# Gus Caesar > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gus_Caesar > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gus_Caesar.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Caesar > Source revision: 1350460436 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|English footballer}} {{about|the footballer|the English geographer|Alfred Augustus Levi Caesar}} {{use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Gus Caesar | image = | caption = | fullname = Gus Cassius Caesar{{Hugman|2898|accessdate=2 April 2020}} | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|3|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [Tottenham](/source/Tottenham), London, England | position = [Defender](/source/Defender_(association_football)) | height = {{height|ft=6|in=0}}{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/46 46] |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/46}} | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = | years1 = 1984–1991 | clubs1 = [Arsenal](/source/Arsenal_F.C.) | caps1 = 44 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 1990 | clubs2 = → [Queens Park Rangers](/source/Queens_Park_Rangers_F.C.) (loan) | caps2 = 5 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 1991 | clubs3 = [Cambridge United](/source/Cambridge_United_F.C.) | caps3 = 0 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 1991–1992 | clubs4 = [Bristol City](/source/Bristol_City_F.C.) | caps4 = 10 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 1992–1994 | clubs5 = [Airdrieonians](/source/Airdrieonians_F.C._(1878)) | caps5 = 57 | goals5 = 1 | years6 = 1994–1996 | clubs6 = [Colchester United](/source/Colchester_United_F.C.) | caps6 = 62 | goals6 = 3 | years7 = 1996 | clubs7 = [Eastern](/source/Eastern_AA) | caps7 = 1 | goals7 = 0 | years8 = 1996 | clubs8 = → [Happy Valley](/source/Happy_Valley_AA) (loan) | caps8 = 5 | goals8 = 2 | years9 = 1996–1997 | clubs9 = [Golden](/source/Sun_Hei_SC) | caps9 = 18 | goals9 = 1 | years10 = 1997 | clubs10 = [Dagenham & Redbridge](/source/Dagenham_%26_Redbridge_F.C.) | caps10 = 1 | goals10 = 0 | years11 = 1997 | clubs11 = [Partick Thistle](/source/Partick_Thistle_F.C.) (trial) | caps11 = 1 | goals11 = 0 | years12 = 1997–1999 | clubs12 = [Sing Tao](/source/Sing_Tao_SC) | caps12 = ? | goals12 = 2 | years13 = 1999 | clubs13 = [Hong Kong Rangers](/source/Hong_Kong_Rangers_FC) | caps13 = 0 | goals13 = 0 | years14 = 1999–2000 | clubs14 = [Kitchee](/source/Kitchee_SC) | caps14 = ? | goals14 = 0 | years15 = 2000–2002 | clubs15 = [Hong Kong Rangers](/source/Hong_Kong_Rangers_FC) | caps15 = ? | goals15 = 0 | nationalyears1 = 1987 | nationalteam1 = [England Under-21](/source/England_national_under-21_football_team) | nationalcaps1 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | manageryears1 = | managerclubs1 = }} '''Gus Cassius Caesar''' (born 5 March 1966) is an English former professional [footballer](/source/association_football). ==Youth and career at Arsenal== Born in [Tottenham](/source/Tottenham), London, Caesar joined [Arsenal](/source/Arsenal_F.C.) in August 1982, turning professional in February 1984. Despite breaking his ankle early on in his career, Caesar showed a lot of promise playing for the Gunners youth side, as a [defender](/source/Defender_(association_football)) who could either play at [full back](/source/Leftback), or more usually in the centre of defence. His Arsenal debut came in a match away to [Manchester United](/source/Manchester_United_F.C.) at [Old Trafford](/source/Old_Trafford_(football)) on 21 December 1985, for the suspended [Viv Anderson](/source/Viv_Anderson); Arsenal kept a clean sheet and Caesar turned in a strong performance marking United winger [Jesper Olsen](/source/Jesper_Olsen), as they won 1–0. Caesar continued as a bit-part player at Arsenal for the next eighteen months, playing mainly as a [substitute](/source/substitute_(soccer)), coming on in the last few minutes of a match, giving rise to the nickname "the five-minute man". However, he shone enough to be called up for the [England](/source/England_national_football_team) U21 side in 1987, winning three caps. When [David O'Leary](/source/David_O'Leary) sustained an injury during the [1987–88](/source/1987%E2%80%9388_in_English_football) season, Caesar became a semi-regular in the side, playing 25 matches that season. However, for all his talent he was a nervy and unconfident player, lacking assurance when one-on-one with an attacker, and prone to making high-profile mistakes. In the [1988 Football League Cup Final](/source/1988_Football_League_Cup_Final) against [Luton Town](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.) at [Wembley](/source/Wembley_Stadium_(1923)), Arsenal were 2–1 up with seven minutes left when Caesar miskicked a clearance from his own [penalty area](/source/penalty_area), allowing Luton's [Danny Wilson](/source/Danny_Wilson_(footballer%2C_born_1960)) to bundle the ball home in the ensuing chaos; Luton went on to score a last-minute winner and Arsenal lost 3–2. Caesar, who had been selected by George Graham to play in the final largely because [David O'Leary](/source/David_O'Leary) was unavailable due to injury, later reflected that he had himself been carrying [hernia](/source/sports_hernia) and ankle injuries at the time, but was determined to play regardless.{{cite web | url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/content/camden/hamhigh/sport/story.aspx?brand=NorthLondon24&category=Sportarsenal&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=sport&itemid=WeED25%20Apr%202008%2013%3A16%3A17%3A533 | title=Gus Caesar: I still have nightmares about Wembley final disaster | work=Hampstead and Highgate Express | date=25 April 2008 }} After that, Caesar's career at Arsenal was effectively finished. [George Graham](/source/George_Graham_(footballer%2C_born_1944)) signed [Steve Bould](/source/Steve_Bould) (and later [Andy Linighan](/source/Andy_Linighan)), and Caesar only played five more matches for the side in two seasons. He was part of the Arsenal side that won the old [First Division](/source/Football_League_First_Division) in 1989 but only played in two matches which was not enough games to earn a medal.{{cite web |url=http://arseweb.com/history/stats/89.html |title=Arsenal appearances 1988/89 |publisher=arseweb.com |accessdate=26 August 2013 |archive-date=17 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017044302/http://www.arseweb.com/history/stats/89.html |url-status=dead }} He became so unpopular with Arsenal fans that some of them booed him when he did take to the field. Even today, he is still regarded by many as one of the club's worst-ever players, and in 2007 he was voted in at Number 3 in ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' poll of the 50 worst footballers to play in the English top flight.{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2025420.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724055506/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2025420.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2008 |title=50 worst footballers |work=The Times |date=4 July 2007 |accessdate=6 January 2008 | location=London | first=Alex | last=Murphy}} He was also voted the Worst Player Ever to play for Arsenal in the fanzine The Gooner. Arsenal fan [Nick Hornby](/source/Nick_Hornby) in his 1992 book ''[Fever Pitch](/source/Fever_Pitch)'' muses on Caesar's downfall, pointing out that Caesar had considerable talent as a youth (or else Arsenal would have never signed him in the first place). Likening it to his own frustrations as a (then) failed writer, Hornby concluded that talent and determination alone were not enough to bring about success: :"To get where he did, Gus Caesar clearly had more talent than nearly everyone of his generation... and it still wasn't quite enough. [...] Gus must have known he was good, just as any pop band who has ever played the Marquee know they are destined for Madison Square Garden and an NME front cover, and just as any writer who has sent off a completed manuscript to Faber and Faber knows that he is two years away from the Booker. You trust that feeling with your life, you feel the strength and determination it gives you coursing through your veins like heroin... and it doesn't mean anything at all." ==Later career== Having played 50 matches for Arsenal in five years, Caesar left the Gunners in June 1991 on a [free transfer](/source/free_transfer_(soccer)) (having previously been on loan to [Queens Park Rangers](/source/Queens_Park_Rangers_F.C.) for several months). He then embarked on a journeyman's career mostly in the lower divisions of English football, playing for [Cambridge United](/source/Cambridge_United_F.C.), [Bristol City](/source/Bristol_City_F.C.), [Airdrieonians](/source/Airdrieonians_F.C._(1878)) (where he played in the [1992 Scottish Cup Final](/source/1992_Scottish_Cup_Final)) and [Colchester United](/source/Colchester_United_F.C.). While at [Colchester United](/source/Colchester_United_F.C.) in the mid-1990s, Caesar enjoyed something of a renaissance. After a string of poor performances for the club, his form – particularly his reading of the game – improved significantly, and he contributed a run of composed appearances in central defence in the 1994–95 season that won over many fans at [Layer Road](/source/Layer_Road).{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} He then played at non-league level at [Dagenham](/source/Dagenham) where he was popular thanks to his "nice bloke" personality. Caesar finished his career in Hong Kong. Since his retirement as a player in 2001, he has played in several "Football Masters" tournaments in East Asia, alongside many other fellow former professionals. He now splits his time between Hong Kong, where he works in the finance industry, and [Essex](/source/Essex) in his native England. ==Honours== ===Club=== ;Arsenal{{cite web|url=http://www.Coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayerHonours/PlayerLeagueCup.html |title=League Cup Honours |publisher=Coludaybyday.co.uk}}{{cite web|url=http://www.Coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayerHonours/PlayerOtherHonours.html |title=Other Award – Cup Honours |publisher=Coludaybyday.co.uk}} *[Football League Cup](/source/Football_League_Cup) runner-up: 1987–88 *[FA Charity Shield](/source/FA_Charity_Shield) runner-up: 1989 ;Airdrieonians *[Scottish Cup](/source/Scottish_Cup) runner-up: 1991–92 ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, Gus}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Haringey Category:People from Tottenham Category:English men's footballers Category:England men's under-21 international footballers Category:Men's association football central defenders Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Category:Cambridge United F.C. players Category:Bristol City F.C. players Category:Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Category:Colchester United F.C. players Category:Eastern Sports Club footballers Category:Happy Valley AA players Category:Sun Hei SC players Category:Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Category:Partick Thistle F.C. players Category:Sing Tao SC players Category:Hong Kong Rangers FC players Category:Kitchee SC players Category:English Football League players Category:Scottish Football League players Category:Hong Kong First Division League players Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Category:Black British sportsmen Category:English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Category:English expatriate men's footballers Category:20th-century English sportsmen --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gus Caesar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Caesar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Caesar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.