David Bell (footballer, born 1984)
David Anthony Bell (born 21 January 1984) is a former professional footballer. A midfielder, he played for Norwich City, Coventry City, Luton Town, Rushden & Diamonds and Notts County.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Anthony Bell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2006 | Rushden & Diamonds | 122 | (10) |
| 2006–2008 | Luton Town | 75 | (7) |
| 2008 | → Leicester City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Norwich City | 19 | (0) |
| 2009–2013 | Coventry City | 94 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Notts County | 13 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | King's Lynn Town | 12 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Corby Town | 5 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2005 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2017 | Corby Town | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 January 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:40, 6 October 2015 (UTC) | |||
Playing career
The 2006–07 season was very much a breakthrough season for him as he went from a squad player at Luton to one of the club's key players under Mike Newell and Kevin Blackwell. In January 2007 he was given a contract extension, running through to 2010.
At the end of season awards, Bell won the Internet Player of the Season and Young Supporters' Player of the Season – an achievement few fans believed possible at the start of the season, as Bell had not even broken into the starting line-up at the season's beginning.
On 28 March 2008, he joined Leicester City on loan with a view to a permanent transfer.[3] However, Leicester's relegation to League One meant the permanent deal did not go ahead.
On 23 July 2008 it was confirmed that Bell had agreed a three-year deal with Norwich City, signing for an undisclosed fee.[4] His debut for the club was delayed by an ankle injury incurred before his signing.[5] He finally made his first appearance in a home defeat to Derby County on 4 October 2008.[6]
On 29 January 2009, he signed for Coventry City, for a fee believed to be on the region of £500,000.
Bell scored his first goal for Coventry on 21 March 2009 with a 45-yard strike against Doncaster at the Ricoh Arena.[7] Bell scored in Coventry's FA Cup 3rd round tie draw at Premier League club Portsmouth on 2 January 2010.[8]
On 19 July 2013 Bell signed for Notts County after being released from his contract with Coventry.[9] On 24 January 2014 he was released by Notts County by mutual consent[10] and signed for King's Lynn Town.[11]
Coaching career
On 19 October 2016, Bell was appointed as Assistant Manager to fellow former Rushden & Diamonds academy product Gary Mills at Corby Town.[12] Bell became Corby manager in May 2017 after Mills left the club.[13] He was sacked in September 2017.[14]
Statistics
Stats according to Soccerbase
- As of 29 April 2013
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rushden & Diamonds | 2000–01 | Conference | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Division Three | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Division Three | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
| 2003–04 | Division Two | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 | League Two | 40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | League Two | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | |
| Total | 122 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 140 | 10 | ||
| Luton Town | 2005–06 | Championship | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Championship | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
| 2007–08 | League One | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 | |
| Leicester City (loan) | 2007–08 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Luton Town Total | 75 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 89 | 8 | ||
| Norwich City | 2008–09 | Championship | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Coventry City | 2008–09 | Championship | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 2009–10 | Championship | 28 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | |
| 2010–11 | Championship | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | Championship | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 94 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 6 | ||
| Career totals | 316 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 353 | 24 | ||
References
- Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 9781845966010.
- Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
- "Bell goes from Luton to Leicester". BBC News. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
- "Bell signs for Canaries". 23 July 2008. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
- "Bell blow for Canaries". Sky Sports. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
- "Norwich 1–2 Derby". BBC News. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- "Coventry 1–0 Doncaster". BBC. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- "Portsmouth 1–1 Coventry". BBC. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- Magpies Swoop For Creative Midfielder
- http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/article/david-bell-departs-by-mutual-consent-1313309.aspx
- http://www.kltown.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/224-linnets-sign-david-bell
- Gary Mills is the new Corby boss Corby Town F.C.
- Former Coventry City midfielder David Bell named Corby Town manager Coventry Telegraph, 4 May 2017
- David Bell Departs Steel Park Corby Town, 29 September 2017
External links
- David Bell at Soccerbase
- Republic of Ireland profile at Soccer Scene