David Mills (born 6 December 1951) is an English former

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 ...

most notable for his career with

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 becoming England's first £500,000 footballer. He is currently working as the head scout for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Playing career

Middlesbrough

Mills was born in

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

, and brought up in

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and civil parish on the River Tees's southern bank. It is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 24,741 at the 2011 census, in t ...

and while at school represented his country with England Schoolboys. After school, he attracted interest from several clubs, including

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, Stoke City, Manchester United and

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, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, but decided on a move to local team Middlesbrough, after missing close to a year due to injury, and signed for the club in July 1968 His first team debut came as a substitute towards the end of the 1968–69 season and he scored at Swindown Town in 1969–70 on his full debut. He became a regular two seasons later. As part of Boro's 1973–74

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 ...

championship side, he scored the goal that earned the side promotion in the 1–0 victory over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. Mills came to the attention of the England Under 23 selectors, earning eight caps and scoring three goals. His best season in terms of goals was in the 1976–77 season, in which he scored 18 times in 41 games, making him top scorer that season. He retained that title the next season. In December 1976, Mills asked for a move and so was transfer listed at a value of £200,000, but nobody came in for him. Two years later, his form had again caught the attention of other managers, and so in 1979,

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939), commonly known as "Big Ron" or "Mr. Bojangles", is an English former football player and manager. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits. Nic ...

paid £518,000 to take him to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, breaking the English transfer record and making Mills Britain's first half million pound footballer.

Other Clubs

Mills scored on his first full appearance for West Brom, but despite the huge sum of money invested in him he was not given many opportunities to prove himself, with injuries, loss of form and a switch to

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

limiting his goals. After scoring only six goals in 59 appearances, he was loaned out to Newcastle United. At the end of the loan, he moved to

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 ...

for just £30,000, but he only remained there for a short time, moving back to Newcastle on a permanent transfer.

Back at Middlesbrough

In June 1984, Willie Maddren re-signed him for one season, in which he finished top scorer with 14 goals. He suffered an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

injury and a broken arm the following season and did not play. He had a short spell after this playing for Darlington, where he ended his career as a player in 1987. After coaching Middlesbrough's juniors, Mills went on to play for Northern League side Whitby Town. He was seriously injured in a car crash on

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

, which claimed the life of his father. Later, he went on to work as a representative for a printing firm.

Scouting Roles

Following a stint as assistant chief scout at Newcastle United, where he worked under seven different managers, it was announced on 29 April 2008 that Mills would return to Middlesbrough to boost the recruitment team along with

Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland. Playing career Club McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...

. Mills has since worked closely with Steve Walsh at

and

, as a chief scout Mills has worked alongside Walsh to bring young emerging talent to

and

with many ex- Manchester United youth players now found at both clubs.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, David 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Whitby, North Yorkshire English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football forwards Middlesbrough F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Whitby Town F.C. players English Football League players Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from North Yorkshire People from Thornaby-on-Tees Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff Association football scouts