David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professional footballer, manager and commentator. He served as a caretaker manager at Sunderland in 1978, and Leeds United in 1980. Merrington was manager of Southampton from 1995 until his dismissal in 1996.
| 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 | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978 | Sunderland (caretaker) | ||
| 1980 | Leeds United (caretaker) | ||
| 1995–1996 | Southampton | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Before his career as a coach, Merrington played as a defender, spending the majority of his playing career at Burnley before moving to Bristol City. Merrington later worked as a commentator for BBC Radio Solent. He retired from commentating in 2022.
Playing career
editMerrington played for Burnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell as captain.[2] Whilst at Burnley, he was blighted continually by serious injuries.[2][3] He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching.[4]
Coaching career
editMerrington 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.[5][6][7]
He became youth coach at Southampton in 1983, before taking over as manager for the 1995–96 season.[8] He was Premiership Manager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management.[9] Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded by Graeme Souness.[10] 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.[11]
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.[6] His next stop was a brief spell working as Walsall's first-team coach alongside manager Colin Lee in 2002, but later resigned for personal reasons.[12]
Media career
editMerrington worked for BBC Radio Solent, commentating on Southampton matches.[13] Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the 2021–22 season.[14][15]
Honours
editManager
editIndividual
References
edit- ^ "Dave Merrington". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b "How Merrington made young Saints march". Lancashire Telegraph. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Burnley". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
- ^ "Swindon Town v Bristol City: Official Programme" (PDF). 2 October 1971. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ Rayner, Stuart (3 November 2017). "Sunderland's post-War caretaker managers: Assessing the men who minded the shop". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ a b Scholes, Tony (15 June 2015). "Dave Merrington". Clarets Mad. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "CLARETS: Merrington relishes chance of Turf Moor return". Lancashire Telegraph. 19 May 1998. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Manager profile: David Merrington". Premier League. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ Duxbury, Nick (14 June 1996). "Merrington 'shocked' by Southampton dismissal". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Walsall assistant Merrington resigns". Irish Examiner. 31 July 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "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.