David Caldwell
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David Wilson Caldwell (born July 31, 1960) was a Scottish professional footballer, playing as a forward. He was born in Aberdeen.
Dave Caldwell began his career with Highland League side Inverness Caledonian. His goalscoring form in Scotland led to a £25,000 move to Mansfield Town in June 1979 and the start of an impressive, and sometimes controversial career in professional football.
He made his debut on the 29th of September 1979 in a 1-0 defeat against Reading at Elm Park, coming on as substitute after 76 minutes. Another substitute and one full appearance followed later that season. The following year saw Caldwell establish himself in the Mansfield side, although a series of bookings led to the first of many suspensions, and as Mansfield just missed out on promotion, Caldwell was sent off late in the season for kicking a player who was already on the ground. Over the next couple seasons, it appeared that his temperament was improving and the goals still flowed. The 1983-84 season started badly when Caldwell was arrested (and subsequently fined) in September 1983 for missing a court case brought against him for failing a breath test. A month later he was sent off after only 14 minutes for punching a Reading defender and was promptly transfer listed by Mansfield manager Ian Greaves, a decision which was unchanged by Caldwell scoring 4 goals in the next game. He remained in the side, in between suspensions, and continued to find the net.
In December 1984, Caldwell himself asked for a transfer from Mansfield. Even though he was a regular in the side, he was sent on loan to Carlisle United within the same month. On returning to Field Mill 2 months later, he was immediately loaned to Swindon Town, but after a further month away he returned to Mansfield and sporadic appearances in the Mansfield side. His final game for the Stags came at Wembley in the Freight Rover Trophy Final, and it was no surprise that he moved on in the summer, joining Chesterfield for a fee of £12,000 after scoring 57 goals in 157 league games for the Stags.
He scored 17 times in 68 league games for Chesterfield before moving to Torquay United for £7,000 in November 1987. He scored with an overhead kick on his home debut against Hereford United, and although sent off 3 more times that season (for which he received an 8 match ban) his ability to lead the attack made him an unlikely favourite of the crowd as Torquay made the play-offs and got further than usual in the cup competitions.
In August 1988 he left Plainmoor for Belgian side KVV Overpelt (costing £13,000) after 24 league games for the Gulls, scoring 4 times, but returned to Torquay on loan in December 1989. In October 1990 he returned to Chesterfield, with a fee of £14,500 resembling a reasonable piece of business by the Belgian side. He played a further 32 league games, scoring 4 times for Chesterfield before a cartilage injury forced him to retire from league football.
On leaving Chesterfield in May 1992, he returned to play for Inverness Caledonian until 1994 when he moved to a Highland League team based in Aberdeen. Whilst playing in Aberdeen he began working as a sales executive for an office equipment business. He continued this job, combining it with a part-time role as manager of Highland League Lossiemouth between 1998 and 1999. Whilst his football management was successful, at the end of the season he was offered a job as group sales manager for Xerox Concessionaire in Edinburgh, which he took, leaving football behind him.
