Garry Monk

At 45 years old, Garry Monk has this physical status:

Playing career

Born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, Monk began his career as a youth with Torquay United, appearing five times during the 1995–96 season, but he wasn't a trainee after growing up in Torquay for the bulk of his youth. He went to Southampton to complete his apprenticeship and then became a Southampton instructor in May 1997.

Monk returned to Torquay on loan in September 1998 and on returning to the Dell team, making his first team appearance against Derby County on November 28, 1998. He had a loan stint at Stockport County in September 1999 before being recalled to the first team for two matches in January 2000.

He served for Oxford United on loan until 2001, but he was suspended from Oxford by Glenn Hoddle due to an injury problem among Southampton defenders. He played in both of his last two home matches at The Dell, against Manchester United and Arsenal in May 2001, both of which resulted in victories.

Monk had a longer loan relationship with Sheffield Wednesday (from December 2002 to March 20 March) in the hopes of a permanent transfer, but it didn't happen after Wednesday's transfer to Division Two. He left the Saints on a free transfer in February 2004, after being on loan for the previous three months. He struggled to settle in at Oakwell, but scored his first goal in a 2–1 home FA Cup win over Bristol City on December 16th, and then moved to Swansea City on a free transfer in June 2004.

On the first day of the new League Two season, Monk made his debut for Swansea in a 0–2 loss to Northampton Town at Vetch Field on August 7, 2004. He was given a straight red card in the 84th minute of the game against Yeovil Town for conceding a penalty on Phil Jevons, which was converted by Gavin Williams for the only goal of the match. Monk was sent off in a 0–2 loss at Shrewsbury Town for pushing over referee Eddie Ellans in the 43rd minute; teammate Andy Robinson was dismissed two minutes later. During a 0–1 loss at Mansfield Town on Tuesday, he received his third red card for two bookings in a minute. Swansea City ended the season with a promotion to League One.

Monk scored his first goal for Swansea in 2005, when the team defeated Rushden & Diamonds 4–0 at the Liberty Stadium in the quarter-finals of the Football League Trophy. Robinson's first league goal of his career came on January 14, 2006, a 1–1 draw away from Bradford City's corner just before half time. Swansea defeated Brentford in the play-off semi-finals at the Millennium Stadium on May 27th, but Barnsley lost in a penalty shootout to Barnsley in the final. Monk completed the 120 minutes in the final and crossed it over to Rory Fallon's equalizer, who had a hook.

Following Roberto Martnez's release, it was announced that he Monk would be the captain for the forthcoming season in August 2006. However, he sustained a critical ligament injury in an innocuous-looking match against Scunthorpe striker Andy Keogh, who was suspended for the entire season, and with his deal coming to an end at the end of the season, his future was in question.

For the first time in 24 years, Monk returned to the Swans as skipper, captaining the Swans to promotion to the second tier of English football. Monk's first piece of silverware as Swansea's captain as the team secured promotion as League One champions with a score of 92 points. In a 3–2 home victory over Leeds United, he scored one goal during the season, a header.

Monk acquired Ashley Williams, a new central defensive partner drafted from Stockport County near the end of the previous season, as Alan Tate was dropped from the team. In a 0–2 loss to Charlton Athletic at The Valley on August 9, Monk was sent off for a foul on Matt Holland. On the 18th of April 2009, his only goal of the season was the home winner against Bristol City, who then stepped in Andrea Orlandi's corner after 25 minutes. Swansea finished eighth in their first season in the Championships.

Swansea missed out on a Championship play-off site on the final day of the season in the 2009-10 season. Monk scored in the first round of the League Cup on August 11th, beating Brighton and Hove Albion 3–0. He was one of three Swansea players fired off, alongside ngel Rangel and Gorka Pintado, as the team lost 1–2 at home against Scunthorpe United in the second round. Monk chastised his former boss, Paulo Sousa, after his departure to Leicester City, claiming that his tactics and training methods were insufficient. The Portuguese boss and his captain rarely saw eye to eye in Monk's 2012 autobiography Loud, Proud, and Positive.

Monk played every match until breaking his ankle against Colchester United in the FA Cup on January 8th. He will soon return to the side, while the Swans captain, Adrian Covington, will be promoted to a position in the Premier League following a victory over Reading in the Championship Play-off Final. Monk's contribution will be recognized with a new three-year deal, thus keeping him at the club until 2014.

Monk signed a one-year deal with Swansea on February 6, 2013, extending his stay at the club until June 2015. Monk won the first major trophy of his career as a result of manager Michael Laudrup's absence from Bradford City 5–0 in the 2013 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. In a 5–0 win over Bradford City, Monk lifted the cup with Ashley Williams after arriving as a 62nd-minute substitute for Ki Sung-yueng.

Monk won's captaincy after only 15 appearances in all competitions in the 2012-2013 season, 11 of which were in the Premier League, but Monk replaced Ashley Williams, who had worn it in Monk's absences during the previous two years.

Managerial career

Following the dismissal of manager Michael Laudrup, Monk was named as interim player-manager by chairman Huw Jenkins on February 4, 2014. On February 8, the South Wales derby against Cardiff City, which Swansea defeated 3–0 with all three goals scored in the second half, his first match in charge. Monk's Swansea spent second in Europa League Group A behind Valencia after being disqualified by Rafa Bentez's Napoli side after losing 3–1 on aggregate.

Swansea City fought relegation and gained security with just one match to spare.

On May 7, 2014, Monk became Swansea City's permanent manager after committing to a three-year contract.

Monk led Swansea to a 2–1 away victory over Manchester United in the club's first ever league victory at Old Trafford. The Swans continued their good start to the season by defeating Burnley and West Bromwich Albion, a string of results that culminated in Swansea's promotion to the Premier League table, and Monk selected Manuel of the Month for August.

After Swansea's 2–1 loss to Stoke City on October 19, Monk said Stoke's Victor Moses had dived for a penalty, and that referee Michael Oliver had "disgust" of the award. Monk was not charged with these remarks because he was questioned by the FA and warned of his conduct in media interviews.

Swansea defeated Arsenal on May 11, 2015, making the Swans only the third team in Premier League history to win both Arsenal and Manchester United in the same season. With a record number of points, the Swans ended the season in eighth position.

In July 2015, Monk signed a new three-year contract.

Monk was fired by Swansea on December 9, 2015, after a streak of one victory in 11 Premier League matches, leaving the team 15th in the standings. Pep Clotet, James Beattie, and Kristian O'Leary all left the team as a result of Monk's dismissal.

Monk was appointed head coach of Leeds United on a one-year rolling contract on June 2, 2016, replacing previous head coach Steve Evans.

On June 28, 2016, Monk made his first signing as Leeds' head coach, as well as the signing of Swedish striker Marcus Antonsson for around £2 million. Monk's first match in charge of Leeds was against Q.P.R. On the first day of The Championship season, the team lost 3–0. After a 2–2 draw against Fleetwood Town, Monk's first victory came in the following match, 5–4 shootout victory for Leeds on Sunday.

In November 2016, after guiding Leeds Leeds to sixth position and the EFL Championship Play-off Championships, as well as the quarterfinals of the EFL League Cup, Monk was nominated for the Championship Manager of the Month award for October, but he barely missed out when Newcastle United's Rafa Benitez was named.

Leeds lost in a quarter-final match against Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool at Anfield on November 29th, but Leeds had a good showing against the then Premier League leaders. Leeds defeated Brentford 1–0 on December 17th, the first appearance at this time of the season since Simon Grayson's Leeds team in 2010.

After making several changes to his squad, Monk's Leeds team suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit on January 29, 2017 to Sutton United's hands after losing 1–0. After a pitchside brawl with Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner, who was unable to beat Wagner's run, Monk had a touchline ban on Friday, sparking a competition between players and staff of both teams.

Leeds were comfortably in the playoff positions and in contention for automatic promotion after beating Brighton 2–0 on March 19, 2017, having pulled 11 points ahead of 7th place. However, Leeds lost out on the playoffs on the final day of the season after being defeated by Fulham in a dramatic loss of form in the final 8 matches of the season.

After Andrea Radrizzani's takeover of Leeds two days earlier, and the day before Leeds were due to begin a one-year contract extension, Monk resigned as Leeds United's head coach, with the option of investigating a longer-term contract.'s words, according to Radrizzani, Monk's departure from the club had been a'shock.'

Monk was sworn in as the boss of Middlesbrough's newly promoted Championship team on June 9, 2017, replacing caretaker Steve Agnew. Upon his appointment, Monk said he aimed to have the club promoted immediately back to the Premier League.

Monk's first signings for the club came on July 7th, when he signed Cyrus Christie from Derby County and Jonny Howson from Norwich City. Martin Braithwaite from Toulouse was brought aboard two days later, and later got the signing of Britt Assombalonga from Nottingham Forest.

In Albufeira, Portugal, his first game as manager came as a goalless draw against Oxford United. Darren Randolph and Ashley Fletcher, both arriving from West Ham United later this month, were brought into Monk. Connor Roberts of Swansea City and Lewis Baker from Chelsea were loaned to Monk later this transfer window.

Monk had left the team on December 23, 2017, only to be replaced by Tony Pulis three days later.

On March 4, 2018, Monk was named as the head of Birmingham City's Championship team. He signed a three-and-a-half year contract and became Birmingham's fifth permanent manager in 15 months. He led the team to five victories out of the eleven matches remaining, with Fulham's final-day defeat of promotion candidates Fulham earning their 19th-place finish. In his post-match interview, Monk said that the constant fight against relegation was unjustified, that he would be "relentless" in improving the club's mental health, and "anyone not on board with this will not be here."

Several players, including both senior goalkeepers, were ruled out of consideration for the 2018-19 first team. Monk was able to sign one player for a fee and up to five loans or free transfers on wages pitched at a "debilitating" rate under an EFL-imposed company strategy, with a potential points deduction pending for the club's failures of the league's Profitability and Sustainability legislation. Monk was named Championship Manager of the Month after a slow start to the season, four victories in October, and the team ranked fifth in the table. They converted them into "a team vastly superior than the sum of its parts" to keep them in the top half of the table until they lost in March and a nine-point deferral left them in the top half of the table until they finished 17th.

The Monk-ledong Rend family's friendship had broken down in June 2019, with Ren dissatisfied with Monk's playing style and plans for the new season and Monk unhappy about the auction of the artistic Jota. Monk was fired on June 18 after making it clear that he would not resign. A club statement with echoes of Monk's own a year ago called for a change in footballing's philosophy and emphasised the fact that "everyone at the club should have the same vision and dedication to the project and procedures."

Monk was appointed as the boss of Sheffield on September 6, 2019, restraining Steve Bruce who resigned a few months earlier. He has signed an unspecified term. In November 2019, Monk, who now serves as his former assistant Pep Clotet, sluggishly, spoke scathingly about Clotet in his pre-match press conference, rather than refusing to shake his hand after the game. Monk and Clotet shook hands as the two managers met again in the reverse fixture later this season, but not enough to resolve their differences. He was fired from Sheffield Wednesday on September 9, 2020, the club's second-last in the league, with the club finishing second.

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