David Webster (born 7 April 1990) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

professional footballer for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

. He has previously played for

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

and

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

Club career

Bray Wanderers

Webster came through

youth setup and signed a contract with

Eddie Gormley Eddie Gormley (born 23 October 1968) is an Irish football coach and former player who is currently manager of Cabinteely. Early career Educated at Cabinteely Community School where he played for the School Junior & Senior teams, and also playi ...

's first team squad in February 2008 whilst still playing for the reserve side in the

A Championship The A Championship, also known as the Newstalk A Championship, was an association football league featuring League of Ireland reserve teams and emerging senior teams. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

. His first senior appearance for the club came on 5 May 2008 when he came on as a substitute for Paddy Kavanagh with 9 minutes left of a 1–0 win over

at the

Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. Situated directly behind the Bray D.A.R.T. station, it is home to Bray Wanderers A.F.C. History The Carlisle Grounds can claim to be the Football Association of I ...

in the

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 ...

. His only other appearance that season came on 16 July 2008 when he started in a friendly against

English League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

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, in a 1–0 loss for Wanderers. The 2009 season proved to be Webster's breakthrough season in senior football as he became an established regular at centre back for Bray. The first goal of his career came on 14 August 2009 when he scored in a 2–0 win over Tralee Dynamos in the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

. Webster's first

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

goal came on 19 September 2009 when he opened the scoring in the 16th minute in a vital league game against

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now ow ...

as his side fought to fight off relegation. Bray ended the season bottom of the table and lost out to

Sporting Fingal Sporting Fingal Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fine Gall Spórtúil) was an Irish association football club based in Fingal. Between 2008 and 2010, the club played three seasons in the League of Ireland. During their first two seasons they pl ...

in the final of the promotion/relegation playoffs meaning they would be relegated to the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

however they kept their top flight status as

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

and

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

were both expelled from the

for financial reasons. It was a mixed season for Webster and Bray in

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as they were runners up in the Leinster Senior Cup but again struggled to fight off relegation, taking them right up until the Promotion Relegation Playoff final as they beat

Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Mhuineacháin Aontaithe) is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Ulster Senior League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to pl ...

7–6 on penalties to defy all odds and stay up once again. During the season he also had the opportunity to play against top sides like

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, featuring some members of the

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winning

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

side. Webster only managed 19 appearances the following season in

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which was not helped by injuries but it was a successful season for the team as they finished in a respectable 6th place earning 51 points and qualifying for the following season's

Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of I ...

. The club's stay in the

2012 Setanta Sports Cup The 2012 Setanta Sports Cup was the seventh staging of the annual All Ireland, all-Ireland association football competition. It commenced on 11 February 2012 and ended on 12 May 2012, with the final played at The Oval (Belfast), The Oval, Belfast. ...

was short lived however as they were knocked out by

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

at the first hurdle with Webster featuring in both games. Webster featured in 27 games over the course of the season as his side once again stayed out of the Playoffs as they finished a comfortable 5 points ahead of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. Two more seasons of relegation battles followed for Webster and Bray as they beat

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

in the final of the

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Playoffs, before avoiding the playoffs in 2014 by a single point ahead of UCD.

Shamrock Rovers

It was announced on 26 November 2014 that Webster had been signed by

manager

Pat Fenlon Patrick Fenlon (born 15 March 1969) is an Irish football coach and former player. Fenlon played as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Linfield, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne. As a manager he won five League of Ireland titles ...

on a two-year contract, alongside Gavin Brennan, Barry Murphy and Craig Hyland. Webster was a mainstay in defence for Rovers in his first season as he featured in 30 games in all competitions, including all 4

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

games against Progrès Niederkorn of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

(in which he scored in the home leg) and

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. The 2016 season was a poor one for Webster and Rovers as they were embarrassing beaten 5–0 at home in the

Quarter Final, knocked out at the first hurdle of the

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Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(Webster playing in neither leg) and in the league they finished 4th, a massive 22 points off champions

. The poor form in the previous season resulted in

being sacked by the club but his replacement

Stephen Bradley Stephen Bradley may refer to: Sports *Steve Bradley (American football) (born 1963), American football quarterback *Stephen Bradley (footballer) (born 1984), Irish football player *Stephen Bradley (equestrian) (born 1962), American international eq ...

offered Webster a new contract which he signed on 29 November 2016. Bradley showed a lot of faith in Webster over the season, playing him a total of 39 times across all competitions including all 4

games as the Hoops knocked out

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan, commonly known as Stjarnan, is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær.and in the top 10 in the World and they have won the League ...

before being beaten twice by

FK Mladá Boleslav FK Mladá Boleslav is a Czech football club based in the city of Mladá Boleslav . The club currently plays in the Czech First League. Mladá Boleslav were runners up in the 2005–06 Czech First League and went on to play in the 2006–07 UEFA ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in a season which they finished in 3rd place in the league as well as being runners up in the 2017 League of Ireland Cup to

, who also knocked them out of the

, after a Semi-final replay at

. On 14 November 2017 it was announced that Rovers would not be offering Webster or Ryan Connolly a new contract for 2018.

Waterford

After 95 appearances for Rovers in all competitions, Webster signed for newly promoted

under manager Alan Reynolds on 29 November 2017. Webster played a total of 31 times for the Blues as they finished in 4th place, securing a

place for the following season as they finished 9 points ahead of nearest challengers

St Patrick's Athletic

On 14 November 2018, it was announced that had signed for

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

club

, becoming new manager

Harry Kenny Harry Kenny (born 13 April 1962) is an Irish footballer who last managed at St Patrick's Athletic before resigning in August 2019. During his playing career he spent 13 seasons playing for Shamrock Rovers. Harry, or 'H' as his friends nickn ...

's second signing. Upon signing, Webster sited one of his reasons for joining the Saints being that he was at a stage of his career in which he wanted to win medals. He made his debut for the club in a 1–0 win over

on 15 February 2019, the opening night of the season. During the season, it was announced that Pat's would be playing

football at the expense of his old club

after they failed to meet

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

's '3 year rule'.

Finn Harps

Webster was announced as having signed for

on a one-year deal on 28 December 2019.

Return to Bray Wanderers

On 30 November 2022, Webster re-signed for

side

after 8 years away from the club. On 8 February 2023, Webster was named as

club captain The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavi ...

for the upcoming season.

Drogheda United

On 2 February 2024, it was announced that Webster had returned to the

, signing for

after impressing on a month long trial period.

Personal life

His cousin is retired professional footballer

Eoin Doyle Eoin Doyle (born 12 March 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic. Doyle has previously played for Chesterfield, Cardiff, Preston North End, Portsmou ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, David 1990 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Bray Wanderers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Waterford F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players League of Ireland players Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers