Willy Guéret

Willy Guéret
	Guéret after playing for Milton Keynes Dons in the 2008 Football League Trophy Final
Personal information
Full name	Willy Julie Guéret
Date of birth	3 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1995	Red Star 93
1996–2000	Le Mans
2000–2004	Millwall
2004–2007	Swansea City
2007–2011	Milton Keynes Dons
2011	Kettering Town
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Willy Julie Guéret (born 3 August 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Career

Guéret was born in Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe.^[2] He joined Le Mans in 1996, playing alongside a young Didier Drogba, but moved to England on 28 July 2000 when he signed for Millwall. First-team opportunities were limited, however, and Guéret made only 18 starts for Millwall (with a further two as substitute) in all competitions. He was on the bench as Millwall lost the 2004 FA Cup final to Manchester United,^[4] and contributed to two games earlier in the cup run against Telford United^[5] and Burnley.^[6]

On 1 July 2004, Guéret signed for Swansea City. The club achieved promotion from League Two in his first season at Bury but Guéret's celebrations turned sour when the Swansea players entered the directors box against the orders of the game safety officer after the final whistle. Guéret and the other players were ordered by police to leave the directors box but Gueret was arrested for repeatedly telling a police officer to fuck off.^{[citation needed]} Guéret was placed in a police van and taken to Bury police station where he was later released after being issued an £80 fixed penalty notice for disorder for an offence under s5 Public Order Act and was able to travel back from Greater Manchester to Swansea with his teammates.^[7] He expressed his wish to stay at the club until the end of his career.^[8] He would later go on to help Swansea win the 2006 Football League Trophy final.^[9]

However, having fallen out of favour at Swansea, Guéret signed for MK Dons on the opening day of the 2007–08 season. He was hailed by Ray Mathias as the best goalkeeper in League Two and would go on to win the Golden Glove that season, keeping 23 clean sheets in 52 games.^[10]^[11]

Guéret saved a penalty in the 2008 Football League Trophy final, in which MK Dons beat Grimsby Town 2–0 at Wembley Stadium.^[12]

On 1 February 2011, Guéret signed for Kettering Town after leaving the Dons by mutual consent.^[13]

After six months at Kettering, Guéret announced his retirement from football. He was offered a coaching role with the MK Dons Academy but chose to return to France to set up a cognac production company with his brother at Gimeux in southern France.^[14]

Honours

Millwall

Football League Second Division: 2000–01^[15]
FA Cup runner-up: 2003–04^[4]

Swansea City

Football League Two third-place promotion: 2004–05^[16]
Football League Trophy: 2005–06^[9]

Milton Keynes Dons

Football League Two: 2007–08^[17]
Football League Trophy: 2007–08^[12]

Individual

Football League Golden Glove: 2007–08 Football League Two^[11]

References

^ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/02/2011 and 28/02/2011" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Willy Gueret". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ "Willy Guéret: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Man Utd win FA Cup". BBC Sport. 22 May 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ "Telford 0–2 Millwall". BBC Sport. 11 February 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
^ "Millwall 1–0 Burnley". BBC Sport. 14 February 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
^ WalesOnline (9 May 2005). "Manager tells Gueret to forget Bury incident". WalesOnline. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^ "No complaint over keeper's arrest". BBC. 9 May 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Carlisle 1–2 Swansea". BBC Sport. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ "Mathias hails Gueret as the best". 18 November 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The Football League | News | Latest News | Latest News | LEAGUE HONOU…". archive.ph. 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b Mitchener, Mark (30 March 2008). "Grimsby 0–2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ "DEPARTING WILLY SET FOR POPPIES". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 February 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ Doel, Jon (19 February 2015). "What became of Swansea City's cult heroes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^ "Millwall Club History - Millwall FC". www.millwallfc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2005). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2005–2006. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 49, 376–377. ISBN 978-0-7553-1384-6.
^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2008). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2008–2009. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 45, 272–273. ISBN 978-0-7553-1820-9.