Shaun Goater

“Feed the Goat!” The marvellous former professional footballer Shaun Goater MBE most famously played as a striker for Manchester City where he scored over 100 goals between 1998 and 2003, finishing as the club’s top scorer for four consecutive seasons. He also represented his native Bermuda 36 times, scoring 32 goals. In 2003 he was awarded an MBE for services to football and young people in Bermuda. His autobiography, Feed the Goat: The Shaun Goater Story, was published in 2006.

Born in the Bermudian capital of Hamilton, Goater was a keen footballer from a young age and left home at the age of 17 to take a soccer scholarship in the United States. He was later spotted by Manchester United scouts and invited for a trial at the club, and was offered a professional contract in 1988. However, after failing to break into their first team, he left for regular football at Rotherham United in 1989. Over the course of seven seasons at Rotherham he gained a reputation as a reliable lower division striker, scoring 86 goals in 262 appearances. He briefly went on loan to Notts County in 1993, and then moved to Bristol City in 1996. In a little under two years with the club, he scored 45 goals in 81 appearances. In March 1998 he signed with Manchester City for $400k. He had a hugely successful time at City, helping them to secure promotion from the Second Division in 1998-99 via the play-offs, and to win the First Division title in 2001-02. He left the club in 2003 having scored 103 goals in 212 appearances.

Goater then moved to Reading for two seasons, going on loan to Coventry City briefly in 2005. He then joined Southend United in August 2005 for a final season as a professional. He returned to Bermuda in 2007 and played for the Bermuda Hogges, and then in 2008 joined the North Village Rams as player-manger. He retired from playing in 2010, but remained as manager until 2013. He returned to England to take on the assistant manager role at non-league New Mills in 2015, and as manager at non-league Ilkeston in 2017. In 2019 he joined Macclesfield Town as an U-18s coach, and in 2021 he returned to Manchester City as part of their Academy coaching staff.

Goater regularly connects with his legions of followers and fans through Twitter, posting pictures and videos about his life around football.