Nigel Gibbs

Nigel James Gibbs (born 20 November 1965) is an English professional football manager and former player.

He has been an assistant coach at Swansea City and has previously worked as a coach with the Under-19 squad of Tottenham Hotspur.

A Watford supporter, as well as a product of their youth system, Gibbs spent his entire professional career as a right back for the club.

Gibbs began training with and supporting Watford from an early age, and was watching from the Main Stand at Vicarage Road as Watford sealed the Fourth Division title in 1978.

Although part of Watford's youth system, he occasionally played for St Albans City's youth team due to their close proximity to his home and school.

He also played for Hertfordshire schools at under-14 to under-16 levels.

Although initially a striker, Gibbs switched to the position of right-back as a teenager.

Further success came with Watford's youth teams; he played in the first leg of the youth team's 7–6 aggregate FA Youth Cup win against Manchester United in 1982, and in the final as Watford finished runners up in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup.

These performances earned him a callup to England's youth team, for whom he played nine times.

However, after signing as an apprentice in July 1982, Gibbs played in midfield for the reserves.

Due to his height, first team manager Graham Taylor was concerned about Gibbs' ability to cope with the physicality of being a first-team full back, and placed 17-year-old Gibbs on a steak and Guinness diet as an attempt to "beef him up."

Gibbs made his Watford debut in 1983, in front of 38,000 spectators in a UEFA Cup match against Sparta Prague.

In his early career Gibbs also played nine times for the England youth team, and five times for England under-21s.

Gibbs turned professional on 20 November 1983.

Three days later, he made his Watford debut in a UEFA Cup third round home match against Sparta Prague at the club's stadium, Vicarage Road.

He also played in the away fixture, in front of 38,000 spectators.

Faced with snowy conditions in Prague, Watford were eliminated 7–2 on aggregate.

Gibbs made his first Football League appearances in Watford's final three First Division games of 1983–84, including as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Arsenal.

However, he was not selected for the 1984 FA Cup final.

Gibbs, now 18, returned to the reserves for much of the following season.

Watford's first-team struggled, failing to win any of their first nine league games.

Although his first start of the season ended in a 2–0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers, Gibbs retained his place for 10 of the remaining 11 matches, experiencing only one further defeat.

Continuing in this vein, 1985–86 saw Gibbs establish himself as the team's first choice right-back.

He missed only two games all season, both of which resulted in defeat for Watford.

His first goal came on 5 April 1986 in a 4–1 home victory over Newcastle United, while he also played in a 5–1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season.

Gibbs' consistency helped him to third place in the voting for the club's Player of the Season award.

After suffering a foot injury at the start of 1986–87, Gibbs was restricted to 18 appearances as his team finished the season 9th in the First Division.

Under the management of Graham Taylor, Gibbs eventually established himself as a first-team player at Watford, making 100 Football League appearances before the club's relegation from the First Division in 1988.

Gibbs remained a key player for the team in the Second Division, and was voted Watford F.C. Player of the Season in 1992.

Manager Glenn Roeder appointed Gibbs as club captain for the 1992–93 season, but a series of serious injuries restricted him to 33 appearances over the following four seasons.

When his contract expired in 1996, Gibbs considered retirement, but he went on to earn a new contract and make the most appearances of any Watford player in 1996–97.

Gibbs featured regularly in Watford's rise from the Second Division to the Premier League between 1997 and 1999, and went on to play a further 17 games at the top level of English football.

Watford were relegated in 2000, and Gibbs made eight further appearances before retiring in 2002.

Gibbs remained at Watford as a coach, primarily working with the youth and reserve teams.

He took charge of the first team for a week following Ray Lewington's sacking as manager in 2005, but in turn was dismissed by incoming manager Aidy Boothroyd just before the start of the following season.

After taking a year off to acquire the UEFA Pro Licence, Gibbs joined Reading as youth team manager in 2006, and became assistant manager in 2009–10.

He continued in this role, and in 2011–12 Reading won the Football League Championship title, earning promotion to the Premier League.

Born in the city of St Albans, Hertfordshire, Gibbs attended How Wood primary school, and as a nine-year-old striker helped his team win a district six-a-side competition.

He was assistant manager of Leeds United after being appointed on 12 April 2013 alongside Brian McDermott, whom he assisted at Reading.

He departed from Leeds United in August 2014.