David William Preece (28 May 1963 – 20 July 2007) was an English professional footballer who played in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. He was born in

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

. He played three times for the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

B team.

Career

Preece began his career as an apprentice with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

, turning professional in July 1980. His debut came the following year, as a substitute in the 2–1 win against Chester City. He was signed by

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

manager

David Pleat David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English football player turned manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He had two spells as manager of Luton Town, and four as ...

in December 1984 and scored on his debut, a 1–0 win at home to Aston Villa. He went on to win a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

winners medal with Luton in 1988 and played nearly 400 times for Luton's first team. He had a testimonial game against Manchester United in 1995 before moving to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

on a free transfer in August that year. He was a bit-part player at Derby, and so he was loaned to both

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

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. In September 1996 he joined

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

on a free transfer. He made 75 appearances there and was appointed as manager

Roy McFarland Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and former player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England. Playing career Born in Liverpool, McFarland was a player f ...

's assistant, before he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

as a player/coach, again under McFarland in August 2001. His contract with Torquay was terminated in July 2002, a move which also led to McFarland's resignation, with Torquay chairman

Mike Bateson Mike Bateson is an English businessman and former chairman of Torquay United Football Club. Bateson was brought up in Blackpool and after a spell in the Scots Guards made his fortune selling double glazing in the South-West of England. In May 199 ...

claiming cuts were needed after the collapse of

ITV Digital ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners ...

and subsequent reduction in income. He joined

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

as a player, but left in December 2002 to become assistant manager of

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

. However, a change of manager at Stevenage saw Preece return to Enfield as player-coach in February 2003. In May 2003, Preece was appointed as first-team coach of Telford United. In September 2004 he was appointed as assistant manager of Isthmian League side Walton & Hersham. Preece died in the early hours of 20 July 2007 after a short illness. At the time he had been in remission for one year following surgery for

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

. The family stand at Luton's

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...

stadium has since been named The David Preece Stand in memory of him.

References

External links

Profile
at official Luton Town website *
NMFE TributeMemory of "Mini" Preece lives on
- tribute on The Roar (an Australian sports opinion website). {{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, David 1963 births 2007 deaths People from Bridgnorth Association football midfielders English footballers England B international footballers Luton Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Enfield F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players