David William Linney (born 5 September 1961) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and Oxford United.

Career

Linney was born in the Kings Heath district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. He began his football career as an apprentice with

in 1977, and turned professional two years later. A useful

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

player, Linney appeared only once for Birmingham's first team, as substitute for

Neil Whatmore Neil Whatmore (born 17 May 1955) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He made 449 appearances in the Football League and scored 150 goals, playing for Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Oxford United, Burnley and Mansfi ...

in the 2–1 First Division win at home to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

on 13 March 1982, shortly after Ron Saunders had taken over from Jim Smith as manager. Released when Saunders reduced the size of the squad, Linney rejoined Smith at Oxford United, where he played 37 games in all competitions in the 1982–83 season, of which 26 were in the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. Linney joined Yeovil Town, then playing in the Alliance Premier League, in 1983. At the end of the 1983–84 season, Yeovil's supporters' club voted him their Player of the Year. Yeovil were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

the next season to the Isthmian League Premier Division, after which Linney contributed to two consecutive runners-up spots before they finally won the Isthmian League title and promotion back to the top level of

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

in 1987–88. Linney left the following season to join Basingstoke Town, and went on to play for Weymouth and

Chard Town Chard Town Football Club is a football club based in Chard, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the and play at Dening Sports Fields. History The club was established in 1920. They became mem ...

. In recognition of his five years' service, Yeovil awarded him a testimonial match, against Bristol City at the end of the 1988–89 season. He went on to work in the commercial department at Yeovil Town F.C., and in 2002 succeeded Alan Skirton as the club's commercial manager, a post he held along with the role of match day announcer until December 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linney, Dave 1961 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Birmingham City F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Chard Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players