Kevin Gage

Kevin William Gage (born 21 April 1964) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League and Premier League. Playing either as a full back or in midfield, he began his career with Wimbledon and over a 19-year career also played for Aston Villa, Sheffield United, Preston North End and Hull City. Following his playing career, Gage became a match day host at Bramall Lane, having continued to live in the area. He has also written columns for the Sheffield Star newspaper. Wimbledon Joining straight from school as an apprentice, Gage was an unused substitute aged just 16 in his first year at the club, later making his league debut a few days after his 17th birthday. He remains the youngest ever player to play for Wimbledon. Although a midfield player, Gage was primarily used in a full back role as Wimbledon's "Crazy Gang", managed by Dave Bassett, rose through the divisions to the top flight in only four years. He played and scored for the same club in all four divisions of the Football League. In 1981–82, Gage gained five England Youth caps and played in the Youth World Cup finals in Australia. At the conclusion of the 1982-1983 season he was intended to play with Finnish side Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, but suffered an injured hernia in a late season game and was unable to make the move. Aston Villa In June 1987, Gage was bought by Aston Villa for £250,000 to be part of Graham Taylor's new regime to restore Villa to the top division after relegation the previous season. In his first season, Gage was a league and cup ever-present, as Villa gained promotion as Second Division runners-up. In the following two seasons, Gage was used in a variety of positions, switching from full-back to midfield, and also as a wing-back, as Aston Villa ran Liverpool very close to the league title, eventually finishing second in the 1989–90 season. After Taylor left to become England manager, and following Ron Atkinson's re-shaping of the team, Gage left for Sheffield United in November 1991.