David Eyres (born 26 February 1964) 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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

A relative latecomer to the professional game,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

-born Eyres began his career at then Northern Premier League side

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

going on to represent both

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

and

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

at the same level before signing professional terms with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in 1989 who paid a fee of £10,000 to the Belle Vue-based North Wales club for his services. He subsequently made his debut for Blackpool on 22 August 1989, in a 2–2 draw at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in the League Cup first round, first leg. He scored his first goal for the club three months later, on 11 November, in a 4–0 League victory over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

. He spent four seasons with the Seasiders, two of which ended with appearances at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

in the play-off finals (achieving promotion in 1991–92). He also finished as the club's top league goalscorer in 1992–93, with sixteen goals. In the summer of 1993,

and Jimmy Mullen (Eyres' former manager at Blackpool) came in for his services with an offer of £90,000. "I know the fans won't forgive me," said Eyres nine years later, "but things had gone a bit stale at Blackpool and I decided it was the right time to go." Eyres remained at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

for four years, and then continued his tour of Lancashire by signing for Blackpool's arch-rivals

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

in 1997 for £80,000. Eyres moved to

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in 2000 on a free transfer and signed a one-year extension to his contract the following January, which would keep him at the club until June 2002. He subsequently signed two more contracts, which tied him to the club until 2006. During the 2003–04 season, Eyres and teammate John Sheridan took on joint caretaker-manager roles after

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

's departure from the Latics hotseat. Earlier in the season, Eyres fractured a bone in his foot, which put him out of action between October and December. Eyres, who was voted Oldham fans' player of the season in 2001–02, scored in his 234th and final appearance for Oldham in a 1–1 draw with

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

to close out the 2005–06 season and his 18-year professional career at the age of 42. He then joined

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side Hyde United in August 2006, but left the club by mutual consent two months later. On 13 October 2006, Eyres signed for

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

side

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

. In May 2007, Eyres made a return to Burnley to play at Turf Moor in the testimonial of another ex-Claret,

Graham Branch Graham Branch (born 12 February 1972) is a former professional footballer. Playing career Branch was born in Liverpool, England. A childhood Liverpool fan, he started his footballing career across the River Mersey with Heswall and then Tranmer ...

. After leaving

, Eyres joined the Everton academy in a bid to stay fit, even at 43 years old. In January 2008 Eyres signed for Northern Premier League club

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

. He made his debut at left-back in an away game at Eastwood Town, but only made two further appearances for the Pitmen before his registration was cancelled by the club.

Post-retirement

After retiring, Eyres became a match summariser for

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...

Honours

Blackpool * Fourth Division play-offs: 1991–92 Burnley * Second Division play-offs: 1993–94 Preston North End * Second Division: 1999–2000 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1996–97 Second Division *

Player of the Season: 1987–88 *

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

Player of the Season: 2001–02

References

External links

*
Eyres gutted to be released by LaticsSouthport F.C. Playing StatsHyde United Player Statistics: David Eyres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyres, David Living people 1964 births English men's footballers English Football League players Morecambe F.C. players Southport F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players English football managers Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers Footballers from Liverpool Men's association football midfielders