David Booth (born 2 October 1948) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player.

Early years

Booth was brought up in

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton War ...

near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

where he played rugby and cricket. Football was not played at his school. Dave joined

and made his first team debut at 19 years of age at left back where he played most of his career. He was later signed by Laurie McMenemy, later of Southampton and the England coaching staff, who was then manager of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

Managerial career

David Booth became manager of

in January 1982 with the club at the bottom of the Second Division, following the dismissal of George Kerr. A late upturn in form enabled Grimsby to escape relegation, and good form continued into the 1982–83 season with Grimsby as high as 4th after two-thirds of the season. However, failure to win their last 14 games meant that Grimsby only narrowly avoided relegation. The 1983–84 season, however, would see Grimsby emerge as serious promotion contenders for the majority of the season. They were third in the table at the end of February 1984, but a late dip in form meant they finished in fifth place and ten points off the top three, but it was and remains their highest finish in the league since relegation from the First Division in 1948. Good form continued the following season with a tenth-place finish, and disposing Everton from the League Cup, but Booth resigned in November 1985 to participate in a property developing venture abroad, and was replaced by Mick Lyons. He later managed

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

but could not prevent relegation from the Third Division. The initial challenge for promotion was not sustained and the side was facing relegation from the League when Booth was sacked in February 1989. Following this he became Assistant Manager and latterly Caretaker Manager at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

after the sacking of Mark Lawrenson. He was sacked after a brief spell and some poor performances with Chris Turner becoming manager who earned successive promotions to the second division. In 1991, Booth moved to Ghana first coached at Obuasi Ashanti Gold and led them to the championship. He was recommended by Bobby Charlton when Charlton's company, BCI, worked as consultants for the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation who funded the football club. 'I had never been to Africa before I took a short-term contract at Obuasi and I treated it like an adventure,' said Booth. He signed up for four weeks and stayed for four years; moved on to Brunei, then moved back after Ghana after long time Asante Kotoko S.C. as a technical director. He moved to India in 2003 to manage Mumbai-based club

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

guiding them to win Federation Cup, Super Cup and the

Mumbai Football League The Mumbai Football League, also known as the Harwood League, is organised by Mumbai Football Association (MFA), as a ladder-based competition involving a total of five divisions and over 300 teams. It is the top football league in Mumbai and ...

. But then there was an apparent falling out with Chairman Alan Durante, and he departed for South-East Asia. In South East Asia, he was the coach of the

Myanmar national football team The Myanmar national football team () represents Myanmar in men's international association football and is governed by the Myanmar Football Federation. It was known as the Burma national football team until 1989, when Burma was renamed Myan ...

in 2003 guiding them to the semi-finals of the 2003 SEA Games. Upon returning to India with newly formed

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club predominantly competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Mumbai also participated in MDFA Elite League. The club ...

to join his friends Henry Menezes and Arshad, he promoted the club from second division and ensured

as a mid-table I-League club. With the relative success of Booth, Menezes and Arshad,

was quick to offer better contracts to the trio. with Booth signing a 3-year deal with Mahindra United starting from August 2009. After his brief successful spell in India, he was appointed coach of

Laos national football team The Laos national association football team represents Laos in association football and is governed by the Lao Football Federation. History As of 2020, Laos has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup or Asian Games. Since making ...

from July 2010 till December 2010. He also had a small stint in Sisaket F.C. of

Thai Premier League The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

. He then moved to

Phnom Penh Crown FC Phnom Penh Crown Football Club (), commonly referred to as Crown or PPC, is a Cambodian professional football club based in Sangkat Toul Sangke II, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh. The club competes in the Cambodian Premier League, the top flight ...

in the

Cambodian League The Cambodian Premier League (, ) is a top association football division in Cambodia and administered by the Cambodian Football League Company (CFLC). Contested by 11 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Cambodian Secon ...

from 2011 to 2012 winning Cambodian League, also becoming runner's up in

2011 AFC President's Cup The 2011 AFC President's Cup was the seventh edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Teams from 12 member associations competed. ...

. He again returned to India and had a one-year stint at

Salgaocar F.C. Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa. Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth teams. Until the disfunction of its seni ...

between 2012 and 2013. After his unsuccessful return to India, he was again appointed as

from August 2014. On 1 November 2017, he was appointed as the head coach of

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

side

Ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

. The club won 2017–18 Bangalore Super Division under his coaching.

Honours

As a manager

Grimsby Town *

Football League Group Cup The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier League ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Lincolnshire Senior Cup The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a football (soccer) competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised by the Lincolnshire FA. The competition can be traced back to the formation of the Lincolnshire FA at a meeting held at ...

: 1983–84 Peterborough *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

(Play-off Winners): 1991–92 Ashanti Gold *

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

:1993–94 Mahindra United * Federation Cup: 2003 *The Mumbai League: 2002–03 Mumbai * 2008 I-League 2nd Division: 2007–08 Phnom Penh Crown *

: 2011 *

runner-up: 2011 Lao Toyota *

Lao Premier League The Lao League 1 (), also known as the Pepsi Lao League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of men's football in Laos. Teams A total of 10 teams participated in the 2025–26 Lao League 1 season. :''Note: Table lists in alphabetical ...

: 2015; runner-up 2014 * Lao FF Cup runner-up: 2014 Ozone * Bangalore Super Division: 2017–18

Managerial stats

References

External links