David John Theobald (born 15 December 1978) is an English retired semi-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 played as a defender in 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 ...

for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, Swansea City and

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

. He played the majority of his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, predominantly for Cambridge City, for whom he made over 270 appearances across three spells. He is currently first team

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at Cambridge City.

Playing career

Early years

Theobald began his career in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

, before joining the youth setup 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 ...

. He progressed to undertake a scholarship, but did not win a call into a first team squad before his release at the end of the 1998–99 season.

Brentford

On 8 July 1999, Theobald signed a three-year contract with newly promoted

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

on a free transfer. He was utilised as cover for injuries and had a run in the team as a stand-in

right 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 ...

for the injured

Danny Boxall Daniel James Boxall (born 24 August 1977) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right back for Brentford F.C., Brentford, Bristol Rovers F.C., Bristol Rovers, Oldham Athletic A.F.C., Oldham Athletic ...

during the 1999–00 season and in central defence for Scott Marshall during 2000–01. Theobald was named in the starting lineup for the 2001 Football League Trophy Final and received a runners-up medal. He was released after Brentford's defeat in the 2002 Second Division play-off final and made just 37 appearances during three seasons at Griffin Park.

Swansea City

On 26 July 2002, Theobald signed a one-year contract with Third Division club Swansea City on a free transfer. He made just 12 appearances before leaving the

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at ...

in February 2003.

Cambridge United

On 7 February 2003, Theobald joined hometown Third Division club Cambridge United on a contract running until the end of the 2002–03 season. He made just one appearance before his contract expired.

Non-League football

Between 2003 and 2018, Theobald had a long career in

, predominantly with Cambridge City, for whom he made 274 appearances and scored 39 goals across three spells. He also played for

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

, St Albans City,

Royston Town Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada * Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire * Royston, South Yorks ...

, Soham Town Rangers and

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

Managerial and coaching career

Soham Town Rangers

On 8 October 2015, Theobald and fellow senior player Robbie Nightingale took over as joint-managers of

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

First Division North club Soham Town Rangers. He remained in the role until 4 December 2016, when he followed Nightingale out of the club.

Cambridge City

On 5 December 2016, Theobald returned to Southern League Premier Division club Cambridge City as first team coach.

Personal life

Theobald attended

Impington Village College Impington Village College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Impington in the English county of Cambridgeshire. The buildings of 1938/9 by Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry are Grade I listed. The school opened in 1939, two we ...

. He is a

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 ...

and

supporter.

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

runner-up: 2000–01 Canvey Island *

Premier Division: 2003–04 Cambridge City * Southern League Cup: 2009–10

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald, David 1978 births Living people Footballers from Cambridge English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Ipswich Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Canvey Island F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players Royston Town F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players Soham Town Rangers F.C. players Soham Town Rangers F.C. managers Isthmian League managers English football managers