David Atkinson (born 27 April 1993) is an English

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 le ...

who plays as a defender for club Shildon. He played in 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 ...

for

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

Club career

Atkinson joined Middlesbrough's academy as an under-nine. He was a member of the Middlesbrough under-15 squad that won the English qualifying competition for the 2007–08 Manchester United Premier Cup, and took up a two-year scholarship with the club in 2009. After the first twelve months, he was given his first professional contract, of four years; at that time, he was recovering from a stress fracture in his back, and his progress was later disrupted by a serious knee injury. He went on to captain Middlesbrough's under-21 team, and in the second half of the 2013–14 season, was a regular member of the first-team squad. After eight consecutive Championship matches on the bench, Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka said that Atkinson was training well and was in his thoughts for a debut, but would not force him into a "difficult game" that might adversely affect his confidence. He remained unused, and in September 2014, still without having played first-team football for Middlesbrough, joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club Hartlepool United on a month's loan. He lost time to a hamstring injury, the manager who signed him, Colin Cooper, resigned in the middle of his loan spell, and he made no senior appearances. He spent time on trial with League One club Walsall in February 2015, brought in by manager Dean Smith to check him out ahead of a possible summer signingaccording to Smith, "He is someone iddlesbroughhave thought highly of, but has not quite burst onto the first team scene as they would have liked.before signing for

of League Two on loan on 26 March. It was with Carlisle that he finally made his

debut, on 28 March in a 2–1 loss away to

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 th ...

, and he made six more appearances. At the end of a 2014–15 season in which Middlesbrough's under-21s won the U21 Premier League Second Division title and added the

North Riding Senior Cup The North Riding Senior Cup is the county cup in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is administered by the North Riding County FA. According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose first affiliation is with the NRCF ...

, beating

Guisborough Town Guisborough Town Football Club is a football club based in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the King George V Ground. History The club was established in 1973 and joined the Middlesbrough & D ...

in the final, Atkinson was not offered a new contract. On 4 June 2015, Atkinson signed a short-term deal with Carlisle United. Six months later, he extended his contract until June 2017. On 1 December 2016, Atkinson joined Blyth Spartans on loan for a month. The loan was initially extended, and then made permanent when Atkinson left Carlisle by mutual consent. He also spent time playing in Iceland for ÍBV, with which he won the

2017 Icelandic Cup The 2017 Icelandic Cup, also known as Borgunarbikar for sponsorship reasons, was the 58th edition of the Icelandic national football cup. The winners were ÍBV after beating FH 1-0 in the final. Calendar Below are the dates for each round as ...

and played in the UEFA Europa League. Atkinson joined

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 ...

for the 2019–20 season, but ankle ligaments damaged during pre-season restricted his appearances. He left the club after the abandoned 2020–21 National League North season, and signed for Shildon.

International career

Atkinson made his debut for the England under-16 team on 28 November 2008. He played the first half of the 2–0 win against Scotland that confirmed England as winners of that year's Victory Shield. Although not originally selected for the Montaigu Tournament in 2009, he came into the squad after

Nico Yennaris Li Ke (; born Nicholas Harry Yennaris, 24 May 1993) is a British-born Chinese professional footballer formerly known as "Nicholas Harry Yennaris" who plays as a defensive midfielder for Beijing Guoan and the China national team. He began his ca ...

withdrew, and started two of the three group matches and played the whole of the final, in which England U16 beat Germany on penalties to successfully defend their title. Atkinson was named in the England under-17 squad for matches against France, Ukraine and hosts Portugal at the Algarve Tournament in February 2010. He played in two matches to help England finish as runners-up. He was placed on standby for the England under-18s'

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

against Italy in April 2011, but was not needed.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, David 1993 births Living people People from Shildon Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Middlesbrough F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players David Atkinson Darlington F.C. players Shildon A.F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players David Atkinson National League (English football) players