Dave Gilbert (footballer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dave Gilbert | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David James Gilbert | |
| Date of birth | June 22, 1963 | |
| Place of birth | Lincoln, England | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Grantham Town | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1981–1982 1982 1982–1986 1986–1989 1989–1995 1995–1998 1997 1997 1998–1999 1999–2001 2001–2003 2003–2007 2007– |
Lincoln City Scunthorpe United Boston United Northampton Town Grimsby Town West Bromwich Albion → York City (loan) → Grimsby Town (loan) Grantham Town Spalding United Grantham Town Lincoln United Grantham Town |
30 (1) 1 (0) 135 (27) 120 (21) 259 (41) 62 (6) 9 (1) 5 (0) 44 (7) unknown 59 (5) unknown |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
David James Gilbert (born 22 June 1963 in Lincoln) is an English footballer. Gilbert is a midfielder who began his career at his hometown club Lincoln City, where he made his first-team debut in the 1980-81 season. After two seasons at Sincil Bank, and a brief spell at Scunthorpe United, Gilbert dropped down to the Gola League and joined Boston United, where he made his name as one of the best players in non-league football.
In 1986, Gilbert got a second chance in the professional game, when he was signed by Northampton Town, and became a key member of the Cobblers side that walked away with the Division Four title in 1986-87, and came close to a second promotion the following season. Midway through the 1988-89 season, as the once-successful Northampton team was broken up, Gilbert was sold to Grimsby Town. It was at this club he arguably had the best years of his career.
Gilbert spent seven seasons at Blundell Park, partnering first Shaun Cunnington and later Paul Groves in central midfield. During his tenure, the Mariners were promoted twice and against all odds established themselves at the second-highest level of English football. In 1995, following Grimsby manager Alan Buckley's appointment at West Bromwich Albion, both Gilbert and Groves rejoined their former manager at The Hawthorns.
Gilbert was a regular at WBA until Buckley was sacked in 1997. He then found himself in the reserves, and had loan spella at York City and Grimsby, before being released when his contract expired in 1998. He then dropped out of league football and joined non-league side Grantham Town. He spent one-and-a-half season at Grantham, then moved to Spalding United where he spent another year-and-a-half, and then returned to Grantham.
In 2003, Gilbert joined his other hometown side, Lincoln United of the Unibond League and remained until the summer of 2007 when he followed the Lincoln United manager John Wilkinson in rejoining Grantham Town. Despite his high age, Gilbert still plays regular first-team football and shows no signs of slowing down. Overall, he has played more than 900 first-team games in his career.
