would be transferred, as Manchester City had twice broken their transfer record by buying strikers Jon Macken and Nicolas Anelka. Goater stayed, but opportunities were limited. He started just 14 games, but scored seven goals, including his 100th for the club, which came in a Local derby against local rivals Manchester United. In February 2003, Goater struck against the same opposition to score the fastest goal by a substitute in Premier League history, just 9 seconds after coming onto the pitch. He also scored a goal that would have won City the match, but it was disallowed.
Shortly before the end of the 2002–03 season, Goater announced his intention to leave Manchester City when the season finished in order to seek regular first team football. In his final match for Manchester City, he was asked to captain the side in Manchester City's final game at Maine Road. In total, Goater scored 103 goals in 212 appearances for Manchester City. Since ending his footballing career, Goater has been critical of both Kevin Keegan, who he claims never praised him, and Nicolas Anelka, who he feels wanted to be 'the daddy' of Manchester City.
Goater and three other partners in the Bermuda-based East End Group Limited announced an amalgamation with Telecommunications Networks Limited (now renamed East End Telecom) on 9 November 2007, which added to the group's two other business subsidiaries, East End Asphalt and East End Aviation. Goater serves as the group's Business Development Manager.
When in England, Goater has made regular appearances in local media covering the Manchester area. These have included a column entitled "Read the Goat" in the official Manchester City match programme, and a regular guest spot on the BBC Radio Manchester programme Blue Tuesday.
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.Feed the Goat, pp. 193, 198.
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."
| + List of international goals scored by Shaun Goater | |||||||
| 1 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 2–1 | 2–1 | Daily Nation Trophy | |||
| 2 | Mindoo Phillip Park, Castries, Saint Lucia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1990 Caribbean Cup qualification | |||
| 3 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 4 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–1 | 1–1 | ||||
| 5 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||||
| 6 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 8 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–3 | 1–3 | Friendly | |||
| 9 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||
| 10 | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti | 1–0 | 1–2 | ||||
| 11 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–1 | 2–1 | ||||
| 12 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 13 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | 1–4 | 1–4 | ||||
| 14 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica | 2–2 | 2–3 | ||||
| 15 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada | 1–3 | 2–4 | ||||
| 16 | Sherly Ground, Road Town, British Virgin Islands | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||
| 17 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 18 | 5–1 | ||||||
| 19 | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | |||
| 20 | 2–0 |
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 2019, Macclesfield Town announced that they had hired Goater to the staff of their under-18s team. Manchester City Hero Shaun Goater Joins Macclesfield Town Under 18's Coaching Team , mtfc.co.uk, 5 February 2019
On 8 October 2021, Goater returned to Manchester City as part of the academy coaching staff. He joined his former club's Academy coaching staff as part of the Premier League's Coach Inclusion & Diversity Scheme (CIDS), a programme set up with the aim of increasing the number of Black, Asian and mixed heritage coaches working full-time in professional football. Goater was set to work across all the club's Academy age groups, from the foundation phase up to the professional development phase, in different roles to ensure the provision of a wide range of experience.
In April 2023, Goater joined Manchester City W.F.C. as assistant to manager Gareth Taylor.
On 28 August 2024, Goater departed Manchester City to take the role of Assistant Head Coach at Aston Villa W.F.C. On 11 December 2024, Goater was named caretaker manager after Aston Villa Women parted company with manager Robert de Pauw. Goater took charge of his first game later that same day, a 4–1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the Women's League Cup.
On 22 January 2025, Aston Villa hired Natalia Arroyo as new manager, and Goater returned to his role in the coaching staff. During his time as caretaker manager, Goater took charge of 4 matches, featuring 3 wins and 1 draw and had expressed a desire to take on the job permanently.
Manchester City
Southend United
Individual
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