Dave Merrington
 |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Robert Merrington | ||
| Date of birth | 26 January 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1971 | Burnley | 98 | (1) |
| – | Bristol City | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1978 | Sunderland (caretaker) | ||
| 1980 | Leeds United (caretaker) | ||
| 1995–1996 | Southampton | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is a retired English football commentator who worked for BBC Radio Solent and a former professional player and coach.
Playing career[edit]
Merrington played for Burnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell as captain. He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching.[2]
Coaching career[edit]
Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland following the departure of Jimmy Adamson in 1978, and in 1980 he again took over from Adamson as caretaker manager (for 1 game only) at Leeds United.
He became youth coach at Southampton in 1983, before taking over as manager for the 1995–96 season.[3] He was Premiership Manager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management. Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded by Graeme Souness. During the final weeks of the 1995–96 season, he guided Southampton to two crucial wins which played a big part in their survival - they first beat Manchester United (champions that season) 3–1 at The Dell, and then won their penultimate game 1–0 at Bolton Wanderers, a result which confirmed the other side's relegation.[4]
A year later he returned to the club as a coach under next manager Dave Jones but left again three years later after Jones was succeeded by Glenn Hoddle. His next stop was a brief spell working as Walsall's first-team coach alongside manager Colin Lee in 2002.
Media career[edit]
Merrington worked for BBC Radio Solent, commentating on Southampton matches.[5] Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the 2021–22 season.[6][7]
Honours[edit]
Manager[edit]
Individual
References[edit]
- ^ "Dave Merrington". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Burnley". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (21 October 1995). "Saint with an understanding of the sinners Southampton's trust in faith and reason". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Results Fixtures 1995-1996 Southampton - Southampton FC - Saints Mad". www.southampton-mad.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "Rickie Lambert backed for England by Dave Merrington - BBC Sport". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Merrington ready for "emotional" last commentary". Southampton FC. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Southampton football pundit Dave Merrington retires". 23 May 2022. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Manager profile: David Merrington". Premier League. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
External links[edit]
- Use dmy dates from April 2016
- Use British English from April 2016
- BLP articles lacking sources from April 2015
- All BLP articles lacking sources
- Articles without Wikidata item
- 1945 births
- People from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Living people
- English footballers
- Burnley F.C. players
- Bristol City F.C. players
- English football managers
- Sunderland A.F.C. managers
- Southampton F.C. managers
- Walsall F.C. non-playing staff
- Premier League managers
- English Football League managers
- Burnley F.C. non-playing staff
- Leeds United F.C. managers
- Association football central defenders