David Paul Challinor (born 2 October 1975) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

who played as a centre-back in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

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 ...

and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. He is the manager of club

. Challinor started his managerial career at

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

as player-manager before joining

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesh ...

. In nearly eight years, Challinor won three promotions with the club and won the FA Trophy before departing in 2019. He then joined

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

where he won promotion to the Football League via the play-offs in his first full season. Mid-way through the following season, Challinor departed for

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 ...

side

. At the end of the season, Challinor won the National League title to return to the Football League.

Playing career

The centre-back, who played for

and

, previously held the world record for the longest throw in football. This was 152 feet (46.34 metres) in a special challenge set-up at Prenton Park in 1998, beating the previous record held by Cardiff City's Andy Legg. When at Tranmere, he played in the

2000 Football League Cup Final The 2000 Football League Cup Final was played between Leicester City, in their third final appearance in four years, and First Division side Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2000. It was the 34th and last League Cup Final to be ...

. He was transferred to

for a fee of £120,000 in January 2002. Whilst playing for Stockport County against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

, Challinor's tackle on striker Martin Pringle broke the leg of Pringle in two places, and effectively ended his career. Though Challinor only received a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

Carlton Palmer Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965) is an English football manager, former footballer and football television pundit whose last management role was as manager of Grantham Town. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1984 to 2005, play ...

, Stockport's

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

, fined Challinor two weeks' wages and called the tackle "horrendous". Challinor joined

on loan for three months in January 2004., the move was made permanent during the summer. After spending four seasons at Bury as captain, he was forced to retire from professional football in May 2008 due to a knee injury. In October 2008, Challinor joined

in the Northern Premier League Division One North, he captained the side to the play-offs in his first season where they lost out to

Newcastle Blue Star Newcastle Blue Star F.C. is a football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was established in 1930 and joined the Wearside League in 1973. In 1978, it won the FA Vase. Having won promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Divi ...

on penalties. The following season the team, again captained by Challinor reached the play-offs and this time were promoted thanks to a 1–0 victory at

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

in the final.

Managerial career

Colwyn Bay

Challinor was appointed as player-manager at Northern Premier League Premier Division club

on 28 May 2010. He was assisted by former teammate Colin Woodthorpe. During their first season in management, they led Colwyn Bay to runners-up in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and a place in the play-offs. Victories over

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

and

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Founded ...

secured the club promotion to the

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

. The club also won the North Wales Coast Cup, with victory over Flint Town United in the final on penalties. The club won the Fair Play Award for the fewest disciplinary points through the season and Challinor was named manager of the month for March, April and May 2011.

AFC Fylde

On 2 November 2011 it was announced that Challinor had been appointed the new manager of

, in the Northern Premier League Division One North. He guided Fylde to the NPL First Division North championship in the season of his arrival and as a consequence was named Evo-Stik NPL Manager of the Year 2011–12. In 2012–13, Fylde once again qualified for the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs but were defeated on penalties by Hednesford Town who took their place in the Conference North. Fylde did qualify for the FA Cup First Round proper, eventually being defeated by Accrington Stanley and also were victorious in the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy at The Reebok Stadium, Bolton. The 2013–14 season saw Fylde gain promotion to the

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

after defeating Ashton United in the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs. They also retained their Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy with a 4–1 victory over rivals Chorley. In addition, they won the Doodson Sport League Cup with victory at Edgeley Park over Skelmersdale United. Their disciplinary record meant they won the Fair Play Award for the Premier Division and their overall record throughout the three leagues came out on top which saw them claim the Presidents Cup. They also had the best technical area marks for the Evo-Stik league to match the previous year's statistic. The year saw Fylde move to their highest rung of the pyramid and a fourth promotion in five years for Challinor. In 2016–17 Challinor clinched promotion as

champions, with a 3–0 victory over

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

on 22 April 2017. In June 2017, he signed a new two-year contract with the club. The 2018–19 season saw Fylde reach both the play-off final and FA Trophy final. Having been defeated 3–0 by Salford City in the play-off final, Fylde returned to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

the following week to beat

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

1–0 and lift the FA Trophy for the first time in the club's history. On 12 October 2019 Fylde announced that it was parting company with him as the manager.

Hartlepool United

On 11 November 2019, Challinor was appointed manager of

side

with the club in 13th place. In his first full season in charge, Challinor guided Hartlepool to a 4th placed finish and a place in the

National League play-offs The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

. In the play-off eliminator, Hartlepool defeated

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 ...

3–2, scoring three goals in seven first-half minutes before Bromley scored two in the second half, ultimately proving to not be enough. In the semi-final, they travelled to

where Rhys Oates scored with fifteen minutes left to book Hartlepool's place in the Final. On 20 June 2021, Hartlepool faced

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 ...

in the play-off Final at Ashton Gate Stadium. After

Luke Armstrong Luke Thomas Armstrong (born 2 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for League Two club Harrogate Town. Club career Early career Armstrong began his career with Middlesbrough, making his way up through the ac ...

gave Hartlepool the lead in the first half, Torquay goalkeeper

Lucas Covolan Lucas Covolan Cavagnari (born 6 June 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Maidstone United. A Brazil under-20 international, he began his career with Trieste, before turning professional at Vasco d ...

scored a last minute equaliser to take the match to extra-time. Despite both sides missing their first two penalties, Hartlepool eventually won the shootout 5–4, returning to the Football League for the first time since their relegation in 2017. On 24 September 2021, Challinor signed a new three year contract to remain as manager. On 1 November 2021, Challinor announced his intentions to step down from the position. Challinor won 28 of his 59 games at Hartlepool. In a club statement, Hartlepool stated their dissatisfaction with the way Challinor departed the club: "As a club, we were disappointed the first approach did not come direct to the club. Also that this was so soon after Dave signed a new three-year contract." In an interview with Stockport following his arrival, Challinor said that "It's been ridiculously difficult (to leave Hartlepool), once the interest came in (from Stockport) there was always going to be an attraction but the affinity I built up with the fan base there was amazing and that was the biggest tie that I had to get over".

Stockport County

On 2 November 2021, Challinor was appointed manager of

side

with the club in 9th position. Challinor was awarded the National League's Manager of the Month award for January 2022 after six wins from six in all competitions that saw Stockport finish the month top of the league. On 15 May 2022, Stockport beat

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

2–0 to clinch the National League title.

Personal life

He studied at

Salford University , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

training to be a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

and in July 2012 graduated with a First Class Honours degree.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Colwyn Bay * Northern Premier League Division One North play-offs: 2010

Manager

Colwyn Bay *Northern Premier League Premier Division play-offs: 2011 AFC Fylde *Northern Premier League Division One North: 2011–12 *Northern Premier League Premier Division play-offs:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: 2016–17 * FA Trophy: 2018–19 Hartlepool United *

play-offs:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Stockport County *

: 2021–22 Individual * Evo-Stik NPL Manager of the Year: 2011–12 * National League Manager of the Month: January 2022 * National League North Manager of the Month: September 2014 * National League North Manager of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Challinor, Dave 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Chester English footballers Association football defenders Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bury F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players English football managers Colwyn Bay F.C. managers AFC Fylde managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers Stockport County F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers National League (English football) managers English Football League managers Alumni of the University of Salford