At the age of 17, he left home to further his education in the United States, where he had a soccer scholarship at Columbia High School, New Jersey.

Whilst home in Bermuda during his Thanksgiving break, Goater was spotted by scouts from Manchester United, who invited him to England for a trial.

At this time, Goater suffered homesickness, finding it difficult to adapt to the English climate: "It took me a good two years to get used to life in England.

"[5] However, he gradually got used to living in England, and over the course of seven seasons at Rotherham he gained a reputation as a reliable lower division striker, scoring 86 goals in 262 appearances, with a winner's medal for the 1996 Football League Trophy the highlight.

[7] In 1993, Goater also had a brief loan spell at Notts County, though he made only one appearance for the Nottingham club due to a work permit problem.

[8] Towards the end of the 1995–96 season, Goater had a disagreement with Rotherham manager Archie Gemmill, and decided his future lay elsewhere.

[9] In the 1995–96 close season, Goater received offers from Spanish club Osasuna and newly formed South Koreans Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but having recently married, he decided to stay in England.

[11] Goater joined Manchester City at a turbulent point in their history, with newly appointed manager Joe Royle battling to save the club from relegation to the Second Division.

Goater scored three goals in the seven remaining matches of the 1997–98 season, but this was not enough to prevent the club from being relegated to the third tier of English Football for the first time ever.

[15] The following season, Goater made his first appearance in top flight football at the age of 30, though injury and the presence of new signings Paulo Wanchope and former World Player of the Year George Weah meant he had to wait three months to do so.

He started just 14 games, but scored seven goals, including his 100th for the club, which came in a derby match against local rivals Manchester United.

In February 2003, Goater struck against the same opposition to score the fastest goal by a substitute in Premier League history, just 9 seconds after coming onto the pitch.

Since ending his footballing career, Goater has been critical of both Kevin Keegan, who he claims never praised him, and Nicolas Anelka, who he feels wanted to be 'the daddy' of Manchester City.

Goater then considered retirement,[24] but instead moved to League One club Southend United for a final season as a professional.

At Southend, Goater acted as a mentor for young striker Freddy Eastwood, and contributed towards a second successive promotion for the Shrimpers, scoring 11 goals.

[38] Goater left Bermuda Hogges in 2008, to concentrate on youth coaching with North Village Rams in his home town.

[2][40] On 8 August 2015, it was announced that Goater would join Northern Premier League Division One North club New Mills as assistant manager to Andy Fearn.

[42] On 17 February 2017, Goater was appointed manager of Northern Premier League Division One North club Ilkeston.

[45] On 28 August 2024, Goater departed Manchester City to take the role of Assistant Head Coach at Aston Villa W.F.C.

[48] On 22 January 2025, Aston Villa hired Natalia Arroyo as new manager, and Goater returned to his role in the coaching staff.

[49] During his time as caretaker manager, Goater took charge of 4 matches, featuring 3 wins and 1 draw and had expressed a desire to take on the job permanently.

[50] Goater is married to Anita, his childhood sweetheart, and has two daughters, Amaya and Anais (born 3 October 2000 in Wythenshawe, Manchester).