David William Linney (born 5 September 1961) 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 in

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, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

and

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

Career

Linney was born in the

Kings Heath Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, four miles south of the city centre. Historically in Worcestershire, it is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435, Alcester road. ...

district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. He began his football career as an apprentice with

in 1977, and turned professional two years later. A useful

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

player, Linney appeared only once for Birmingham's first team, as substitute for Neil Whatmore in the 2–1 First Division win at home to Stoke City on 13 March 1982, shortly after

Ron Saunders Ronald Saunders (6 November 1932 – 7 December 2019) was an English football player and manager. He played for Everton, Tonbridge Angels, Gillingham, Portsmouth, Watford and Charlton Athletic during a 16-year playing career, before moving in ...

had taken over from Jim Smith as manager. Released when Saunders reduced the size of the squad, Linney rejoined Smith at

, where he played 37 games in all competitions in the 1982–83 season, of which 26 were in the Third Division. Linney joined

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

, then playing in the

Alliance Premier League The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

, in 1983. At the end of the 1983–84 season, Yeovil's supporters' club voted him their Player of the Year. Yeovil were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

the next season to the

Isthmian League Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

, after which Linney contributed to two consecutive runners-up spots before they finally won the Isthmian League title and promotion back to the top level of non-league football in 1987–88. Linney left the following season to join

Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Winklebury Sports Complex. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'Never a step backward' ...

, and went on to play for Weymouth and Chard Town. In recognition of his five years' service, Yeovil awarded him a testimonial match, against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

at the end of the 1988–89 season. He went on to work in the commercial department at Yeovil Town F.C., and in 2002 succeeded Alan Skirton as the club's commercial manager, a post he held along with the role of match day announcer until December 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linney, Dave 1961 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Birmingham City F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Basingstoke Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Chard Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players