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Fullname: James Stewart Robert Kerr
aka: Stewart Kerr
Born: 13 November 1974
Birthplace: Bellshill, Scotland
Signed: 27 May 1993
Left: 24 August 2001
Position: Goalkeeper
Internationals: Scotland U21s
International Caps: 10 U21 caps (none at senior level)
Biog
A graduate of Celtic’s youth system, goalkeeper Stewart Kerr played 40 games for the club during an eight year career at Parkhead.
Coming through the ranks, Stewart Kerr had been extremely highly-rated, even more so than Shay Given. Short loan spells with Swindon in 1993/94 and Brighton in 1994/95 confirmed his potential, as did a representative debut in Paul McStay’s testimonial against Manchester United in December 1995.
He made his full debut under Tommy Burns in season 1996-97 when he became the first choice keeper. Kerr generally acquitted himself well, but carried some culpability for the dreadful Falkirk semi-final loss which ultimately cost Tommy Burns his job. He notably saved a Gascoigne penalty in November 1996 in a game Celtic still lost. In the March 1997 title-decider Stewart Kerr had to be restrained by several team-mates after reacting furiously to a petulant head-butt from Mark Hateley, who seemed to have been granted impunity for his on-field thuggery.
But injuries meant he struggled to maintain a regular run in the first team in the following season as he battled it out with Gordon Marshall and latterly Jonathan Gould for the No1 jersey. In any case, Jonathan Gould went on to be a key player in the Celtic side that finally won the league title in 1997/98, ending Rangers run to reach a record ten titles in a row. Stewart Kerr ended up playing no matches with Celtic that pivotal season which likely was frustrating.
In 1998/99, Stewart Kerr was one of five goalkeepers used by Joe Venglos. He featured in the infamous ‘shame game’ defeat to Rangers in May 1999 and was not sent-off despite picking the ball up outside his area – one of many bizarre decisions that day by a concussed and vengeful Hugh Dallas. Stewart Kerr was perhaps unfortunate to be dropped for a half-fit Gould before the 1999 Scottish Cup final (another defeat to Rangers).
Long-standing rumours of a £1m switch to Chelsea eventually proved to be paper-talk, while prospective moves to Cardiff City and German minnows Energie Cottbus also floundered.
By the time of Martin O’Neill‘s arrival as Celtic boss, Stewart Kerr was fourth choice custodian, with his only appearance in the glorious season of 2000/01 being in a 4-0 victory over Raith Rovers in the league cup in an early round in September 2000.
It just never worked out for him at Celtic, albeit this was a tough era as Celtic battled to rebuild starting from the Celtic Takeover and competiting with a strong Rangers side.
Post-Celtic
In August 2001, he left to join Wigan for a reported £300,000. In 2009 the goalkeeper coach of the time, Terry Gennoe, told a tabloid newspaper that Stewart Kerr had battled “a weight issue,” brought about by his penchant for “a pint, amongst other things“.
His luck with injuries persisted at Wigan and he damaged a disk in his back training in October 2001. Despite attempting to recover from this injury he continued to have persistent back problems and following advice he decided to retire in September 2002.
In pre-season 2004/05 he attempted to make a return to the game with Kilmarnock, then St Johnstone but following further problems he completely retired from the playing side of the game.
In February 2005 while coaching at Burnley, Stewart Kerr was quoted in papers as suggesting that Martin O’Neill’s habit of rotating Rab Douglas, Magnus Hedman and David Marshall was damaging their confidence. A furious MoN replied in kind by questioning Stewart Kerr’s pedigree, telling hacks he had been a potentially decent keeper until he “discovered crisps“.
We wish him all the best for the future. From the start of his career to the end at Celtic, he saw the club go through an amazing transformation, and he played his small part in it.
Stewart Kerr was a goalkeeper coach at Motherwell after spells in a similar role with Airdrie and Partick Thistle, but later emigrated to Canada to start a new life coaching for sides across the Atlantic.
Quotes
“He played about 15 games here then discovered crisps when he was 18.”
Martin O’Neill on former Celtic keeper Stewart Kerr
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish/FA Cup | League cup | Other | ||||
| Wigan | 24/08/2001 | 27/09/2002 | £300,000 | 8 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| Brighton | 01/08/1994 | Loan | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Celtic | 27/05/1993 | 24/08/2001 | 32 (1) | 0 | 5 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | |
| Totals | £300,000 | 40 (1) | 0 | 5 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | ||
| goals / game | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Honours with Celtic
League Cup
- 2000-01 (played one game)