David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...

and playing for nothing at

Pontefract Collieries Pontefract Collieries Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently plays in the . The club is affiliated to the West Riding County Football Association and Castleford & D ...

for 5 years before he was spotted by Derby County scout Ron Jukes, who recommended him to manager Arthur Cox. He was offered a contract at the then

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 ...

club and they climbed two divisions before he left for Oxford United for £175,000. He then went on to Wales, where he played for

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, latterly signing for Doncaster Rovers in 1998. He played as a midfielder.

Managerial career

In 2002 Penney retired to pursue a career in management and he remained at Doncaster, taking the managerial job on a full-time basis. After a well-placed finish in his first season, Penney guided Doncaster back into 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 ...

with victory in the 2003 play-off final. Their stay in Division Three wasn't long though as he managed Doncaster to the Division Three title. During a further two seasons of cementing Doncaster's place in League One Penney famously masterminded victories over Premier League sides

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, and nearly overcame

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the League Cup quarter-finals before finally being beaten in a penalty shootout. Penney left Rovers on 30 August 2006 as he felt he had taken the club as far as he could. He was appointed manager of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

on 30 October 2006. He returned to Doncaster with Darlington for a Football League Trophy tie on 9 January 2007, Doncaster winning the game 2–0, and Penney received a hero's reception from the home fans at the new Keepmoat Stadium. Penney was appointed manager at Oldham Athletic on 30 April 2009. He left on 6 May 2010, through mutual consent, with falling attendances one of the reasons why Penney was relieved of duty. On 10 January 2011 Penney was appointed as manager of League One club Bristol Rovers. His tenure in charge of the west country club did not last long however, as he was sacked less than two months later having lost nine of his 13 games in charge. His last game was a 2–0 defeat against Dagenham and Redbridge. Following receiving the sack from Bristol Rovers, Stuart Campbell was put in charge for the game against Tranmere, in which a Chris Lines goal sealed a 1–0 win. While at the Memorial Stadium, he only recorded two wins, against Swindon Town and Oldham Athletic, and also recorded a 6–1 defeat away to Walsall. He was reported as being furious after being overlooked for the Grimsby Town managerial job when Rob Scott and Paul Hurst were appointed on 22 March 2011. As of 13 May 2013, he is reported to be interested in a coaching role at Southend United, as newly appointed manager Phil Brown seeks to improve the quality of back-room staff at the club. He was hired as an assistant coach, leaving the position in June 2015. In September 2016, Penney was once again hired as an assistant manager, this time for Guiseley. Together with manager Adam Lockwood, Penney was fired on 30 August 2017. On 1 October 2017, York City hired Penney as a sporting director. On 11 August 2022, York City F.C. announced that Penney had left the club by mutual consent with immediate effect.

Honours

As a player

Derby County * Second Division winner: 1986–87 Swansea City * Welsh Cup winner: 1991 * West Wales Senior Cup winner: 1991, 1995 * Football League Third Division play-offs runner-up:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Cardiff City * FAW Invitation Cup runner-up: 1998

As a manager

Doncaster Rovers * Football Conference play-off winner: 2002–03 *

winner: 2003–04 Individual * League One Manager of the Month: November 2005

Managerial statistics

:''As of 5 March 2011.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penney, David 1964 births Living people Footballers from Wakefield English footballers Association football midfielders Pontefract Collieries F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers Darlington F.C. managers Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers English Football League managers British bricklayers Southend United F.C. non-playing staff York City F.C. directors and chairmen