David Gerald Unsworth (born 16 October 1973) is an English football coach and 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 is currently the manager of
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
. Prior to this, he was most recently academy director and under-23's head coach at
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
side
Everton.
As a player, Unsworth played as a
centre-back or
left-back
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 ...
from 1991 until 2009. Unsworth is best remembered for his time at Everton during the 1990s, where he was part of their
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
-winning team of
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
and acquired the nickname ''"Rhino"''. He earned one full
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 ...
cap in 1995. He also played in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
for
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
and
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, and in the
Football League for
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
and
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
.
After retiring, he moved into coaching with
Preston North End where he was twice appointed caretaker manager. He returned to Everton in September 2013 as assistant to Everton U21s head coach
Alan Stubbs
Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer
As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wand ...
, and succeeded him in 2014. He was twice named caretaker manager of the club in 2016 and 2017.
Club career
Born in
Chorley,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, Unsworth began his career in the youth system at
Everton.
He made his first team debut in an away game at
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
in April 1992.
He made few appearances for the senior side until the appointment of
Joe Royle
Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...
as manager.
Royle made Unsworth a regular member of the starting XI, and he was part of the
1995 FA Cup winning team.
After 133 league and cup games over several impressive seasons at Everton, Unsworth transferred to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
for the
1997–98 season. He made his West Ham debut on 23 August 1997 against his old club, Everton. After receiving an ovation from Everton fans, Unsworth was on the losing side as West Ham lost 2–1.
After his family failed to settle in London and only one season and 41 games he asked for a move closer to his
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
home.
Rather than moving back to Merseyside, he was signed by
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. ...
-based club
Aston Villa for
£3 million but his family did not settle in Birmingham. After only a month, before the season had even begun, citing problems with the lengthy commute from his home, he returned to Everton who paid Villa the same £3 million West Ham had accepted only a few weeks before.
[
Unsworth was a consistent performer in his second spell with Everton, being first choice left-back, but also scoring some vital goals in his role as dead-ball specialist, mostly penalties. At the end of the 2003–04 season, after a further 216 games and his contract expired, a disagreement with the club over the length of a new contract led to Unsworth leaving on a free transfer.
On 12 July 2004, he was signed by ]Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
for the 2004–05 season on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with 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 ...
, scoring the equaliser from a penalty. He also scored another spot-kick in Portsmouth's famous 2–0 victory over Manchester United in October 2004. However, following the resignation of manager Harry Redknapp, Unsworth lost his place having played just 18 games, and spent the second half of the season on loan at Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
, making 16 appearances, scoring on his debut against Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
.
On 22 August 2005, Unsworth was signed by Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on a three-year contract, on a free transfer after it became clear that Ipswich Town could not afford his wages. He was part of the team which were promoted to the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
as Championship runners-up at the end of the season. He missed a penalty for United in a 0–0 draw against Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
on 9 September 2006. Unsworth fell out of favour at Sheffield United under the management of Neil Warnock, and was placed on the transfer list in the January window.
On 5 January 2007, Unsworth signed for Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
from Sheffield United on a free transfer. He played his first match on 13 January against Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. On the last day of the 2006–07 Premier League season, in a twist of fate, Unsworth would score the penalty that sent down his former club Sheffield United, whilst simultaneously saving his new employers Wigan Athletic from relegation
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. ...
. Unsworth was released by Wigan at the end of the 2006–07 season on 17 May 2007.
On 11 August, he signed for Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
on a one-year contract, scoring his first goal against Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. At the end of the season, he was offered a new deal as a player-coach by manager Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...
, but he rejected the offer and left the club on 30 June 2008.
On 8 August 2008, Unsworth joined Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
on a one-year deal after impressing on trial in their pre-season. He along with five other players made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
at the Galpharm Stadium
Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league s ...
on 9 August 2008. Unsworth missed a penalty in a 2–1 defeat away at 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, eas ...
on 30 August 2008 and did not feature again. He was released from his contract on 30 March 2009 after making four appearances, and announced his retirement from football shortly afterwards.
International career
Unsworth was part of England's U20 squad that finished third at the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia, scoring the first goal in their 2–1 third-place play-off win over Australia at the Sydney Football Stadium. He played for the England under-21 team on 7 occasions between 1994 and 1995. He made a single appearance for 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 ...
's senior team, in a 2–1 victory against Japan at Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
on 3 June 1995.
Coaching career
Unsworth announced his retirement on 3 April 2009. After retiring, he joined Preston North End as development coach. He was promoted to first team coach following the departure of Alan Irvine, and appointed caretaker manager on 30 December 2010 following the departure of Darren Ferguson, until the arrival of Phil Brown on 6 January 2011. On the dismissal of Brown and his assistant Brian Horton
Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...
, Unsworth was appointed caretaker manager in December 2011 with Graham Alexander. On the appointment of new manager Graham Westley
Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager who was most recently manager of League Two club Stevenage.
Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curt ...
, Unsworth was dismissed.
He turned down the chance to manage Irish club Sligo Rovers in 2012. On 6 December 2012, Unsworth returned to former club Sheffield United as Head of Academy Coaching. Following the departure of Blades manager Danny Wilson in April 2013, Unsworth was named as assistant to caretaker-manager Chris Morgan at United. The following summer, and having reverted to his previous role following the arrival of David Weir as club manager, Unsworth was given permission to speak with Kilmarnock about their vacant managerial position. However, Unsworth rejected the approach, only to subsequently leave the Blades on 1 August 2013.
Since departing Sheffield United, he had been working alongside the Scottish FA as a course tutor and within the Everton academy system. In September 2013, he was appointed as assistant manager of the Everton U21 team, working with Alan Stubbs. In 2014, Stubbs moved to Hibernian, leaving Unsworth in charge. In May 2016, following the departure of Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team.
Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...
as Everton manager, Unsworth took charge of the final game of the 2015–16 Premier League
The 2015–16 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the ...
, a 3–0 win over Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, alongside Joe Royle
Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...
in a caretaker capacity. He returned to coaching Everton's Under-23 team following the appointment of Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
as first team manager. After Koeman was sacked on 23 October 2017, Unsworth again became caretaker manager of the senior side. On 12 April 2022, Unsworth left Everton in order to pursue his ambition of becoming a first-team manager.
On 20 September 2022, Unsworth was appointed manager of National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
club Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
. He lost his first game in charge, a 3–0 defeat at Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
.
Career statistics
Player
Manager
"David Unsworth's statistics as manager"
Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
Honours
;Everton
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
*
FA Charity Shield:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
;Sheffield United
*
Football League Championship runners-up: 2006
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unsworth, David
1973 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Chorley
English footballers
England international footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football central defenders
Association football fullbacks
Aston Villa F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
England youth international footballers
Preston North End F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff
Everton F.C. managers
Premier League managers
English football managers
Everton F.C. non-playing staff
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers
Association football coaches
FA Cup Final players