David Preece (footballer, born 1976)

David Douglas Preece (born 26 August 1976) is an English football journalist and commentator and a former professional player and coach who played as a goalkeeper.

David Preece
Preece in 2005
Personal information
Full name David Douglas Preece[1]
Date of birth (1976-08-26) 26 August 1976 (age 48)[1]
Place of birth Sunderland, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
000?–1994 Sunderland[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Sunderland 0 (0)
1997–1999 Darlington 106 (0)
1999–2005 Aberdeen 89 (0)
2005–2008 Silkeborg IF 74 (0)
2008–2009 OB 0 (0)
2009–2012 Barnsley 7 (0)
2012–2013 Lincoln City 8 (0)
2013Keflavík (loan) 0 (0)
2013 Keflavík 9 (0)
2013–2016 Lincoln City 1 (0)
Total 294 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He made the majority of his appearances for Darlington, Aberdeen and the Danish club Silkeborg. His final professional appearance came on 2 November 2013 for Lincoln City against Welling United.

Career

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Early career

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Preece was born Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.[1] He began his football career in his hometown at Sunderland but failed to make a senior appearance before joining Darlington for free on a two-year deal. At Darlington, Preece made over 100 appearances in two seasons before leaving Darlington to move to Scotland by joining Aberdeen. Since leaving Darlington, the club attempted to re-sign Preece but the move never materialised.[3] At Aberdeen, Preece made over 100 appearances in 6 seasons and faced competition from Jim Leighton, Peter Kjær and Ryan Esson. Up until Kjær's retirement, Preece began to get more playing time and captained the team on several occasions, until the club decided to transfer list Preece along with three other players.[4]

In 2005, Preece left Scotland to move to Denmark by joining Silkeborg IF first and OB second. At Silkeborg, Preece was a first-choice goalkeeper until he left for OB where his first-team opportunities began to decline due to Arkadiusz Onyszko pushing him out of the first team.

Barnsley

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After being released by OB, Preece returned to England by joining Barnsley free on a one-year contract, with the option to extend the contract by a further year, and was expected to compete with Luke Steele. After spending the first half of the season on the bench, Preece's big chance of his first team came when he made his debut for the club (and first team in English football for 10 years) in a 1–0 loss against Watford on 12 September 2009 and continued in goal for three consecutive games until Steele returned. At the end of the season, Preece signed another one-year deal despite being Barnsley's back-up goalkeeper.[5] Preece continued to be a back-up goalkeeper and during the 2011–12 season, Preece suffered a wrist injury while warming up ahead of a match against Southampton, resulting him out of the rest of the season[6] At the end of the season, Preece was released along with six other players, ending a three-year spell at Barnsley.[7]

Lincoln City

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On 5 December 2012, Preece signed non-contract terms with Lincoln City[8] and made his debut in a 4–2 win over Dartford. On 28 December 2012 his contract was made permanent until the end of the season in a player-coach capacity. Preece played a pivotal role in saving Lincoln from relegation.[citation needed]

Keflavik

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In April 2013, Preece joined Icelandic Premier League team Keflavík on a short-term deal following a brief loan. Preece made this decision to ensure he was as fit as possible for the start of the English football league season in August 2013.[9]

Return to Lincoln

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On 8 August 2013, Preece re-signed for Lincoln City on a one-year deal, also becoming the club's first team goalkeeping coach.[10]

Career statistics

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[11]

Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1999-00 SPL 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 0
2000-01 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2001-02 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
2002-03 16 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
2003-04 36 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 44 0
2004-05 17 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 19 0
2005-06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 89 0 10 0 7 0 0 0 106 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. ^ "Dons hope for Darlington deal". Sky Sports. 29 April 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Dons wield the axe". Sky Sports. 9 May 2004. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Preece pens new deal". Sky Sports. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Barnsley suffer Preece blow". Sky Sports. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Barnsley reveal released players". Sky Sports. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Lincoln City sign David Preece on non-contract terms". BBC Sport. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Enskur markvörður í Keflavík (Staðfest)". Fotbolti.net. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Preece Back on Season-Long Deal - News - Lincoln City".
  11. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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