David Ronald Pipe (born 5 November 1983) is a Welsh 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 ...

or full-back.

Club career

Born in

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

, Wales, Pipe began his career in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

. He made his senior debut for the Sky Blues on 31 August 2002 as a second-half substitute for

Gary McSheffrey Gary McSheffrey (born 13 August 1982) is an English football manager and former player who is U-21 head coach at Sheffield United. As a player he was a striker and left winger who made more than 450 appearances in the Football League and Pr ...

in a 1–0 home defeat against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He scored his first senior goal in an away win over Gillingham on 5 October 2002 when he netted alongside

Jay Bothroyd Jay Bothroyd (born 7 May 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. A product of the Arsenal Academy, he left in 2000 and signed with Coventry City, spending three years with the Sky Blues and becoming the club ...

. At the start of the 2003–04 season, he was limited to just a single League Cup appearance.

Notts County

He subsequently joined

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on loan in January 2004. He made his debut for his new loan club three days later on 17 January 2004, helping them to a 1–0 away win over

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. In April 2004, he had his contract at Coventry terminated, allowing him to join Notts County permanently on a two-year contract.

Bristol Rovers

Having been a mainstay of the Notts County squad for three consecutive seasons,

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

paid £50,000 for his services in July 2007. His first appearance for Bristol Rovers came in a 1–1 away draw against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in August 2007. He joined

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on loan in November 2009. His loan at

Whaddon Road Whaddon Road, known as the EV Charger Points Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing ...

was then extended until the end of January 2010. He returned to

at the end of the month but failed to make another appearance in the 2009–10 season. In June 2010, he was jailed for 38 months for fracturing the skull of another man in an unprovoked attack in Bristol in September 2009.

Newport County

In September 2011, he spent time training with

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

side Newport County whom he signed for on a non-contract basis later that month. He made his debut for Newport County on 17 September 2011 playing 75 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat against

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team of the ...

. He helped Newport to the final of the 2011–12

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in May 2012, however was on the losing side as

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

came out on top in a 2–0 win. Pipe was selected as Newport County's Player of the Year for the 2011–12 season. In June 2012, he was appointed as captain of Newport County. Twelve months after he been a part of a side that had lost 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

final, he led Newport to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

as captain at Wembley in a 2–0 win over

in the

2013 Conference Premier play-off final The 2013 Conference Premier play-off final, known as the 2013 Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final for sponsorship purposes, was a football match between Wrexham and Newport County on 5 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the eleven ...

on 5 May 2013. In June 2013, he was named in the 2012–13 Conference Premier team of the season He was a regular in the Newport County side in their first year back in

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

, making 25 League Two appearances. However in February 2014, it was announced that he would be let go alongside

Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born 24 December 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 24th U.S. national security advisor for the first 22 days of the first Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports tha ...

at the end of the season. Two months later, in April 2014, it was confirmed that he had been released by Newport. In the same month, he insisted there was no falling out with manager

Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and Association football, footballer who played as a left back. He played in the Premier League for Totten ...

in relation to the decision for him to be released.

Forest Green Rovers

On 7 May 2014, he joined

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

on a two-year deal, also being named captain at

The New Lawn The New Lawn, also known as The Bolt New Lawn for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. It has been the home stadium of National League club Forest Green Rovers since 2006. During the 2007–08 season the ...

. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2014–15

season on 9 August 2014, providing an assist in a 1–0 away win at

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 ...

. He ended the 2014–15 season having helped Forest Green into the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

play-offs, only to be knocked out in the semi-finals by his former club,

. On 4 September 2015, he was named

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

August Player of the Month after helping Forest Green to seven straight league victories in the opening month of the 2015–16 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 derby draw with

on 22 September 2015. He helped Forest Green reach the National League play-off final in May 2016, starting at

in a 3–1 loss to

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 15 May 2016. The following day on 16 May 2016 he was released by the club.

Eastleigh

On 20 May 2016, after his release from Forest Green Rovers, Pipe joined

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

on a one-year deal.

Return to Newport County

On 5 January 2017, Pipe returned to former club Newport County on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. He made his second debut for Newport in the starting line-up in a 3–1 defeat to

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

in League Two on 7 January 2017. Pipe provided the left footed cross for Mark O'Brien's 89th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory at home to

, which ensured Newport's survival in League Two on the final day of the 2016-17 season. Pipe was released by Eastleigh at the end of the 2016–17 season. On 18 May 2017 Pipe rejoined Newport County on a one-year contract. In February 2018, his contract was extended to the end of the 2018–19 season. He was part of the team that reached the League Two playoff final at

on 25 May 2019, although he was an unused substitute in the final. Newport lost to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, 1-0 after a goal in the 119th minute. On 23 April 2019 Pipe announced his retirement from play at the end of the 2018-19 season.

International career

Pipe earned his only international cap for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 2003 in a friendly international against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He had previously played for Wales at youth level and earned 12 caps for the under-21 team.

Career statistics

Honours

Newport County *

play-offs: 2013 *

runner-up: 2011–12 Individual *

Team of the Year:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160601211651/http://www.eastleighfc.com/2016/05/20/david-pipe-signs-for-the-spitfires/

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pipe, David 1983 births Living people Footballers from Caerphilly Welsh men's footballers Wales men's youth international footballers Wales men's under-21 international footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Coventry City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Welsh prisoners and detainees Welsh people convicted of assault 21st-century Welsh sportsmen