He played so well for Sunderland that he got England recognition; now in his anecdotage, he keeps it simpler but still effective
Gray made his name with hometown club Sunderland, where his consistent displays at left-back were rewarded with England recognition.
He is still best remembered, however, for missing the decisive penalty in a Wembley shootout against Charlton in one of the classic play-off finals, a 4-4 draw in 1998. An athletic player in his younger days, whose regular forays into the opposition box resulted in him sometimes being selected on the left of midfield, he is more of a defence-first full-back these days. After making 363 appearances for the Black Cats, he spent two-and-a-half years at Blackburn prior to the switch to Molineux in the summer of 2007.
His experience has proved useful to Mick McCarthy, who selected Gray 33 times during the 2007-08 campaign.
After falling out of favour at Wolves, Gray initially joined Sheffield Wednesday on an emergency loan in January which was then made permanent before the end of the 2009 winter transfer window.