David Bridges

David Stephen Bridges (born 22 September 1982) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder.

Bridges started his career with local club Cambridge United, progressing through the club's youth system and eventually breaking into the first-team in 2001. He spent three seasons at Cambridge, before being released at the end of the 2003–04 season after failing to agree terms on a new contract. Bridges had a brief spell in Latvia playing for FK Rīga, before returning to England to play four games for Braintree Town in January 2005. He joined Histon in March 2005, playing for the club until the end of the season. He left Histon at the end of the season, and subsequently earned himself a one-year contract to rejoin Cambridge United in July 2005. He played regularly for the club for two seasons, but was released again in 2007.

Bridges then joined Kettering Town ahead of the 2007–08 season, helping the club achieve promotion from the Conference North to the Conference Premier in his first season at the club. At the end of the season he rejected a contract offer from Kettering and joined Stevenage on a free transfer. In his first season at the Hertfordshire club, he helped the team to FA Trophy success, as well as helping the club earn promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history the following season. He was also part of the squad that helped Stevenage earn back-to-back promotions during the 2010–11 season. Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Bridges re-joined Conference Premier club Kettering Town. He left the club after one season, and spent a year at Chelmsford City, before signing for Bury Town in May 2013. He had a brief spell at Brackley Town, before spending two seasons combining playing and coaching at King's Lynn Town.

He initially announced his retirement from playing in May 2016 and joined St Neots Town as first-team coach a year later, where he began playing again for the 2017–18 season. He left St Neots Town in August 2018, taking up the position of head of coaching at League Two club Lincoln City. Bridges also earned one cap for the England C team.

Early life

Born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, Bridges attended St Peter's School in Huntingdon.

Club career

Cambridge United

Bridges played for local team Cambridge United, whom he joined at the age of eight, and he progressed through the club's youth system before signing his first professional contract in February 2002. He broke into the first-team towards the end of the 2001–02 season, making his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Huddersfield Town at the Abbey Stadium on 16 March 2002. He played six further games in the same season, scoring his first goal for Cambridge in a 2–1 home victory against Tranmere Rovers on 13 April 2002. Bridges played regularly in the opening half of the 2002–03 season, playing 25 times and scoring once in a 3–0 victory against York City. A "persistent" ankle injury cut his run in the first-team short, and he did not play from February through to the remainder of the season. He returned to the first-team in a 1–0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers on 14 October 2003, and played a further 22 times for the club throughout the 2003–04 season. Bridges left Cambridge at the end of the season after failing to agree a contract extension. On leaving Cambridge, Bridges said "I was offered a contract that was almost a kick in the teeth after the time I had been at the club when players were coming in from all over the place who did not care about the club. They were getting paid five or six times what I was offered, and I thought it was probably time to move on". During his three seasons with the club, Bridges made 55 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times.

Journeyman

Bridges trialled at a number of clubs before the start of the 2004–05 season, including Chesterfield and Northampton Town, without successfully securing a deal. He also spent the majority of the close season in the United States training with two professional American football clubs, before realising it was not financially viable to move to America on a permanent basis. Bridges struggled to find a club ahead of the 2004–05 season, and took up an offer to play for FK Rīga in Latvia. He suffered a fractured foot just ten days after signing for the club, and did not make any appearances for the Latvian club. Despite the injury, he spent three months in Latvia before returning to England to "assess his options". After returning to England in November 2004 for rehabilitation at Lilleshall, he began part-time training with Cambridgeshire club Histon in January 2005.

He signed for Braintree Town on a short-term contract shortly after training with Histon, making his debut for the club in a 2–1 home victory against Slough Town a day after joining the club. He suffered a foot injury in a 3–1 away victory at Hendon, which proved to be his last game for the club; he played four times for Braintree, all of which were victories. A month later, Bridges joined Histon on a short-term basis, making his debut for the club in March 2005, playing the whole match in a 3–1 home win against Tiverton Town. He scored once for Histon in a 3–0 home victory against Solihull Borough on 18 April 2005. Bridges made 11 appearances for Histon and helped the club achieve promotion to the Conference South in his two months at the club. He left Histon at the end of the season, and subsequently earned himself a one-year contract to re-join his former employers, Cambridge United, following a successful trial at the club. Bridges said he "did not hesitate in joining Cambridge for a second time" when he was eventually offered a full-time contract in June 2005.

Return to Cambridge

During the 2005–06 season, Bridges was a regular in the centre of Cambridge's midfield. He made his second debut for Cambridge in a 1–0 defeat at Forest Green Rovers, and scored in the following two games against both Hereford United and Accrington Stanley. Bridges played 40 times during the season, scoring seven goals from midfield. He was voted the club's Player of the Year award at the end of that season, as well as earning a one-year contract extension in May 2006.

He continued playing regularly under new manager Jimmy Quinn in the 2006–07 season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 home win against Gravesend & Northfleet in November 2006, and scored again two weeks later in the club's 2–1 away win at Southport at Haig Avenue. After Cambridge's 2–0 home defeat to St Albans City in December, Bridges did not feature in the first-team for two months. He returned to the first-team in Cambridge's 3–0 win against Woking on 27 January 2007, and scored his third of the season in a 2–1 away victory against Stafford Rangers. He played 31 games during the season, scoring three times. Bridges was released by Cambridge in May 2007 as they made wholesale changes to their playing squad. During his second spell at Cambridge, Bridges made 71 appearances in all competitions over two seasons, scoring ten times.

Kettering Town

Two months later, Bridges joined Conference North club Kettering Town on a one-year deal. Bridges made his debut for Kettering in late August 2007, starting in the club's 3–2 away victory against Worcester City. He scored his first goal for the club in the following game, doubling Kettering's lead in a victory against Tamworth. He played regularly for the Northamptonshire club throughout Kettering's 2007–08 league season, scoring 11 goals in 27 appearances to help Kettering earn promotion to the Conference Premier.

Stevenage

He was offered a new contract by manager Mark Cooper, which was rejected, as he opted to join his former Kettering team-mates Craig Westcarr and Gary Mills in signing for Stevenage on 13 May 2008. Bridges suffered a knee injury during pre-season and subsequently missed the first half of the 2008–09 season. He eventually made his debut for the Hertfordshire club in a 1–1 draw against Oxford United on 20 December 2008, scoring Stevenage's goal with an "unstoppable drive from outside the area". Bridges scored three goals in the club's successful FA Trophy run that season, scoring in 4–0 victories against both Burton Albion and Forest Green Rovers, as well as scoring the winner in Stevenage's 3–2 home win against Ebbsfleet United in the first leg of the semi-final. His season was cut short when he suffered an injury in a 1–1 draw against Oxford United at Broadhall Way, a game in which he scored Stevenage's goal, but ultimately missed the rest of the season. Bridges made 19 appearances during the club's 2008–09 season, scoring six times.

Bridges returned from injury at the start of the 2009–10 season, starting in a 0–0 draw against Barrow at Holker Street

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