David Riley (footballer)

David Riley
Personal information
Full name	David Sidney Riley[1]
Date of birth	8 December 1960[1]
Place of birth	Northampton, England[1]
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder; forward
Youth career
	Keyworth United
Senior career*
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

David Sidney Riley (born 8 December 1960) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and striker, making 190 league appearances in a nine-year career in the Football League, scoring 40 goals.

He began his career at Nottingham Forest in 1983, and had loan spells at Darlington and Peterborough United, before joining Port Vale for £20,000 in October 1987. In March 1990 he was sold on to Peterborough United for £40,000, and helped the club to two successive promotions into the Second Division. He later played for Kettering Town, Ponsonby (in New Zealand), Boston United, and King's Lynn.

Playing career

Riley played for Keyworth United before turning professional with Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in June 1983. He played 12 First Division games for the club between April 1984 and 1987, scoring two goals. He was loaned out to Darlington in February 1987, and played six Third Division games for Cyril Knowles' side, scoring two goals. He joined Fourth Division side Peterborough United on loan in 1987, and played twelve league games under Noel Cantwell, scoring two goals.

He joined Third Division club Port Vale in October 1987, manager John Rudge splashing out £20,000.[1] He scored on his debut at Vale Park in a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers on 19 October.[1] He became the club's joint-top scorer in the 1987–88 season with 10 goals, along with Darren Beckford.[1] He then switched to left-wing to cover for the injured Paul Atkinson.[3] He played 48 league and cup games in the 1988–89 season, but broke his leg in a 1–1 draw at Bolton Wanderers on 25 April 1989, and so missed out on the play-off final victory over Bristol Rovers.[1] He managed to recover, but did not re-capture his first team position and in March 1990 was loaned back to Peterborough United, who were then under Mark Lawrenson's stewardship; Peterborough paid £40,000 for his services on a permanent basis the next month.[1]

He won promotion with the "Posh" in 1990–91, helping Chris Turner's side to the fourth and final promotion place in the Fourth Division. They then won a second successive promotion into the Second Division after beating Stockport County 2–1 in the play-off final at Wembley. Riley then joined Conference National club Kettering Town, and later played for F.C. Ponsonby in New Zealand, before returning to England with non-league sides Boston United and King's Lynn.

Style of play

Riley was a versatile midfielder and forward; at just 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) in heigh he was small and lacked pace, but was a hard working player.[4]

Laife life

By March 2011, he was working as under-15s manager at Peterborough United.[5] He found work at Klassic Kitchens Company in nearby Yaxley.[4]

Statistics

Source:[6]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nottingham Forest	1983–84	First Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	1984–85	First Division	10	2	0	0	1	0	11	2
	1985–86	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1986–87	First Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		12	2	0	0	1	0	13	2
Darlington (loan)	1986–87	Third Division	6	2	0	0	0	0	6	2
Peterborough United (loan)	1987–88	Fourth Division	12	2	0	0	4	1	16	3
Port Vale	1987–88	Third Division	34	8	7	1	2	1	43	10
	1988–89	Third Division	40	3	3	1	5	0	48	4
	1989–90	Second Division	2	0	1	0	2	0	5	0
	Total		76	11	11	2	9	1	96	14
Peterborough United	1989–90	Fourth Division	15	5	0	0	0	0	15	5
	1990–91	Fourth Division	41	9	5	2	4	0	50	11
	1991–92	Third Division	28	9	3	1	12	2	41	12
	Total		84	23	8	3	16	2	108	28
Career total			190	40	19	5	30	4	239	49

Honours

Peterborough United

Football League Fourth Division fourth place promotion winner: 1990–91
Football League Third Division play-off winner: 1992

References

Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 21. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
Fielding, Rob (17 July 2020). "Five of the best: Port Vale utility players". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
"Cult Hero 02: David Riley". onevalefan.co.uk. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
"Centre of Excellence Staff". theposh.com. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
David Riley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

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[kent-1] Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 21. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[2] Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.

[3] Fielding, Rob (17 July 2020). "Five of the best: Port Vale utility players". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[ovf-4] "Cult Hero 02: David Riley". onevalefan.co.uk. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2020.

[5] "Centre of Excellence Staff". theposh.com. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

[6] David Riley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)