David Armstrong (26 December 1954 – 21 August 2022) was an English footballer who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He spent most of his career with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

(from 1972 to 1981), before moving to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in August 1981, where he played for a further six seasons. He finished his league career with

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

in 1987–88.

Football career

Armstrong was part of the Middlesbrough side of the 1970s managed by

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Defender (association football), centre-back for Leeds. He was part of the England ...

which won the Second Division title and was a consistent Division One team for most of the decade. Towards the end of his time at Middlesbrough, he gained his first

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

cap. At

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

, Armstrong was noted for his remarkable durability – for many years he was ever-present in the #11 shirt, and as a testament to this was awarded a testimonial whilst aged only 25. He holds the Boro' record for most consecutive appearances with 305 consecutive league games and 358 consecutive games in all competitions between March 1972 and August 1980. He joined Southampton in August 1981 for £600,000, then a club record, and scored 15 league goals in his first season alongside

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

, as the Saints led the table for most of the first three months of 1982 before finishing seventh. He came close to a league title medal again in 1984, as the Saints finished runners-up to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the league and were also semi-finalists in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, scoring 15 league goals again. He was Southampton FC's Player of the Season in 1983–84. At Southampton, he had scored 59 league goals in six seasons. At the end of the 1986–87 season, Armstrong dropped down a division to sign for

. With only a handful of appearances for the club, he exacerbated an ankle injury he sustained at Southampton in a tackle at Exeter City, and retired at the end of the season. He also made three appearances for the

international team between 1980 and 1984.

Personal life

From 1987 to 2011, Armstrong had six operations on his left ankle and had to rule out full-time professional coaching. He since combined a day job in office supplies with football punditry and commentary. On 21 August 2022, Armstrong died in his sleep in Greece aged 67.

Honours

Middlesbrough * Football League Division 2: 1973–1974 * Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1975–76 Southampton * Football League Division 1 runners-up: 1983–84

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, David 1954 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Durham, England English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders England men's international footballers England men's B international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers English Football League players Southampton F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players