David Unsworth

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David Unsworth
David Unsworth.png
Personnel
Surname David Gerald Unsworth
birthday 16th October 1973
place of birth Chorley ,  England
position Defender
Juniors
Years station
Preston North End
1987-1991 Everton FC
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1991-1997 Everton FC 116 (11)
1997-1998 West Ham United 32 0(2)
1998 Aston Villa 0 0(0)
1998-2004 Everton FC 188 (23)
2004-2005 Portsmouth FC 15 0(2)
2005 →  Ipswich Town  (loan) 16 0(1)
2005-2007 Sheffield United 39 0(4)
2007 Wigan Athletic 10 0(1)
2007-2008 Burnley FC 29 0(1)
2008-2009 Huddersfield Town 4 0(0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1995 England 1 0(0)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
2010-2011 Preston North End (interim)
2016 Everton FC (interim)
2017 Everton FC (interim)
1 Only league games are given.

David Gerald Unsworth (born October 16, 1973 in Chorley ) is a retired English football player . As a robust defensive player, "Rhino", as he was called due to his dynamic advances with the ball at his foot, was initially often found in central defense and later moved to the left side - both in the function of full-back and in midfield. The greatest success was winning the FA Cup in 1995 with Everton , for which he played 302 Premier League games with a short break and is still the club's internal record holder in this category. He currently works in the coaching staff of the second division Preston North End .

Professional career

In the club

Everton FC, Part 1 (1991–1997)

After playing for the Preston North End U-13 team , Unsworth signed a student contract with Everton FC at the age of 14 . For the first time in their first team he came on April 25, 1992 in what was then called the First Division , the highest English division, and after being substituted on, he scored the late 3-3 equalizer against Tottenham Hotspur . After further sporadic missions in the following two years, he achieved the sporting breakthrough in the 1994/95 season under coach Joe Royle . In the central defensive position alongside the experienced Dave Watson , he convinced with athleticism and headball strength and also showed himself to be technically comparatively demanding and quick, which often gave him advantages in duels with the opposing strikers. The culmination of the consistently good season was next to an A international match for England after a surprising 1-0 final win against Manchester United, the success in the FA Cup . In the period that followed, the "left foot" took on the role of left-back instead of Andy Hinchcliffe and although he often formed a reliable center-back pair with Watson, he was a dangerous goalie with five hits - mostly with penalties - and especially the left side in the three-way defense Well-dressed, the exact use of Unsworth seemed unclear to those in charge at Everton. At the beginning of August 1997, Howard Kendall was a new coach for the "Toffees" and he let Unsworth move to West Ham United a few days later in exchange with Danny Williamson .

West Ham United, Aston Villa (1997-1998)

Although Unsworth in east London remembered the performances of the 1994/95 season with good performances and contributed two goals to victories against Chelsea FC and Crystal Palace , Unsworth felt uncomfortable far away from the family and wanted to return to the north of England. He moved to Aston Villa for a fee of three million pounds in late June 1998 , before finding out that his old Everton club - Kendall had since left the club and had been replaced by Walter Smith - had been interested in signing again . Villa manager John Gregory reacted angrily at the hesitant attitude Unsworth had taken on these advances from his old club, and less than two months later he agreed to sell it on for the exact £ 3 million previously paid to West Ham. For the "Villans" Unsworth had only completed one game in the dress of the reserve team.

Everton FC, Part 2 (1998-2004)

After his return to the club of choice, Unsworth continued the good form with the "Hammers", showed himself defensively stable and again demonstrated his versatility when he went through longer periods in defensive midfield at the height of the Everton injury misery. In this role he also acted in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Newcastle United and scored a spectacular goal with a long shot, which, however, was only a consolation goal given the 1: 4 defeat . As a "penalty specialist" Unsworth was in the 1999/2000 season with nine goals behind Kevin Campbell, the second best goalscorer of Everton; in addition, he led the team in August 1999 at White Hart Lane in Tottenham for the first time as captain. In the following 2000/01 season at the latest, he came into play more often than what is known as an offensive “wing-back” - a kind of offensive full-back who can also be assigned to midfield in the 3-5-2 system - via the left position in the three-man defense chain In this running-intensive position he benefited from his above-average fitness values. Nevertheless, Unsworth also had to struggle with a form weakness in the relegation battle, before he was largely responsible for keeping the league in the decisive phase with four goals in six games.

Finally, Unsworth finally arrived in left midfield when David Moyes took over the sporting direction in the 2001/02 season. After just 27 seconds, he scored the first goal under the reign of the new coach and in the following week the next of a total of three league goals followed. The "position interchange" continued and now again mostly as a left full-back Unsworth surpassed the 300 competitive game mark for Everton in the 2002/03 season and also set the club's internal record of 23 converted penalties. Since the club management of Everton FC wanted to extend Unsworth's contract, which expired at the end of the 2003/04 season, by one year, but this was aiming for a longer term, this season Unsworth was last in Liverpool. He acted again more often in his initial position in central defense before the return of Joseph Yobo banished him to the bench. After he had exceeded the 300 in terms of Premier League appearances for Everton, he moved to Portsmouth FC on a free transfer in July 2004 .

Last career stations (2004–2009)

In the first division competitor, supervised by Harry Redknapp , Unsworth held various positions in defense and midfield, but was primarily a central defender. When Redknapp resigned from his post in November 2004 and successor Velimir Zajec found little pleasure in the newcomer, loaned out in "Pompey" at the end of January 2004 for the remaining games of the season to the second division club Ipswich Town , where Unsworth's Joe Royle - "mentor" from earlier days - was in charge. There he not only scored a goal straight away in the first game against Sheffield United , but also stabilized the defensive network with a total of 16 league appearances with his "presence". Since the loan period did not include the play-off games, the short engagement ended after the championship round.

The next stop was Sheffield United from the 2005/06 season. With the “Blades”, who also “kicked” in the second division, his experience and calm in defensive work was once again in demand. Although speed was no longer one of the strengths of the advanced footballer's age, he still caused problems for opposing defensive alliances in standard situations and convinced in Sheffield especially in the interplay on the left side with Chris Armstrong . About the runner-up he rose in the end with the club in the Premier League. Back in the top English division, Armstrong played five more games as an attacking full-back before the faster Chris Armstrong and Derek Geary took the position among themselves. Unsworth thus had no more perspective in the squad and then moved in early January 2007 free transfer to first division competitor Wigan Athletic . In the "Latics", Unsworth was mainly a substitute and protection for left-back Leighton Baines after the serious injury of Steve McMillan and helped out in central defense. He scored the only goal in ten league games against the ex-club from Sheffield and his personal 50th goal - typically from a penalty - also ensured relegation. Nevertheless, his contract, which expired at the end of the season, was not extended.

In the last two active professional years until 2009 Unsworth was further supplementary player. In the 2007/08 season he helped the second division club Burnley FC in various defensive positions in the event of other injuries or suspension and was used in just over half of the games. Although he was then offered a contract extension at the end of the season, which also offered the opportunity to later switch to the coaching field, he changed the club for the last time in summer 2008. At the third-rate Huddersfield Town , he let his career end with four league games; a missed penalty against Millwall FC ensured that he left without a goal.

English national team

Unsworth played a total of seven times for the English U-21s between 1994 and 1995 and made his only A international match for England against Japan on June 3, 1995 at Wembley Stadium , when other debutants such as Gary Neville and Stan Collymore could prove.

After the active career

Following his retirement as an active player in April 2009, Unsworth switched to coaching. Preston North End hired him as a supervisor in the youth and development area. After the departure of Alan Irvine , he was promoted to the coaching staff of the first team and when head coach Darren Ferguson was dismissed at the end of 2010 , he looked after the A-team on an interim basis until his successor Phil Brown was signed in January 2011.

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 0-09-180854-5 , pp. 217 f .
  2. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 1-85291-571-4 , pp. 247 .
  3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 275 .
  4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85291-588-9 , pp. 305 .
  5. ↑ a b Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85291-607-9 , pp. 303 .
  6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2000-2001 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85291-626-5 , pp. 323 .
  7. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2001-2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2001, ISBN 0-946531-34-X , pp. 309 .
  8. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85291-648-6 , pp. 415 .
  9. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85291-651-6 , pp. 430 .
  10. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 1-85291-660-5 , pp. 411 .
  11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2005, ISBN 1-85291-662-1 , pp. 412 .
  12. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006-07 . Mainstream Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84596-111-0 , pp. 413 .
  13. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007-08 . Mainstream Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3 , pp. 411 .
  14. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008-09 . Mainstream Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8 , pp. 421 .
  15. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009-10 . Mainstream Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0 , pp. 417 .
  16. ↑ "David Unsworth made Preston North End caretaker boss" (BBC Sport)
personal data
SURNAME Unsworth, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Unsworth, David Gerald (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH 16th October 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Chorley , England