Sunderland
—  City and metropolitan borough  —
City of Sunderland
From top row to bottom: Echo 24 Building and Wear Bridge, Fulwell Mill, Penshaw Monument, Roker Lighthouse, Winter Gardens and The National Glass Centre
Coat of arms of Sunderland City Council
Sunderland within Tyne and Wear and England
Country	United Kingdom
Constituency	England
County	Tyne and Wear
Established	1 April 1974
Admin HQ	Sunderland
Government
• Type	Leader and Cabinet
• MPs	Bridget Phillipson Sharon Hodgson Julie Elliott
Area
• Land	53.1 sq mi (137.46 km2)
Population (2001)
• Total	280,807
• Estimate (2007)	280,300
• Density	5,290.8/sq mi (2,042.8/km2)
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Website	http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/

The City of Sunderland  /ˈsʌndərlənd/ is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton-le-Spring, Washington, and a range of suburban villages.

The district was formed in 1974 as the Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and is an amalgamation of four former local government districts of County Durham. It was granted city status in 1992, the 40th anniversary of the Queen Elizabeth II's accession. The city had a population of 280,807 at the time of the 2001 census, with the majority of the population (177,739) residing in Sunderland.^[1] The 'Sunderland Urban Area' (including Whitburn in South Tyneside) is quoted alternatively as having a population of around 200,000.^[2]

History[link]

The metropolitan borough was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of several districts of County Durham - Washington Urban District, Houghton-le-Spring Urban District and Hetton Urban District - with the County Borough of Sunderland.^[3]

The metropolitan borough was granted city status in 1992, the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession. At the Queen's Golden Jubilee the city petitioned to be allowed a Lord Mayor, but was unsuccessful. Although the city does not have a Cathedral, as it is located in the Diocese of Durham, it does have Sunderland Minster.

Between 1939 and 1945 the Wear yards launched 245 merchant ships totalling 1.5 million tons, a quarter of the merchant tonnage produced in the UK at this period. Competition from overseas caused a downturn in demand for Sunderland built ships toward the end of the 20th century. The last shipyard in Sunderland closed in 1988.^{[citation needed]}

HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's biggest warship, is Sunderland's adopted ship. In March 2004 it was granted the freedom of the City. St Benedict Biscop was adopted as the City's Patron Saint in March 2004.

City government[link]

Boundary review 2004[link]

Like all metropolitan authorities, the city is divided into a number of wards or electoral districts. Each has three councillors elected for a four-year term. One third of councillors face re-election each year, and no city elections are held in the fourth year of the election cycle - this was when each ward's sole metropolitan county councillor was elected, prior to the county council's abolition in 1986.

The City has 25 such wards. When the boundaries of these wards were set in 1982, each ward had a roughly equal population. By 2004 there had been a considerable shift in population. In particular, the east and south east – the old parish of Sunderland and the mining village of Ryhope – had lost population to the "New Town" of Washington. As a result the boundaries were redrawn; Sunderland lost one ward and Washington gained one. The 2004 election for all 75 councillors was held on 10 June 2004.

Functions[link]

The Local Government Act 1972 created two different two-tier systems for local administration, with different division of functions. As a metropolitan authority, Sunderland retained responsibility for waste collection, although disposal of the garbage was a county function, and for education. In 1986, when Tyne and Wear Metropolitan County Council was abolished, most county functions became the responsibility of the constituent districts, whilst new joint boards assumed the co-ordinating roles in the county. Thus control over economic development, of the Museums and Archive Service, of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Civil Defence Authority and of the Passenger Transport Authority is exercised not by committees of directly elected county councillors but by nominees chosen by the elected members of the five district authorities.^{[citation needed]}

Sunderland has not had a separate police force since 1967, when the Borough of Sunderland Police merged with Durham Constabulary. The City is now part of the Northumbria Police Force area. This force was set up in 1974, and covers the whole of Tyne and Wear plus the much larger but much less densely populated county of Northumberland.

The city is unparished, except for Hetton-le-Hole which is a civil parish, and which has a town council.

Political structure[link]

The City has had a Labour controlled council since 1974, and often before that. After the elections of May 2003 the political structure was 63 Labour, 9 Conservative, and 1 independent. The only Liberal Party councillor sat with the only Liberal Democrat as a "Liberal/Democrat" group. Three Councillors resigned from the Labour Party following disputes over the selection of candidates for the 2004 elections. Two became independent members; one joined the Liberal Democrat party, becoming group leader after the 2004 municipal elections.^[4]

The reorganisation of electoral areas saw major changes in all but two wards, but the elections of 10 June 2004, the first fought under the new boundaries, saw little change in the political representation of the City as a whole, with 61 Labour, 12 Conservative, and 2 Liberal Democrat councillors elected.

The Conservative party won all three seats in a new ward whose boundaries spanned several old wards. The Liberal Democrats stronghold ward was abolished entirely, and became part of four new wards, and the Liberal Democrat councillors elected in 2004 were from two very different areas.

Following further disputes within the Labour Party, 3 councillors resigned the whip at the end of 2006 and, joined by one of the liberal democrat members formed an independent group, which is the minority party in opposition.

At the elections of May 2007, the Labour Party continued their decline. Labour lost three seats to the Conservatives, whilst former Labour Mayor Mrs Julianna Heron lost to an independent: the same person who had defeated her husband in 2003 and who was in turn defeated by him in 2004. The Conservative party made further significant gains in the 2008 election, gaining five additional seats and strengthening their support in others.

The election in 2010, held at the same time as the general election saw Labour gain 4 seats to increase their majority.^[5] In the 2011 local elections Labour gained a further four seats from the Conservatives.^[6] After the election the composition of the council was Labour 56, Conservative 14, independent 4 and Liberal Democrat 1.^[6]

Parliamentary constituencies[link]

Since major boundary changes in 2010, there are three constituencies covering the City of Sunderland, all currently regarded as safe for the Labour Party:

• Houghton and Sunderland South
• Sunderland Central
• Washington and Sunderland West

In the 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2005 General Elections, the former Sunderland South constituency was the first to declare the results, and the tradition was continued by the new Houghton and Sunderland South seat in 2010.

The whole City of Sunderland is within the North East England European Parliamentary constituency.

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Sunderland is twinned with: Essen, Germany;^[7] Saint-Nazaire, France^{[citation needed]}; Washington, DC, USA;^{[citation needed]} and Harbin and Nanjing, both in the People's Republic of China.^{[citation needed]}

Sunderland and Washington share historical links, as the ancestors of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington, lived in Washington Old Hall, which is within the municipal boundaries of Sunderland.

Education[link]

• Sunderland is home to the University of Sunderland. Most university facilities are arranged over two campuses: the City Campus is located on Chester Road, to the immediate west of the city centre, and the 1990s Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peters lies on the north bank of the River Wear, adjacent to the historic St Peter's Church (AD674). There previously existed a Ryhope Road Campus in the Ashbrooke district, but most - though not all - university premises have been relocated to the main two campuses.

• Further Education is provided by the City of Sunderland College, which has five centres across the city: Bede, Hylton, St Peters, Shiney Row, and Usworth. There are also sixth forms attached to three schools: St Robert of Newminster in Washington for boys and girls, St Anthony's for girls, and St Aidan's for boys, both in the Ashbrooke area of Sunderland.

• There are 17 state secondary schools, including three newly-built academy schools, and 77 state primary schools serving the children of Sunderland.

• There are also three independent schools, teaching children at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Regeneration and future developments[link]

Since the mid-1980s Sunderland has undergone massive regeneration, particularly around the central business district and the river corridor.

Sunderland City Council's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) outlines ambitious regeneration plans for a number of sites around the city.^[8] The plans are supported by Sunderland Arc, an urban regeneration company funded by the City council, One NorthEast and English Partnerships.

Future developments in the City include:

• The Holmeside Triangle
• Vaux and Farringdon Row
• Stadium Village
• Grove and Transport Corridor

Culture[link]

Dialect[link]

The Mackem accent and dialect is often mistaken for Geordie to people not from the region, as the two tongues share several similarities in pronunciation and diction.

Literature and art[link]

Lewis Carroll was a frequent visitor to the area. He wrote most of Jabberwocky at Whitburn as well as "The Walrus and the Carpenter".^[9] Some parts of the area are also widely believed to be the inspiration for his Alice in Wonderland stories, such as Hylton Castle and Backhouse Park.^[10] There is a statue to Carroll in Whitburn library. Lewis Carroll was also a visitor to the Rectory of Holy Trinity Church, Southwick; then a township independent of Sunderland. Carroll's connection with Sunderland, and the area's history, is documented in Bryan Talbot's 2007 graphic novel Alice in Sunderland.^[11] More recently, Sunderland-born Terry Deary, writer of the series of Horrible Histories books, has achieved fame and success, and many others such as thriller writer Sheila Quigley, are following his lead.^[12]

The Salford born painter, L. S. Lowry, was a frequent visitor, staying in the Seaburn Hotel in Sunderland.^[13] Many of his paintings of seascapes and shipbuilding are based on Wearside scenes. The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art on Fawcett Street and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens showcase exhibitions and installations from up-and-coming and established artists alike, with the latter holding an extensive collection of LS Lowry. The National Glass Centre on Liberty Way also exhibits a number of glass sculptures.^{[citation needed]}

The Bath-based writer, Dan W.Griffin was student at Sunderland University between 1992 and 1995. His experiences are described in his book, No stranger to the P45.

Music[link]

Sunderland has produced a modest number of musicians that have gone on to reach international fame, most notably Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. Kenickie, which featured Lauren Laverne on vocals, also achieved a top ten album and wide critical acclaim in the mid-to-late-1990s. In recent years, a thriving underground music scene in Sunderland has helped the likes of The Futureheads, Field Music and more recently Frankie & The Heartstrings gain national recognition.

Other famous Mackem musicians include punk rockers The Toy Dolls, who broke the top five of the charts with "Nellie the Elephant" in December 1984; the punk rock band Leatherface; the lead singer of dance outfit Olive, Ruth Ann Boyle, who achieved a UK chart-topper with "You're Not Alone" in May 1997, and has gone on to work with fellow chart-toppers Enigma; A Tribe of Toffs made number 21 with their cult hit "John Kettley is a Weatherman" in December 1988.

On May 7 and 8th 2005, Sunderland played host to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend concert - the UK's largest free music festival. The event, held at Herrington Country Park in the shadow of Penshaw Monument, was attended by 30,000 visitors and featured Foo Fighters, Kasabian, KT Tunstall, Chemical Brothers and The Black Eyed Peas.^[14][15]

The Empire Theatre sometimes plays host to music acts. In 2009, it hosts Jane McDonald and The Drifters among others.

The Sunderland Stadium of Light is home to Sunderland AFC.

Theatre[link]

The Sunderland Empire theatre.

The Sunderland Empire Theatre, opened in 1907, is the largest theatre in the North East, reopened in December 2004 following a major redevelopment allowing it to stage West End shows such as Miss Saigon, Starlight Express and My Fair Lady, all of which have been performed at the Empire. The Empire is the only theatre between Leeds and Glasgow large enough to accommodate such shows.^[16] It has also played host to an annual season from the Birmingham Royal Ballet for over ten years.

The Royalty Theatre is the home to the (amateur) Royalty Theatre group who also put on a number of low-budget productions throughout the year. Renowned film producer David Parfitt belonged to this company before achieving worldwide fame and is now a patron of the theatre.

The Empire also played host to the final performance of comic actor Sid James, who died of a heart attack whilst on stage in 1976.^[17]

Economy[link]

Over recent years Sunderland city centre has seen a re-development of the Sunniside area taking place, with new bars, cafes and retailers opening their doors on the Eastern side of the city. The Sunniside area now includes an Empire Cinema, Gala Casino and many surrounding eateries.

The Bridges Shopping Centre covers much of the City Centre and was opened in 1988. It is currently owned by Land Securities Group after they purchased the site in 1990. The Bridges and surrounding stores in the town centre include Boots, Burton, HMV, Debenhams, H&M, Starbucks, Next, TK Maxx, Waterstones, New Look, Tesco, Topshop, River Island, Aphrodite, Monsoon, USC, Ernest Jones and many more. The centre receives over 26 million shopping visits every year.

Media, internet, film and television[link]

Sunderland has two local newspapers: the daily evening tabloid The Sunderland Echo, founded in 1873, and the Sunderland Star - a free newspaper.^[18] It also has its own local radio station Sun FM,a community radio station Spark FM and a hospital radio station - Radio Sunderland for Hospitals, and can receive other north-eastern independent radio stations Metro Radio, Magic 1152, Galaxy North East and Century Radio. The current regional BBC radio station is BBC Radio Newcastle The regional DAB multiplex for the Sunderland area is operated by Bauer Digital Radio plc.^{[citation needed]} The city is covered by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV's Tyne Tees franchise, which has a regional office in the University's Media Centre.^[19]

Sunderland's first film company was established in 2008; and is known as "Tanner Films Ltd" and is based in the Sunniside area of the city. The companies first film, "King of the North" starring Angus MacFadyen and set in the Hetton-le-Hole area of the city; is currently under production.^[20]

Sunderland was named "The Facebook Capital of Britain" by the BBC in February 2010. The statistics showed that people in Sunderland were more likely to log on to the social networking site than anywhere else in the UK.<^[21]

Cultural events[link]

Sunderland was host to the cities first ever Japanese Culture and Anime convention SunnyCon.^[22] The event took place at Crowtree Leisure Center on March 24–25, 2012 and was a huge success. The event attracted over 900 visitors to the city over the weekend and became the biggest convention in the north east after its first year. The 2012 event was host to guest stars Veronica Taylor and Christopher Sabat from various anime dubs as well as other anime and Japanese culture experts and traders. With the event being such a success 2013 is already underway with planning and the organizers have promised to raise the bar and become even bigger.

Sport[link]

The only professional sporting team in Sunderland is the football team, Sunderland A.F.C., which was formed in 1879.^[23] Finishing 10th in the Premier League in the 2010-11 season, Sunderland retained its status in the country's top division in 2011-12 and plays home games at the 49,000 seat capacity Stadium of Light.^[24]

Sunderland also has the north-east's top women's football team, Sunderland A.F.C. Women, who have been financially separated from the men's team since summer 2005. They currently play in the top tier of English women's football - FA Women's Premier League National Division, despite their financial struggles.

Sunderland's longest stadium occupancy so far was of Roker Park for 99 years beginning in 1898, with relocation taking place due to the stadium's confined location and the need to build an all-seater stadium. The initial relocation plan had been for a stadium to be situated alongside the Nissan factory, but these were abandoned in favour of the Stadium of Light at Monkwearmouth on the site of a colliery that had closed at the end of 1993.^[25]

Since the dissolution of Sunderland Nissan F.C. the City now has only one non-league side, Sunderland Ryhope Community Association F.C. who now play in the Northern League Division One after a successful promotion campaign in the 2009/10 season.^[26] MMA fighter Ian "The Machine" Freeman also hails from Sunderland.

Famous Sunderland residents[link]

See also[link]

• Sunderland coat of arms
• Sunderland (disambiguation)

References[link]

External links[link]

• [7] Wearside Online
• [8] Sunderland City Council Website
• City of Sunderland at the Open Directory Project
• Sunderland at the Open Directory Project

v t e Districts of North East England County Durham County Durham • Darlington • Hartlepool • Stockton-on-Tees Northumberland Northumberland Tyne and Wear Gateshead • Newcastle upon Tyne • North Tyneside • South Tyneside • Sunderland North Yorkshire Middlesbrough • Redcar and Cleveland • Stockton-on-Tees

v t e Metropolitan counties and metropolitan districts Greater Manchester Bolton Bury Manchester Oldham Rochdale Salford Stockport Tameside Trafford Wigan Merseyside Knowsley Liverpool Sefton St Helens Wirral South Yorkshire Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham Sheffield Tyne and Wear Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside South Tyneside Sunderland West Midlands Birmingham Coventry Dudley Sandwell Solihull Walsall Wolverhampton West Yorkshire Bradford Calderdale Kirklees Leeds Wakefield

Coordinates: 54°54′36″N 1°23′06″W / 54.910°N 1.385°W / 54.910; -1.385

Charles Joseph John "Joe" Hart (born 19 April 1987) is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national football team and was previously a regular for the England under-21 team. Having made his competitive international debut in September 2010, Hart is now recognised as England's first choice goalkeeper.^[3]

Hart was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2010 but lost out to eventual new team-mate at Manchester City, James Milner but was voted as the Premier League goalkeeper of the 2009–10 season in recognition of his performances at Birmingham City. He returned to Manchester City for the 2010–11 season and won the Barclays Golden Glove for keeping the most clean sheets throughout the Premier League season, an award he received again in the 2011-12 season.^[4]

Club career[link]

Shrewsbury Town[link]

Hart was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire to Charles and Louise Hart ^[5], and attended Oxon Primary School, followed by Meole Brace School Science College in Shrewsbury, where he was Head Boy in his final year.^[6] Whilst he was still a Year 11 pupil at the school, he travelled with the first team squad of his hometown club, Shrewsbury Town, to Exeter City on 1 February 2003. He was a non-playing substitute on that occasion and fulfilled that role again versus Rochdale at Gay Meadow on 1 March 2003, still some six weeks short of his 16th birthday. This match yielded Shrewsbury's final victory in a season that culminated in relegation to the Conference. During the one season that Shrewsbury spent in the Conference, Hart made his senior debut on 20 April 2004, a day after his 17th birthday. He played the full 90 minutes in the match against Gravesend & Northfleet. Four days later, he conceded three at Morecambe.

Hart did not play again until April of the following year, as Scott Howie dominated goalkeeping duties. With Shrewsbury back in the Football League (the newly-renamed League Two) and struggling, Hart played six matches, conceding four goals.

From the start of the 2005–06 season, Hart made the step up into the first team, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper, claiming the number 1 shirt. He played a full 46 match league season, conceding 55 goals. Despite conceding more than one goal per game, Hart won plaudits for his personal performances, winning his first England U-19 cap in October 2005, as a substitute against Poland.

Hart also found admirers in the Premiership, with several top-flight scouts attending matches. On 30 November 2005, the Shropshire Star newspaper reported that Everton goalkeeping coach Chris Woods had been present at Town's previous league match, a 4–3 loss at Rochdale. boss Gary Peters said "Everton have been to watch him, but you could say the same about Arsenal, Chelsea and every other team in the Premiership". Speculation about his future continued for the duration of the season, and with the presence of their goalkeeping coach Tim Flowers at several matches, Manchester City became the most likely of his suitors.

On 7 February 2006, Hart was announced as the top League Two player in the PFA Fans' Player of the Month Awards for January 2006.^[7] Football fans voted him as the best player in the division via the PFA's website. At the PFA Awards ceremony on 23 March 2006, it was announced that Hart had been voted as League Two's best goalkeeper for 2005–06 by his fellow professionals, earning him a place in the PFA League Two Team of the Year.^[8]

Manchester City[link]

With Hart in Belgium preparing to make his fifth appearance for the England U19 squad, in the Elite qualifying round for the 2006 UEFA U-19 Championship,^[9] it was announced that his move to Manchester City had been completed.^[10] England lost the match to Serbia and Montenegro and failed to qualify.

On 22 May 2006, City paid an initial £600,000 for Hart, rising £1,500,000 if undisclosed clauses were achieved.^[11] Hart made his debut for City on 14 October 2006 after injuries ruled out Andreas Isaksson and Nicky Weaver for the Premier League match against Sheffield United. He kept a clean sheet in the match, which finished goalless.

Loaned to Tranmere Rovers and then Blackpool[link]

Hart spent the whole month of January 2007 on loan to League One club Tranmere Rovers. He made 6 appearances and conceded 8 goals. He was then named in his then-club manager Stuart Pearce's first squad in his part-time role as England U21 coach, alongside another goalkeeper uncapped at U21 level, Ben Alnwick. He was not chosen to start the match on 6 February 2007 against Spain, but did come on as a substitute late in the game.

In April 2007, Hart joined Blackpool on loan as cover for the injured trio of Rhys Evans, Paul Rachubka and Lewis Edge. He kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win for Blackpool at Huddersfield Town on 9 April 2007, in his first game for the Seasiders.^[12] Blackpool won all five games in which Hart appeared, including a 6–3 win at Swansea City in his final game.^[13]

Return to Manchester City[link]

Hart playing for Manchester City in 2008

On his return from a successful loan spell at Blackpool, former Manchester City manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, named Hart as Manchester City's number 1 ahead of Andreas Isaksson. After his performance against Newcastle United, Eriksson touted him as "one of the biggest talents in this country as a goalkeeper", and that he had the potential to become an England international in the future.^[14] Only months later, he made his England debut against Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June 2008. In October, he was inducted to Shropshire Schools & Colleges Football Association’s Hall of Fame along with good friend and former teammate David Edwards in recognition of their achievements.^[15] Later that month, he signed a new five-year contract.^[16]

After Isaksson's departure to PSV Eindhoven, Hart took the vacant number 1 jersey when the official squad numbers for the 2008–09 season were announced. However, his position as first-choice keeper was taken by Shay Given upon the Irishman's arrival at the club in January 2009.

Loan to Birmingham City[link]

Hart at Birmingham City

Having played no games for City since Given's arrival, rumours began to emerge of a loan move away from Manchester.^[17] City secured the transfer of Stuart Taylor from Aston Villa on 23 June 2009,^[18] paving the way for Hart to leave. Manager Mark Hughes had been undecided about allowing the player to go out on loan as he was unwilling to sanction a permanent transfer.^{[citation needed]} The following day it was announced that Hart would spend the 2009–10 Premier League season on loan to newly-promoted Birmingham City.^[19] He made his debut in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat away to Manchester United.^[20] In the early part of the season, Hart made errors which cost his side goals, and Maik Taylor's clean sheet against Manchester City, a match for which Hart was ineligible, left manager Alex McLeish with a selection dilemma.^[21] McLeish chose Hart, who kept his place in the starting eleven as Birmingham went on a club-record 12-match unbeaten run in the top division^[22] and set a Premier League record by fielding the same starting eleven for nine consecutive games.^[23] His performances improved:^[24] against Chelsea in December, he "showed not only sharp judgment and reflexes, making three outstanding saves ... but a lack of fear also", despite needing staples in a gashed head sustained when diving at the feet of Salomon Kalou.^[25] Hart was voted Birmingham City's Player of the Year for 2009–10,^[26] and nominated for the 2010 PFA Young Player of the Year award alongside Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fàbregas and James Milner.^[27] Though Milner won that award, Hart earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year.^[28]

Return to Manchester City[link]

Joe Hart commanding his penalty area in 2011.

Joe Hart with team-mate, Kolo Touré in May 2012.

After a successful spell at Birmingham City, which earned him a place in the England squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Hart was chosen ahead of Shay Given to start the opening game of the 2010–11 season against Tottenham Hotspur. He produced a man-of-the-match performance, saving numerous challenging shots including a deflected effort from Benoît Assou-Ekotto, which helped City to draw the game 0–0.^[29] Hart also kept a clean sheet in Manchester City's 3–0 victory over Liverpool, where he was still first choice goalkeeper and made even more good saves, enhancing his reputation even further. Hart conceded his first goal of the season from a late penalty by Darren Bent in a 0–1 defeat at Sunderland.

Hart helped his team overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final by producing an excellent early save to deny Dimitar Berbatov the opening goal. The match ended 1–0 to City, thanks to a goal scored by Yaya Touré. Hart kept another clean sheet against Tottenham Hotspur to earn his team a place in the qualifying round of the Champions League for the first time, and another in the FA Cup final in which Manchester City beat Stoke City 1–0 with another goal from Yaya Touré.

Hart was awarded the Premier League Golden Glove award for the most number of clean sheets in the 2010–11 Premier League season (18). He also broke the Manchester City club record for the most clean sheets during a season (29), previously held by Nicky Weaver (26, but whilst the team was two divisions lower).^[30] At the official Manchester City awards Hart was awarded performance of the season for his excellent performance against Tottenham Hotspur in August 2010. Hart's position as City's "number one" was cemented when Given departed City for Aston Villa in July 2011.^[31] Hart won the Golden Glove award for the second year running in 2011–12, and helped City to win their first Premier League title, and first top-flight title for 44 years, which they clinched on the final day of the season by beating Queens Park Rangers 3–2.^[32][33]

International career[link]

Under-21[link]

Hart was selected by Stuart Pearce in the preliminary England Under-21 30-man squad for Euro 2007, and later made the final 23. In the team's final friendly before the finals, Hart was selected for his first Under-21 start, and played the full 90 minutes in a 5–0 win over Turkey at Carrow Road. However, Hart took no part in the finals, with Scott Carson playing in all of England's four fixtures.

Hart was recalled to the U21s and was first choice at the Euro 2009 finals. He started in the first two group stage matches and was rested for the last match as England had already sealed its passage to the knock-out stage. In the semifinal against Sweden, he conceded three goals in the second half as the match ended 3–3 after extra time but he made up for it by saving a penalty and scoring another as England won 5–4 on penalties. However he was suspended for the final^[34] after being controversially yellow-carded for leaving his line to talk to Mikael Lustig as the Swede stepped up to take the penalty.^[35]

Senior team[link]

Having been a regular in the England U21 squad, Hart was called up by Fabio Capello to the full England squad for the friendly matches against USA and Trinidad and Tobago. An unused substitute against USA, he made his debut against Trinidad and Tobago, on 1 June 2008 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. He came on at half time for David James with England 2–0 up, eventually running out 3–0 winners.^[36] However, Hart's senior England debut did not earn Shrewsbury Town the expected bonus of £500,000 from Manchester City, as negotiated at part of his transfer in 2006, because it was not a competitive match.^[37]

Hart received a second call-up by Fabio Capello to face Czech Republic on 20 August 2008, but was not brought on. Hart was called up to the next England squad due to a drop-out from Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson.^[38] On 8 November 2009, he was called up for a friendly against Brazil.^[39]

Capello named Hart in his provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup.^[40] Hart played the second half of both of England's warm-up games, replacing Robert Green against Mexico and James against Japan, and kept a clean sheet in each case.^[41][42] All three goalkeepers, Hart, Green and James, were included in the final 23-man selection.^[43]

Hart did not feature in the World Cup but started England's next match, a friendly against Hungary, to earn his fourth cap. He conceded his first England goal in dubious circumstances when the ball appeared not to have crossed the line from a deflection from Phil Jagielka, and made a vital late save from Zoltan Gera as England won 2–1.^[44] Hart was given his first competitive cap in a Euro 2012 Qualifier, a 4–0 win v Bulgaria at Wembley, making three crucial saves, one of which he palmed away and set up a counter attack for an England goal. He won another two caps in friendlies against World champions Spain, keeping a clean sheet in an England victory,^[45] and against Sweden, again keeping a clean sheet for a 1-0 England win.^[46]

In February 2012, some players^[47] and pundits^[48] backed Hart for England captaincy citing his strong performances and positive image.

Cricket[link]

Before he turned to football, Hart was a promising young cricket player with Shrewsbury CC and appeared for their first-team in the Birmingham and District Premier League between 2003–05,and also spent two years with the Academy of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, playing alongside England international Steven Davies.^[6]

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Blackpool

• League One Play-Offs (1): 2006–07

Manchester City

• FA Cup (1): 2010–11
• Premier League (1): 2011–12

Individual[link]

• Barclays Golden Glove (2): 2010–11, 2011–12
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year (2): 2009–10, 2011–12
• PFA League Two Team of the Year (1): 2005–06^[8]
• Birmingham City Player of the Year (1): 2009–10^[26]
• Manchester City Performance of the Season (1): 2010–11^[49]

Career statistics[link]

Club statistics[link]

As of match played 13 March 2012^[50]

Goalkeeper national stats[link]

As of 29 February 2012^[51]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joe Hart club profile at the Official Manchester City website
• Joe Hart national profile at the TheFA.com
• Joe Hart career stats at Soccerbase
• Player Profile at skysports.com
• Profile at 4thegame.com
• Joe Hart's page on digdeep.com

England squads v t e England squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Carson 2 Hoyte 3 Baines 4 Taylor 5 Ferdinand 6 Cahill 7 Reo-Coker 8 Bentley 9 Richardson 10 Nugent 11 Young 12 Routledge 13 Hart 14 Rosenior 15 Milner 16 Lita 17 Huddlestone 18 Noble 19 Derbyshire 20 Onuoha 21 Vaughan 22 Alnwick 23 Whittingham Coach: Pearce v t e England squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Hart 2 Cranie 3 Taylor 4 Cattermole 5 Stearman 6 Onuoha 7 Milner 8 Gardner 9 Agbonlahor 10 Noble 11 Johnson 12 Muamba 13 Lewis 14 Walcott 15 Rodwell 16 Tomkins 17 Richards 18 Mancienne 19 Gibbs 20 Driver 21 Campbell 22 Loach 23 Rose Coach: Pearce v t e England squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 James 2 Johnson 3 A. Cole 4 Gerrard (c) 5 Dawson 6 Terry 7 Lennon 8 Lampard 9 Crouch 10 Rooney 11 J. Cole 12 Green 13 Warnock 14 Barry 15 Upson 16 Milner 17 Wright-Phillips 18 Carragher 19 Defoe 20 King 21 Heskey 22 Carrick 23 Hart Coach: Capello v t e England squad – UEFA Euro 2012 1 Hart 2 Johnson 3 Cole 4 Gerrard (c) 5 Cahill 6 Terry 7 Walcott 8 Parker 9 Carroll 10 Rooney 11 Young 12 Baines 13 Green 14 Jones 15 Lescott 16 Milner 17 Henderson 18 Jagielka 19 Downing 20 Oxlade-Chamberlain 21 Defoe 22 Welbeck 23 Butland Coach: Hodgson