David Wayne Norton (born 3 March 1965) is a 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 played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. His career started at Aston Villa, where he began as an apprentice on leaving school in the summer of 1981, turning professional two years later and making his First Division debut in a 3–0 away win over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

on 19 January 1985, a few weeks before his 20th birthday. He made 20 league appearances in both the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, but endured the disappointment of Villa's relegation in 1987 and made just two appearances the following season as they were promoted. He did not form part of Villa's return to the First Division, as he was transferred to Third Division

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. He helped the Magpies reach the First Division in 1991 following back-to-back promotions (both via the playoffs) but once again he dropped down two divisions, this time signing for a Hull City side who had just fallen into the Third Division. He spent three years at

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium. In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...

before beginning a two-year spell in the league's lowest division with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in 1994. He signed for Hereford United in 1996, but had to endure the disappointment of relegation from the Football League the following year and he retired soon afterwards due to injury. After surgery David was able to play again at non-league level and after leaving

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

signed for

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 sy ...

helping them win the Football Conference but because he had taken an insurance payout on his injury he was not able to play when the club were promoted to the Football League. He moved on firstly to

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

and then to

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

where he became joint-manager alongside former

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 ...

international

Nigel Spink Nigel Philip Spink (born 8 August 1958) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1976 until 2001. He made his name at Aston Villa and also made one appearance for England at international le ...

. He helped lead Forest Green to the 2001 FA Trophy final where they lost to

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, 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 for National Statistics. ( ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. He had further spells at Tamworth and finally

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

. His brother Trace Norton also played for Aston Villa youth team before later playing for Exmouth Town and later becoming an accountant.

References

External links

*
David Norton's Bio
at Aston Villa Player Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Dave 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Cannock English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Aston Villa F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players English football managers Forest Green Rovers F.C. managers Gainsborough Trinity F.C. managers Grantham Town F.C. managers Tamworth F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Staffordshire