Mick Gooding
Encyclopedia
Michael Charles Gooding (born 12 April 1959 in Newcastle upon Tyne
, England
) is a former professional footballer and football manager
.
In the twilight of a successful playing career, Gooding was appointed joint player-manager of Reading
with Jimmy Quinn
when manager Mark McGhee
acrimoniously left to take the reins at Leicester City
. Under their guidance, Reading finished second in the First Division
, but were left to battle for a place in the Premier League through the playoff
s, as the Premier League was being reduced in size from 22 teams to 20. Reading were beaten 4-3 by Bolton Wanderers
in the playoff final at Wembley.
Gooding and Quinn remained in charge at Elm Park
for two seasons afterwards, until they were replaced by Terry Bullivant
after failing to mount any further promotion challenges.
After Reading, Gooding had a short spell at Southend United
, before retiring from football. He remained at Rootes Hall for a while as a coach.
He has since carved himself a career as a radio commentary
pundit, performing such roles as co-commentator for BBC Radio Berkshire
's coverage of Reading's Premier League matches, while also working as an estate agent
in Mortimer
.
Despite playing 701 league games in a career stretching 20 years, Gooding never played top division football - the closest he came to reaching the top flight was with Reading when they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in 1995.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a former professional footballer and football manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
.
In the twilight of a successful playing career, Gooding was appointed joint player-manager of Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
with Jimmy Quinn
Jimmy Quinn (Northern Irish footballer)
James Martin "Jimmy" Quinn is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and was manager of Bournemouth.-Club:...
when manager Mark McGhee
Mark McGhee
Mark Edward McGhee is a former Scottish professional football player. McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and spent spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, Celtic, IK Brage and Reading...
acrimoniously left to take the reins at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. Under their guidance, Reading finished second in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
, but were left to battle for a place in the Premier League through the playoff
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
s, as the Premier League was being reduced in size from 22 teams to 20. Reading were beaten 4-3 by Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
in the playoff final at Wembley.
Gooding and Quinn remained in charge at Elm Park
Elm Park (stadium)
Elm Park was a football stadium in the West Reading district of the English town of Reading. It was the home of Reading Football Club from 1896 until 1998, when they moved to the new Madejski Stadium....
for two seasons afterwards, until they were replaced by Terry Bullivant
Terry Bullivant
Terry Bullivant is an English football coachBullivant was a midfielder during his playing days, signed as an apprentice in May 1974 to Fulham FC and transferred to Aston Villa FC for £220,000 in November 1979....
after failing to mount any further promotion challenges.
After Reading, Gooding had a short spell at Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
, before retiring from football. He remained at Rootes Hall for a while as a coach.
He has since carved himself a career as a radio commentary
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
pundit, performing such roles as co-commentator for BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Berkshire, as well as parts of North Hampshire, including Basingstoke. Radio Berkshire broadcasts on 94.6 , 95.4 , 104.1 and 104.4 FM from its studios at Caversham Park near Reading. The 104.1 FM signal is the strongest...
's coverage of Reading's Premier League matches, while also working as an estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
in Mortimer
Mortimer Common
Mortimer Common, generally referred to as Mortimer, is a village in the civil parish of Stratfield Mortimer in Berkshire. Mortimer is in the local government district of West Berkshire and is seven miles south-west of Reading.-Geography:...
.
Despite playing 701 league games in a career stretching 20 years, Gooding never played top division football - the closest he came to reaching the top flight was with Reading when they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in 1995.