David White (English footballer)
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| David White | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David White | |
| Date of birth | 30 October 1967 | |
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | |
| Playing position | Right Wing or Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1985–1993 1993–1995 1995–1998 |
Manchester City Leeds United Sheffield United |
286 (79) 42 (9) 66 (13) |
| National team | ||
| 1988–1989 1991–1992 1992 |
England U21 England B England |
6 (2) 2 (0) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
David White (born 30 October 1967 in Manchester) is a former English footballer, best remembered for his eight-year spell at Manchester City. He also played for Leeds and Sheffield United, and was capped once by England.
David White began his career at Manchester City, where he was a member of City's "golden generation" that won the FA Youth Cup in 1986 and was expected to bring back the glory days to Maine Road. White made his debut for City's first-team the same year, and soon became a regular in the side, alternating between the right-wing and striker positions. He later won several caps for the England Under-21 side.
On 7 November 1987 he was one of three players, the others being Tony Adcock and Paul Stewart to score a hat-trick in a 10-1 victory over Huddersfield Town.
White's best years were arguably in the early 1990s, when he was surely very unlucky not to have been voted player of the year. He almost always played on the right wing in teams featuring two strikers, yet he was second top scorer for City in their first two seasons back in the First Division (1989/90 and 1990/91), and top scorer in the next two seasons. On 23 April 1991 he scored four times for City away to Aston Villa. White had blistering pace, strength, good crossing ability, strong heading and excellent finish, but was very much a confidence player, sometimes capable of single-handedly destroying teams but also proving ineffectual when his confidence was low.
White scored Man City's first goal in the Premier League in the first Sky Sports Monday Night Football match after good build up play by Niall Quinn and Paul Lake. After seven goals in the first seven games of this season (1992/93), he made his full international debut in a friendly against Spain, but missed a great chance to score early on which he would normally have buried. White was very unfairly targeted by the press as the reasons for England's failure in this game and the experience undoubtedly affected him. Upon returning to club duty, White only scored twice more before Christmas, although his form did return later in the season. Many have argued that the England match marked the turning point in White's fortunes, particularly when considering his poorer form in the next campaign. This criticism is perhaps unfair as City's season (1993/94) was a poor one for the club as a whole. Peter Reid had not strengthened the side in the summer, and the same old game plan of long-ball to Niall Quinn was stale and far too easily read by opposing teams. The side began to reflect the staleness of the tactics and many top quality players performed poorly too often. This, combined with the uncertainty of the boardroom situation and Francis Lee's takeover had an obvious knock-on effect on the team. For a confidence player such as White, the effect was perhaps more noticeable than with others, and he was no longer the free-scoring force he had been in seasons past.
In December 1993, White was somewhat surprisingly signed by Leeds for a £2,000,000 transfer fee. He left Maine Road having played 343 first-team games for City, scoring 96 goals. Although White had had a poor campaign so far and was beset with ankle trouble (he scored only 3 goals that season before his transfer, only 1 in the league against Liverpool), many would argue he was performing no worse than many other members of the squad who remained at the club. A sense of 'what if' hung around Maine Road after the transfer, particularly when the arrival of Paul Walsh, Uwe Rosler and Peter Beagrie saw free-scoring, attacking football return to the club. The exciting play the trio's arrival brought would have benefited White enormously and many feel this would have heralded a return to his best form.
Later it would transpire that White had requested a transfer when Brian Horton took over at the club, fearing a break up of the team he had been a part of under Peter Reid. White would later admit to regretting his rashness and that he never really gave Horton a chance to change his mind.
White never really lived up to expectations at Elland Road. He suffered a succession of injuries and was restricted to just 10 goals for Leeds in his two years at the club. In November 1995, he was loaned to Sheffield United, and he later signed a permanent contract after the two clubs agreed a £500,000 fee.
At Bramall Lane, White showed flashes of his old self, that had made him a star at Manchester City a few years before, but he was still bothered by injuries. He continued to suffer problems with his arthritic right ankle, making his final appearance in a League Cup match against Wrexham in 1997, before having to admit defeat and retire from the game.
White will forever be a Manchester City hero and perhaps sums up the club more than many players. Mesmeric in one game and infuriating the next, White was a metaphor for the club as a whole. Part of a team that was broken up and changed by successive managers, thoughts of what might have been had the team been allowed to flourish will long haunt City fans.
