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 lea ...
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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
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. The team compete in the ...
and
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
.
Career
Linney was born in the
Kings Heath
Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, four miles south of the city centre. Historically in Worcestershire, it is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435 road, A435 Alces ...
district of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. He began his football career as an apprentice with
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. The team compete in the ...
in 1977, and turned professional two years later. A useful
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
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 association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He made 449 appearances in the Football League and scored 150 goals, playing for Bolton Wanderers F.C ...
in the 2–1
First Division win at home to
Stoke City 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
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
,
[ where he played 37 games in all competitions in the 1982–83 season, of which 26 were in the Third Division.][
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
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
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 ...
in 1987–88. Linney left the following season to join Basingstoke Town, and went on to play for Weymouth and Chard Town.[ In recognition of his five years' service, Yeovil awarded him a testimonial match, against ]Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
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