David Linighan (born 9 January 1965) 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 as a defender from 1982 until 2002. He notably spent time in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

, The Mighty Shrews (Division Four) and in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

with

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...

. He also 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

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and y ...

and Chester City. He also had spells in Non-league with

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

and

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional Association football, football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City F.C. ...

Career

Linighan was born in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

, County Durham, and attended English Martyrs School. He began his career at

in 1982 as a 17-year-old. He remained at Victoria Park for four years, making close to 100 league appearances for the club. After a brief spell at

in 1986, he joined

for a £30,000 fee. In two years with the Shrews, Linighan made 65 league appearances, scoring one goal. Linighan joined

in 1988 for £300,000. In eight years, he made a career-high 277 league appearances, scoring twelve goals, and played in the

for three seasons (1992 to 1995). In 1995, Linighan was signed by

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

to join up with his

team. He played under three managers during his three years at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...

, the others being

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers an ...

and

Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts Count ...

, scoring five goals in a century of league appearances. Scottish club

came in for the defender's services in 1998, and he moved north of the border for what proved to be just one game. During his time with the Pars, he was loaned to

, whom he would join on a permanent basis in 1999. In 2000, Linighan moved into non-league football with

and Chester City, before a short spell with

in 2002 where he made eleven appearances, before retiring.

Personal life

Linighan is one of three footballing brothers, the other two being

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pian ...

and

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...

. He now works as a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...

Honours

Ipswich Town *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1991–92 Individual *

Ipswich Town Player of the Year Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the River mouth, mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. I ...

: 1990–91 * Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year: 1991–92

References

External links

David Linighan profile at Ipswich Town Talk
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Linighan, David 1965 births Living people Footballers from Hartlepool English men's footballers People educated at English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College Men's association football central defenders Hartlepool United F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players