Steven Caldwell


Steven Caldwell is a Scottish former footballer, coach, and executive. Playing as a defender, mostly as a centre back, Caldwell won 12 caps for the Scotland national team and has played over 300 league matches in his career, primarily in the top three tiers of English football. Since retiring from playing, he has been working as a Major League Soccer analyst for TSN in Canada.
Caldwell is the president of League1 Ontario club Oakville Blue Devils FC and has served as the assistant coach of the Canada national team.
His younger brother Gary was also a defender and Scotland international and was formerly the manager of Wigan Athletic.

Club career

Newcastle United

Born in Stirling, Scotland, Caldwell started out his football career at Hutchison Vale, along with his younger brother Gary. He then joined Premiership club Newcastle United at age fourteen, along with Gary, where they began their football careers. In 1998, Caldwell signed his first professional contract with the club. At some point in the 1999–00 season, he was promoted to the first team, appearing twice as an unused substitute.
In the 2000–01 season, Caldwell was called up to the first team, with Manager Bobby Robson said: "Caldwell's got a good pedigree. I like to put people in when it's right and when it's necessary and I can afford to do it, and not when we are forced to do it. But we are going to have the confidence with the lad to do it. He's a steady character, has indomitable spirit and we like him very much." Caldwell made his Newcastle United debut on 30 September 2000 against Manchester City, coming on as a second half substitute for Andy Griffin, and played the rest of the game, keeping a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. On 1 November 2000, he made his first start for the club against Bradford City in the League Cup and scored his first goal for Newcastle United, as they won 4–3. Since making his debut for the club, Caldwell rotated in and out of the first team, due to facing competitions in the defence. He went on to feature four more times for Newcastle United by the end of the year, making three starts. On 3 March 2001 Caldwell made his first appearances in two months following a thigh injury, playing the whole match in a 1–1 draw against Everton. He later made two additional appearances before the end of the 2000–01 season, finishing the campaign with a total of nine appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2001–02 season, Caldwell was featured three times in Newcastle United's matches in the UEFA Intertoto Cup and once set up a goal, in a 4–0 win against Lokeren on 14 July 2001. Due to lack of first team football opportunities, he was loaned out to Blackpool on a month's loan. Caldwell made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Colchester United on 13 October 2001. In a follow–up match, he scored his first career goal, against Stoke City in the Football League Trophy, winning 3–2. Caldwell made a total of six appearances for Blackpool before returning to his parent club a month later.
Shortly after, Caldwell was loaned out to Bradford City on a month's loan in December 2001. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against Rotherham United on 8 December 2001. Since making his debut for Bradford City, Caldwell quickly became a first team regular for the side for the next two months there and had his loan spell extended at the club along the way. His loan spell at Bradford City ended in late–January, as he made nine appearances for the side.
At the start of the 2002–03 season, Caldwell continued to find his first team opportunities limited at Newcastle United, due to competitions in the central defence, with Manager Robson challenging him to fight for his first team place at the club. On 2 November 2002 he was called up to the first team and made his first appearance of the season, coming against Middlesbrough in the league and scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win. Caldwell then made his UEFA Champions League debut against Inter Milan on 27 November 2002, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, as Newcastle United lost 4–1. He then made six more starts for the club by the end of the year. Because of injuries to Andy O'Brien and Titus Bramble, Caldwell appeared three times at the beginning of January, including helping Newcastle United keep two consecutive clean sheets. However, he was dropped from the first team for the next two months, due to illness and competitions. In between the absence, Caldwell made his first UEFA Champions League start against Bayer Leverkusen, as the club won 3–1 on 26 February 2003. He later made four more appearances later in the 2002–03 season and contributed to the club's UEFA Champions League qualification to next season. In total, Caldwell made seventeen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Local newspaper Evening Chronicle said his involvement in the first team "deserves credit for his unsung contribution"
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2002–03 season, Caldwell said about his future, saying: "I've been in a worse position at this club. I'm not expecting anything at the moment. If the club wants me to stay, I'll be delighted, but I'm 22 and I don't want to spend my time in the reserves. I want to be playing for my country and I won't be doing that if I'm in the reserves." Newcastle United offered a him a new contract, but he rejected it, with clubs like Rangers, Sunderland and Sporting CP were interested in signing him. With an imminent departure from Newcastle United, the club demanded a £750,000 compensation. But in an unexpected turn of an event, it was announced on 19 June 2003 that Caldwell signed a one–year contract extension with the club, having previously rejected the one before, describing it as an "insult".
On 15 October 2003 Caldwell made his first appearance of the 2003–04 season, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against NAC Breda in the UEFA Cup, a win that saw Newcastle United through to the next round of the tournament following a 6–0 win on aggregate. He then made three more appearances for the club in the first half of the season. Manager Robson praised his performance in the last two matches. However, Caldwell continued to found his first team opportunities limited, due to competitions and his own injury concern. Because of this, Caldwell wanted to leave Newcastle United if he was not given first team football at the club. At one point, Caldwell was expected to leave Newcastle United on loan but Manager Robson blocked any attempts following an injury of Jonathan Woodgate. After Newcastle United recalled him due to an injury of Woodgate and Griffin, he made his appearances for the club since leaving, coming against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 9 May 2004. Caldwell appeared in the last two matches of the 2003–04 season, as Newcastle United failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season. In total at the club, he made a total of seven appearances in all competitions.
On 2 February 2004, Caldwell joined fellow Premiership club Leeds United on loan as part of a loan swap for Michael Bridges who went in the opposite direction. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Aston Villa five days later on 7 February 2004. Since joining Leeds United, Caldwell became a first team regular, playing in the centre–back position, as he attempt to help the club avoid relegation once again. On 10 April 2004 Caldwell scored his first goal for Leeds United, in a 2–1 win against Blackburn Rovers. However, he was recalled by his parent club on 5 May 2004. By the time Caldwell was recalled, he made thirteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following his absence, Leeds United was eventually relegated to the Championship.
Once the 2003–04 season was concluded, Caldwell was released by Newcastle United and by the time he left the club, he made thirty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

Sunderland

Throughout the 2003–04 season, Sunderland wanted to sign Caldwell after their efforts to sign him, both on a free transfer and on loan failed. The club opted to wait to sign him on a free transfer at the end of the 2003–04 season. In May 2004, he agreed a move to Sunderland after leaving Newcastle United. The move was later confirmed on 27 June 2004, with the player signed a three–year contract.
After missing out the first match of the 2004–05 season, Caldwell made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against Crewe Alexandra on 10 August 2004. This was followed up by scoring his first goal for Sunderland, in a 3–3 draw against Queens Park Rangers. Since making his debut for the club, Caldwell became was known for his whole-hearted approach to the game and the solid partnership he formed with Gary Breen. Caldwell said that his aim was to help Sunderland reach the promotion to the Premiership, in which Manager McCarthy praised Caldwell for his effort. However, during a 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic on 28 August 2004, he suffered a knock and was substituted in the 25th minute as a result. After missing one match, Caldwell returned to the starting line–up against Gillingham on 10 September 2004 and kept a clean sheet, in a 4–0 win. On 13 November 2004 he scored his second goal for the club, in a 1–0 win against Leicester City. This was followed up by helping Sunderland keep two clean sheets in the next two matches, making it three in a row. However in a follow–up against West Ham United, Caldwell was sent–off in the 41st minute after clashing with Serhii Rebrov, as the club lost 2–0. After the match, Sunderland successfully appealed against his red card. However, his return was short–lived when he suffered a hamstring injury that saw him miss one match. Despite not risking Caldwell return ahead of the match against Leeds United on 26 December 2004, he returned to the starting line–up, as the club lost 3–2. However, his return was short–lived when Caldwell suffered a calf injury that saw him miss two matches. On 4 February 2005 he returned to the starting line–up against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Caldwell then scored his third goal of the season, as well as, setting up Sunderland's first goal of the game, in a 5–1 win against Plymouth Argyle on 13 March 2005. Despite facing the sidelined during the 2004–05 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre–back position for the rest of the season, as the club continued aiming to reach promotion to the Premiership. On 23 April 2005, Caldwell scored Sunderland's winning goal against Leicester City to send his team back to the Premiership, which he successfully predicted. He later said it was the best moment as a footballer. In his first season at the club, Caldwell went on to make forty–one appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Caldwell said that he couldn't wait to play in Premiership now that Sunderland has returned to the top–flight league. Caldwell made his first Premiership appearance in a year, starting the whole game, as the club lost 3–1 against Charlton Athletic in the opening game of the season. However, he missed the next six matches, due to competition in the defence. Caldwell returned to the starting line–up against Middlesbrough on 25 September 2005, as Sunderland won 2–0, giving their first Premier League since 2002. He regained his first team place in the defence for the next five matches, including setting up a goal against Arsenal on 5 November 2005. This lasted until Caldwell was dropped from the first team in the next two matches. On 30 November 2005 he returned to the starting line–up, in a 2–0 loss against Liverpool. Following his return, Caldwell regained his first team place and started in the next nine matches for Sunderland. Along the way, he received a straight red card in the 60th minute in a 2–1 loss against Fulham on 2 January 2006 after "tripping Heiðar Helguson after the Icelandic international had embarrassingly broken the offside trap". The club's appeal was unsuccessful and Caldwell had to serve a one-match suspension. Having picked up five yellow cards, he, once again, suspended for one match before not playing for the next three matches. O 11 March 2006 Caldwell returned to the starting line–up against Wigan Athletic and wore the club's captaincy in the absence of Breen, as they lost 1–0. He then captained the side on two more occasions. Caldwell continued to rotate in and out of the starting line–up for the rest of the 2005–06 season, as Sunderland were relegated again in the 2005–06 season. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make twenty–six appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Caldwell was plagued with a knee injury that saw him sidelined for a month. He was tipped to become the next Sunderland captain following the departure of Breen and was eventually appointed. Caldwell captained in the opening game of the season against Coventry City., as the club lost 2–1. In a follow–up match against Birmingham City, he " sprained the medial ligaments in his knee " that saw him substituted in the 29th minute, as Sunderland lost 1–0. After the match, Caldwell was sidelined for almost three months. On 4 November 2006 he returned to the starting line–up against Norwich City, as the club lost 1–0. Despite keen to impress new Manager Roy Keane, Caldwell, however, fall out of favour with him, and he rarely featured in Roy Keane's first team when fit. Nevertheless, Caldwell was later featured eight times since returning before suffering a thigh injury that saw him substituted in the 16th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Preston North End on 30 December 2006. In the January transfer window, he was linked with a move away from the club: Sunderland accepted bids from Championship rivals Burnley and Coventry City. It came after when Manager Keane revealed that the contract talk between the club and Caldwell collapsed. Caldwell was then stripped of Sunderland's captaincy due to his imminent departure from the club.