David Soames

David Michael Soames (born 10 December 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 2002 to 2006.

David Soames
Personal information
Full name David Michael Soames
Date of birth (1984-12-10) 10 December 1984
Place of birth Grimsby, England
Height 5 ft 08 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2000–2002 Grimsby Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Grimsby Town 24 (1)
2005–2006 Armthorpe Welfare 33 (16)
Total 57 (17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played in the Football League for Grimsby Town from 2002 until 2005, but retired a year later aged just 21, due to a persistent injury problem that hampered most of his playing career. He now works for North East Lincolnshire Council as a community sports coach.

Football career

Grimsby Town

Soames, nicknamed "Digger", was part of a decent youth team strike force that also boasted Darren Mansaram. He signed professional terms with Grimsby Town in October 2002 following an injury crisis at the club. He made his debut on 23 November when he was drafted into the squad to face Crystal Palace and played in the club's defeat at Selhurst Park. On Boxing Day 2002, he came off the bench to score his first senior goal in a 3–1 away win over Derby County; this would be his only senior goal in professional football. He continued to feature in the first team, but without scoring. In a game against Stoke City he was fouled by defender Sergei Shtanyuk, who was dismissed for his challenge after hacking down Soames, who was clear on goal. Grimsby were unable to avoid relegation from the First Division and rumours circulated that linked Soames with Port Vale and Lincoln City, but nothing ever came of either.

After suffering an injury early on in the 2003–04 season, Soames found it tough to break back into the first team with a number of other attacking options available to his manager. His first-team appearances throughout the season were limited and more injury trouble meant he didn't make another appearance until March 2005, in a 2–0 defeat against Rochdale. At the end of the season manager Russell Slade did not offer him a contract extension, but invited him back for training for the new season with the possibility of earning a new deal. However, after still struggling with injury, he decided against the idea and left the club.

Armthorpe Welfare

Upon leaving Grimsby, Soames took a few months out of the game before reappearing on trial with York City along with former teammate Giovanni Carcehdi. After failing to earn himself a deal with York, Soames moved into non-league football by joining South Yorkshire side Armthorpe Welfare just before the start of the 2005–06 season. The move had seen him drop from the fourth tier of English football to the ninth, with Armthorpe playing in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.

Come the end of the season, Soames had finished as Armthorpe's top scorer and had a brief but fruitful partnership with former Grimsby teammate Clint Marcelle. Soames left Armthorpe at the end of the 2005–06 season, and opted to retire from playing the game, aged only 21.

Personal life

Following his retirement from his professional football career, Soamees went on to work as a fitness instructor and coach for SportsLincs, who, in a partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police, created football coaching classes to help keep children off the streets of Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Soames also played amateur Sunday league football in the Grimsby area.

In July 2012, Soames was part of the North East Lincolnshire Council 5-aside football team that won the national championships, playing against teams from all over the country.[1]

In 2012, Soames was still working for North East Lincolnshire Council, working for sporting needs for people over the age of 45.[2][3]

Career statistics
Club performance
Club Season League Level League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Grimsby Town 2002–03 First Division 2 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
2003–04 Second Division 3 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
2004–05 League Two 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Armthorpe Welfare 2005–06 NCEL Premier Division 9 33 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 16

References
  1. Council's 5-a-side team are national champs Archived 20 April 2013 at Archive.today. Cleethorpes People (2 July 2012).
  2. North East Lincolnshire Council Archived 18 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Nelincs.gov.uk.
  3. You do not have to be sporty to have Olympic fun. This is Grimsby (8 February 2012).
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