David Kelly (association footballer)

For other people named David Kelly, see David Kelly (disambiguation).

David Kelly
Personal information
Full name David Thomas Kelly[1]
Date of birth (1965-11-25) 25 November 1965 (age 58)[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England[3]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[4]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Bartley Green Boys
West Bromwich Albion
Alvechurch
1981–1983 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1988 Walsall 147 (63)
1988–1990 West Ham United 41 (7)
1990–1991 Leicester City 66 (22)
1991–1993 Newcastle United 70 (35)
1993–1995 Wolverhampton Wanderers 83 (26)
1995–1997 Sunderland 34 (2)
1997–2000 Tranmere Rovers 88 (21)
2000–2001 Sheffield United 35 (6)
2001–2002 Motherwell 19 (6)
2002 Mansfield Town 17 (4)
2002 Derry City 6 (2)
Total 606 (194)
International career
1988–1998 Republic of Ireland 26 (9)
1988–1989 Republic of Ireland U21 3 (1)
1990 Republic of Ireland U23 1 (1)
1990–1994 Republic of Ireland B 3 (2)
Managerial career
2017 Port Vale (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Thomas Kelly (born 25 November 1965), also known by the nickname Ned Kelly, is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football coach who now is an assistant head coach at club Forest Green Rovers. He scored nine goals in 26 international games for the Republic of Ireland and was a squad member for UEFA Euro 1988, the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. A forward, he scored a total of 250 goals in 744 league and cup appearances in a 19-year career in professional football.

As a child, Kelly suffered from Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease but recovered to win a move from non-League Alvechurch and turn professional at Walsall in 1983. He was named in the 1986–87 Third Division PFA Team of the Year. He scored a hat-trick in the 1988 play-off final to secure the club promotion out of the Third Division. He was sold to West Ham United for £600,000 in August 1988 but struggled for form before being sold on to Leicester City for half that sum in March 1990. He then moved on to Newcastle United for a fee of £250,000 in December 1991. He helped Newcastle to avoid relegation out of the Second Division in 1991–92 and then win promotion into the Premier League as champions of the newly renamed First Division in 1992–93.

However, he remained in the First Division, having been signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £750,000 fee in June 1993. He top-scored for Wolves in 1994–95 before he was purchased by Sunderland for £900,000 shortly before they won promotion as champions of the First Division at the end of the 1995–96 season. He dropped back into the First Division after joining Tranmere Rovers for £350,000 in 1997 and spent three seasons with Rovers, playing on the losing side of the 2000 League Cup final. Following brief spells with Sheffield United, Motherwell, and Mansfield Town, he finished his career at Derry City, winning the 2002 FAI Cup in his final match as a player.

He remained within football after retiring as a player and went on to coach at Tranmere Rovers, Sheffield United, Preston North End, Derby County, Walsall, Scunthorpe United, Port Vale, Northampton Town, and Forest Green Rovers.

  1. ^ "David Kelly". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ^ Upton, Gilbert; Wilson, Steve; Bishop, Peter (24 July 2009). "Player Records". Tranmere Rovers: The Complete Record. Breedon. pp. 520–538. ISBN 978-1859837115.
  3. ^ "Sunderland AFC - Statistics, History and Records - from TheStatCat". www.thestatcat.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  4. ^ Dykes, Garth; Lamming, Doug (2000). All the Lads: A Complete Who's Who of Sunderland AFC. Great Britain. ISBN 9781899538157.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)