David Stephen Cusack (born 6 June 1956) is an English former footballer and manager whose last position before retirement in 2015 was director of

Essex Senior League The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...

club Basildon United. A

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he made over 500 appearances in a career spanning 16 years.

Early life

Born in

Thurcroft Thurcroft is a village and civil parish situated south-east of Rotherham in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. From 1902 to 1991, it was a mining community. It has a population of 5,296, increasing to 6,900 at ...

, as a child Cusack attended school in Thurcroft and later went to

Wales High School Wales High School is an academy school for 11- to 19-year-olds, in Kiveton, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1970, the school provides education for nearby villages, including Kiveton Park, Harthill, Todwick, Wales, Thurcro ...

Career

Cusack began his career with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, making his way through the club's youth system and also captaining the reserve side. After making 95 league appearances for the side, he moved to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

in 1978 for a then club record £50,000, where he would win the Fourth Division championship in 1981. A move to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

followed the following year for £30,000. He moved to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

as player-manager in 1985, replacing

Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...

. The 1985–86 season would see Doncaster emerge as promotion contenders before eventually finishing 11th place, which would be one of Doncaster's highest placings in the league since relegation from the Second Division in 1958 and until recent times. Another mid-table finish (following a promising start) came the following season but Doncaster were facing relegation by 1988 and Cusack left the club during the season. Cusack took over at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

with the Millers in mid-table, but left in April and a slide down the league led to a promotion/relegation play-off with

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 ...

which was lost. He later became player-manager at

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

. In 1992, he spent a short spell as manager of

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

but, with the club in financial turmoil, Cusack was sacked following the appointment of new owners after taking charge of just seven games.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Dave 1958 births Living people People from Thurcroft Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Boston United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers Rotherham United F.C. managers Boston United F.C. managers Kettering Town F.C. managers Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. managers English Football League managers People educated at Wales High School