David Wetherall (born 14 March 1971) 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 le ...
, who is as head of youth development with
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 ...
.
As a player, he was a
central defender
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 ...
, he played most of his career 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 Foo ...
for
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
and
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
. He started his playing career with
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
but having failed to make an appearance, he transferred to Leeds and made more than 200 appearances. After this he joined Bradford City for a then club-record fee of £1.4 million and played every minute of every match in his first season for the club and scored the decisive goal which kept the club in the premier league on the final day of the season. Wetherall became the
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
, later finishing his playing career at the end of the 2007–08 season.
He had two spells as
caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
of Bradford City, and was an integral part of club's coaching setup following his retirement as a player. He left Bradford in June 2011 after 12 years with the club to take up a position with
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 ...
. He was inducted into
Show Racism The Red Card
Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC) is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high-profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United K ...
's
hall of fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
for his involvement in their
anti-racism
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...
campaign.
Playing career
Early life and career
Wetherall was born in Sheffield, he supported
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
as a child,
[ He was ]capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
by England at schoolboy level,[ and in 1989, when he left school, he signed for Wednesday under the management of ]Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...
. Wetherall had attended Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
where he achieved four A-levels
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
at grade A, and chose to study for his BSc in chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at the University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
, so that he could live at home with his parents and combine his education with playing for Sheffield Wednesday's reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in 1992, becoming the first Premier League player to achieve such a qualification. In 1990, he was part of a British squad which travelled to Italy for the world student five-a-side football
Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...
championship, and represented Great Britain as they won the association football bronze medal at the 1991 World Student Games hosted in Sheffield.
Leeds United
Wilkinson, by then Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
manager, returned to his former club in July 1991 to sign two young centre-backs, Jon Newsome
Jon Newsome (born 6 September 1970) is an English football coach and former professional association football, footballer.
As a player, he was a Defender (association football), defender from 1989 until 2000, notably in the Premier League for S ...
first and Wetherall a few days later, for a combined fee of £275,000. The 20-year-old Wetherall's first season at Leeds was the final year of his degree course, so he played for the reserves while training part-time. He made a brief debut in the First Division, on 3 September 1991 at Elland Road
Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England.
The g ...
as a late substitute against Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
; Leeds went on to win the 1991–92 league title. He remembers it as "With 20 minutes to go, we were 2–1 down and I was on the touchline ready to go on, then Lee Chapman
Lee Roy Chapman (born 5 December 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker from 1978 until 1996, in which he scored over 200 first team goals.
He is best known for spells with Stoke City, Leeds United, Sheff ...
scored and the gaffer (Howard Wilkinson) told me to sit down again. But he threw me on for the last two minutes. I always tell people that made the difference in winning the title!" As his teammates took the league trophy on a celebratory open top bus
An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, which has been built or modified to operate without a roof. Early buses were constructed without roofs but in more recent times they have only been built for tourist and s ...
tour, Wetherall chose to revise for his examinations, a decision he came to regret, because "those experiences don't come around that often". Though the revision bore fruit: he graduated with first-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
.
Wetherall made his first start for Leeds in the newly formed 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 Foo ...
in September 1992 against Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, scored his first goal for the club the following March to secure a draw at home to 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 ...
and finished the 1992–93 season with 13 league appearances. He "noticed a massive difference in isfitness coming in full-time after just having two blasts a week." In the 1993–94 season, he established himself as a regular first-team player. The following season, he scored in a 2–1 defeat of defending champions Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, and continued his knack of scoring vital goals with a last-minute equaliser to avoid an embarrassing defeat by Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
of Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
in the 1995 FA Cup. In the replay, he scored for both Leeds and Walsall, the own goal
An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
taking the match into extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. Leeds finished in fifth place in the league, and Wetherall was chosen manager Wilkinson's player of the season. Wilkinson also singled him out for praise for his performance in a 3–0 UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
first-round win against AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
in Monaco in September 1995, though they were heavily defeated by PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
in the next round. Wetherall played in the League Cup Final in 1996, his first major final, but Leeds were outclassed, beaten 3–0 by Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
.
In the 1996–97 season, Wetherall played less regularly as new manager George Graham
George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former football player and manager.
In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Ch ...
experimented with defensive combinations, though by the following season he had re-established himself in the starting eleven, sometimes acting as captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, and signed a new five-year contract. On 27 September 1997, he scored in the 1–0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester United when Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...
's knee was badly injured in the act of fouling Alfie Haaland
Alfie Haaland (born Alf-Inge Rasdal Håland; 23 November 1972) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a right-back or midfielder. He is the father of current Manchester City player Erling Haaland.
Haaland played in the Prem ...
, who then accused Keane of feigning injury. Keane later took revenge on Haaland during a Manchester derby
The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough o ...
and said to Haaland as he lay on the ground: "And don't ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries, and tell your pal Wetherall there's some for him as well." Later that season Wetherall was among the Leeds travelling party who escaped unhurt as their aircraft crash-landed after an engine caught fire on takeoff.
When David O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...
replaced Graham as manager it became clear that his centre-back pairing of choice would be Lucas Radebe
Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe OIS (born 12 April 1969) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
He began playing in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, before transferring to Leeds United, where he played 256 m ...
and the 18-year-old Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born 22 January 1980) is an English football manager and former player who is currently the First Team Coach at EFL Championship club, Middlesbrough.
Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds United ...
, so Wetherall decided to leave Leeds for a club where he could play regular first-team football. A transfer to nearby 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. The ...
fell through after terms had been agreed, and the player's reluctance to move house while wife Caroline was heavily pregnant with their second son caused him to reject an offer from Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. After eight years with Leeds, having scored 18 goals from 250 games in all competitions, he accepted an offer from fellow West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
club Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
.
Bradford City
Bradford City signed Wetherall for a club record £1.4 million, to give experience to a side who had just been 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 Foo ...
. Wetherall was aged just 28, but manager Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town.
Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...
had made a number of signings aged over 30, prompting journalists to call his team "Dad's Army". Bradford won their first game 1–0 with a last-minute goal at 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 ...
scored by Dean Saunders
Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...
who started a celebration pouring scorn at the club's cynics. Wetherall's first goal for Bradford was in 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 ...
game at Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
before he scored again in the following round as Bradford were knocked out by Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
. His first league goal came in a 2–0 win against Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
on 18 December. Wetherall missed only two cup game for Bradford City during his first season, and was the only player in the Premier League to have played every minute of the league season. His partnership with the emerging Andy O'Brien in central defence was the front line in Bradford's survival attempt. Bradford went into the final game of the season facing possible 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. ...
. After only 12 minutes of their final game with Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, Wetherall headed home a Gunnar Halle
Gunnar Halle (born 11 August 1965) is a Norwegian association football, football manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football)#Full back, right back. He is the current assistant coach of Strømmen IF, Strømmen. Halle ...
free-kick. Bradford held on for a 1–0 win and with Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
's defeat at Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Bradford stayed up with a then-record low of 36 points. The goal directly resulted in Wetherall's former club Leeds United qualifying for the next season's Champions League.
The 2000–01 season started early for Bradford after chairman Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond (born March 1941) was a football chairman of Bradford City from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of Scarborough.
Career
Richmond was born and raised in Leeds, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School. After leaving school, ...
decided to enter the Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...
. Wetherall did not play in the team's first game away at FK Atlantas
FK Atlantas was a Lithuanian football team from the port city of Klaipėda.
The club's name has changed several times. It was established in 1962 as ''Granitas'', and became ''PSK Aras'' in 1993. Since 1996, when FK Sirijus Klaipėda was abso ...
, and after playing in the second leg and the two third-round games, he missed the semi-final with Zenit St Petersburg because of an ankle injury. Bradford subsequently lost both legs. Wetherall started the league season but after playing all 52 league games since joining Bradford without leaving the field, Wetherall limped off before half-time during a 2–0 defeat to their nearest rivals 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 1884 ...
in November 2000. Days after new manager Jim Jefferies took over, Wetherall was ruled out until the following February following a groin operation. His first game back was on 24 February 2001 as Bradford lost 2–1 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 ...
. His return to league action lasted just four games when, after scoring in a 2–2 draw with Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a recurrence of the groin injury. Bradford lost their Premier League status a month later after losing 2–1 at Everton.
Wetherall's start to the 2001–02 season was hampered by a groin injury and his first full game of the campaign came on 14 September 2001 when he scored in a 5–1 Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
victory over Gillingham, which put Bradford second in the table. A groin injury again kept Wetherall out of the side for nearly five months, during which time he was linked with moves back to the Premier League at either Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
or Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
, but he opted to stay at Valley Parade. He returned from injury for a reserve game in March after four months out with just over two months of the season left. He returned to the side against 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, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
in a game noted for Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...
's debut for Burnley, and scored in his next game as Bradford eased any relegation worries by defeating Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
2–0. He played in the club's final seven games and was named club captain for the following season after Stuart McCall
Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is assistant manager at Sheffield United.
McCall played in a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matches for Scotla ...
left the club.
Wetherall was one of 19 senior first-team players to be laid off
A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
by chairman Richmond in May 2002, after the club were put into administration and the players unpaid since April. Those players went as far as taking strike action before a pre-season friendly at Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
, even though Wetherall, as their Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members.
The aims of ...
representative, had initially denied they would do so, before the club was saved and players reinstated. Wetherall played in the club's opening game of the season as Bradford drew 0–0 with Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
live on television, but was again ruled out through an injury, this time to his hip. A planned comeback was put off five weeks later, before he sought the advice of a specialist in Denmark. After sitting out another three months through injury, Wetherall made his return as a substitute against Gillingham in December 2002 but was again injured in a reserve team comeback three days later. He again returned in February 2003 against Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
and played 15 games during the final three months of the season.
Wetherall kept off his injury problems and played in the first 15 games of the 2003–04 season, but was ruled out for two months after suffering medial ligament damage, following a knee injury sustained during the club's 1–0 defeat to Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. He returned on 28 December 2003 in a 1–0 victory which gave Bradford their first win in six games. His return to the defence added a second successive clean sheet. The revival in form was short-lived and despite Wetherall missing just one more game, when he sustained a calf injury, Bradford were threatened with another relegation. Wetherall scored a header against Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
in a 2–1 win and gave Bradford a "slim chance" of avoiding relegation, only for that to be confirmed two weeks later after a 3–2 defeat to Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
.
Despite the club's relegation to 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 ...
and another spell in administration, Wetherall turned down a move away from Bradford City after snubbing Coventry City during the 2004 summer. In October 2004, Wetherall and fellow veteran player Dean Windass
Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played spells at Bradford City and contributed to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008.
Windass started ...
both signed year's extensions to their contracts, with Wetherall's keeping him at Bradford until the end of the 2007–08 season. He also put his injury problems to one side for the 2004–05 season and missed just one league game – a 1–1 draw with Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
in February when he was ruled out because of suspension ending his run of 42 consecutive games. Bradford manager Colin Todd
Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
had identified Wetherall as a key player for the season, but despite scoring four goals and striker Windass' 27 goals earning him the league's top scorer's crown, Bradford could only finish 11th.
In October 2006, days after playing his 250th game for Bradford, he signed a new deal keeping him at the club until 2010 with a clause allowing him to move into a coaching role when his playing career ended or continue playing beyond 2010. He received the first red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
of his career in a 2–2 draw with Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...
on 30 December for two bookable offences.
When he took over as Bradford caretaker manager, Wetherall stepped down as captain and instead handed the armband to centre-back partner Mark Bower
Mark James Bower (born 23 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back and is the current manager of Bradford Park Avenue.
Born in Bradford, he played for more than a decade with his hometown club Bra ...
. But when McCall was appointed the new manager in June 2007, Wetherall was reinstated as club captain for the 2007–08 season. On 20 February 2008, he announced the 2007–08 season would be his last as a player, although Bradford City would keep his registration, and instead he would join the club's coaching staff. Wetherall said: "I was becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to do the things that I used to be able to do. Situations I would normally deal with comfortably were suddenly becoming a struggle." Bradford fans held a special day to celebrate Wetherall's career, when they took banners and wore fancy dress
A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock chara ...
and laboratory coats during the club's 1–1 draw with Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
on 22 March 2008. In his penultimate month as a footballer, Wetherall was also named the 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 ...
fans' player of the month by the Professional Footballers' Association. He played his final game for Bradford against Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
on 3 May 2008 in a 2–1 defeat.
Managerial career
Wetherall was one of four senior players to act as Bradford City manager for two weeks during November 2003, following the sacking of Nicky Law. He, as well as Peter Atherton, Wayne Jacobs
Wayne Jacobs (born 3 February 1969) is an English football coach and former professional player who is an assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday under Darren Moore.
Career
Playing career
During his career he played for Sheffield Wednesday, Hu ...
and Dean Windass
Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played spells at Bradford City and contributed to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008.
Windass started ...
oversaw training but just one game when Bradford City lost 1–0 to Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
with Jacobs taking charge from the touchline. Wetherall took his first full steps into management on a caretaker basis when he was appointed player-manager at Bradford City following the sacking of Colin Todd
Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...
on 12 February 2007. The side were on a poor run of form but Wetherall, whose role was extended in March, could not reverse the fortunes and the side were relegated to 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 ...
. During Wetherall's short stint in charge the club won just two games and drew another four. During his spell in charge of Bradford, Wetherall appointed his former Leeds teammate Nigel Martyn
Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially playe ...
as goalkeeping coach, a position he kept under McCall. Wetherall returned to concentrate on his playing career after Stuart McCall
Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964) is a professional football coach and former player. He is assistant manager at Sheffield United.
McCall played in a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matches for Scotla ...
was named full-time manager during the summer of 2007.
Wetherall holds the 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 ...
B coaching licence and returned to the Bradford City coaching set up during the summer of 2008. He managed the club's reserves upon his return, and in the summer of 2009, he combined it with the role of youth side management, after Chris Casper
Christopher Martin Casper (born 28 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player who is now the director of football at League Two side Salford City.
As a player he was a defender who played in the Premier League for Manches ...
left the club. He added he had been put off by senior management because of the day-to-day pressure of the job: "Football is a results-based business first and foremost and that's totally and utterly the case at first-team level." When McCall was sacked as manager, new manager Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
brought Junior Lewis
Carl Junior Lewis (born 9 October 1973) is a former footballer who was most recently assistant head coach at Barnet. During his playing career he played as a midfielder. He is currently assistant manager at National League South side Welling Un ...
into the coaching set-up at Bradford, leaving Wetherall to concentrate on his role as youth team manager. After Taylor left the club in February 2011 and Lewis and assistant manager Jacobs were placed on gardening leave
Garden leave (also known as gardening leave) is the practice whereby an employee leaving a job – having resigned or otherwise had their employment terminated – is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remainin ...
, Wetherall acted as assistant to interim manager Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
. He stayed with Bradford until the end of the season but then left the club to take up a position as head of youth development with 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 ...
.
Managerial statistics
:''As of 5 February 2008.''[
]
Personal life
Wetherall was inducted into Show Racism The Red Card
Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC) is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high-profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United K ...
's hall of fame in December 2007 for his work with their anti-racism campaign. He had become involved with the campaign with former colleague Gunnar Halle
Gunnar Halle (born 11 August 1965) is a Norwegian association football, football manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football)#Full back, right back. He is the current assistant coach of Strømmen IF, Strømmen. Halle ...
while they played at Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
. On 30 August 2009 he took part in a charity football match
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
, that included many former Bradford City and Leeds United players, to raise money for Martin House Children's Hospice.
References
External links
*
*
David Wetherall
at Bantams Past: The Bradford City Football Club Museum (via archive.org)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetherall, David
1971 births
Footballers from Sheffield
Living people
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Leeds United F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
English football managers
Bradford City A.F.C. managers
Alumni of the University of Sheffield