| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Batty[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1968-12-02)2 December 1968 (age 56)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Leeds, West Yorkshire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder[1] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1987 | Leeds United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1993 | Leeds United | 211 | (4) |
| 1993–1996 | Blackburn Rovers | 54 | (1) |
| 1996–1998 | Newcastle United | 83 | (3) |
| 1998–2004 | Leeds United | 90 | (0) |
| Total | 438 | (8) | |
| International career | |||
| 1988–1989 | England U21 | 7 | (1) |
| 1989–1992 | England B | 5 | (0) |
| 1991–1999 | England | 42 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Batty (born 2 December 1968) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder.
Batty played forLeeds United,Blackburn Rovers andNewcastle United. Whilst with Leeds he was part of the team that won the oldFootball League Second Division and theFootball League First Division in its final year before the formation of thePremier League. He would go on to lift that title itself when he was part of the Blackburn team that won the League in 1995, but did notget a medal. In total he made 438 league appearances during a 17-year career, scoring eight goals. He wascapped 42 times by theEngland national team, and represented the nation atUEFA Euro 1992 and the1998 FIFA World Cup.
Following retirement in 2004, Batty has lived his life away from the media spotlight and very rarely gives interviews about his career. It is well publicised by some of his former teammates that he cared very little for football and merely saw it as a job he did because he was good at it, as opposed to loving the sport.[3][4]
Born inLeeds, West Riding of Yorkshire,[5] Batty made his debut for Leeds in November 1987 as an 18-year-old during a 4–2 win overSwindon Town,[6] and quickly earned a reputation as a fiercely competitive midfielder in the mould of Leeds legendBilly Bremner. Perceived to be a bit lightweight, to build up Batty's strength Bremner would call him into his office every morning to drinksherry with a raw egg stirred into it.[7] Batty was a key member of the Leeds team that won promotion from the second division in1989–90, and a member of a midfield which includedGary Speed,Gary McAllister andGordon Strachan, when Leeds won the first division championship in1991–92. As a tireless and sometimes ruthless forager of the ball there were few equals, but there was more to his game than simply breaking up opposition attacks; having won the ball, his distribution was excellent, making him the springboard for many counterattacks.[citation needed] If there was one aspect missing from his game it was the lack of goals, as evidenced by cries of "shoot" from Leeds fans when Batty received the ball anywhere within the opponents half.[citation needed]
In October 1993 Leeds managerHoward Wilkinson needed funds to finance the rebuilding of his team, and reluctantly accepted an offer of £2.75 million for Batty fromBlackburn Rovers, who were managed byKenny Dalglish. Wilkinson used the funds to buyCarlton Palmer for £2.6 million eight months later.[8]
At this point Blackburn were an emerging force in the newly createdPremier League with players such asAlan Shearer andChris Sutton. He suffered a broken foot which ruled him out of the majority of Blackburn's title-winning campaign in1994–95, only playing five games for them that season. He refused a winners medal at the end of the season, stating that his contribution had been minimal.[9] By the following season Batty was available to help Blackburn'sChampions League campaign. However, the team failed to reach the lucrative knock-out stages; Batty's contribution to the campaign is best remembered for an incident involving himself and his teammateGraeme Le Saux, when they started fighting each other during the Champions' League game againstSpartak Moscow.[10]
In 1996 Batty requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers, and moved toKevin Keegan'sNewcastle United for £3.75 million.[11]
With Batty providing midfield bite and cover for the defence, Newcastle were able to challenge the dominant team of the day,Manchester United; Newcastle finished up as runners-up in the league to Manchester United twice (1995–96 and1996–97). Keegan commented that it was not until he worked on the training ground with Batty on a daily basis that he realised just how good a player he was.[citation needed] Batty's work-rate, tackling and unselfish play for the good of the team, therefore allowing the more skilful ball-players to perform, were appreciated by manager, colleagues and fans alike.[citation needed] His first full-season at St. James' Park saw the departure of Keegan, with Kenny Dalglish taking over and guiding the club to another runners-up spot. However, the1997–98 season was a disappointing one, as Newcastle could only finish 13th. They did however reach the1998 FA Cup Final, in which Batty started. The arrival of new managerRuud Gullit in August 1998 marked the start of a team rebuild, and Batty made the move back to Leeds United in December 1998 for £4.4 million.[citation needed]
Batty rejoined a resurgent Leeds team under the management ofDavid O'Leary; O'Leary wanted Batty to provide bite and experience for his youthful side. A rib injury picked up in his first game kept him on the sidelines for some time, but by the end of the1998–99 season he was a regular in the Leeds team. However, in the early part of the1999–2000 season he suffered anAchilles tendon injury, and recovery was lengthened by side effects of the drugs he had to take for the heart problems he suffered as a result of the earlier rib injury.[citation needed] This caused him to missEuro 2000.[citation needed]
Batty's experience was a key factor in Leeds qualification for theUEFA Champions League, and the cup runs to the semi-finals of both theUEFA Cup and the Champions League; however, when O'Leary was sacked by Leeds in 2002 Batty found himself out of favour with subsequent managers, and in May 2004 he was released by Leeds and retired from football.[12] He was injured in a game against former club Newcastle United on 7 January 2004. This would turn out to be the final game of his career.[13]
Batty's performances for Leeds resulted in him making his England debut underGraham Taylor in the 3–0 win against theSoviet Union in May 1991, aged 22. At the time of the1998 FIFA World Cup, Batty was an England regular underGlenn Hoddle, but made limited starts in the four matches England competed in and was notable, along withPaul Ince, for missing a penalty againstArgentina which prevented the team from advancing to the quarter-finals.[14] In all Batty gained 42 caps, making his final appearance for England in the 0–0 draw withPoland in 1999, where he wassent off in the 84th minute of the game.[15]
Since his retirement Batty has featured in 'The Match', in which a team of former professionals faced a team of celebrities in a charity match staged at Newcastle'sSt James' Park ground.[16]
After retirement, some of Batty's former teammates includingAlan Shearer andJeff Kenna have commented that they didn't think Batty really liked football and that he had no real interest in it, only playing the sport because he was good at it. Shearer commented that he never studied the game or watched other games and that he was always the last one into training and the first one to leave, but regardless of this he was a fierce competitor. Following his retirement in 2004, Batty shunned life in the limelight and was living inYorkshire, is rarely interviewed and rarely attends functions.[4] Due to Batty's life out of the media spotlightLes Ferdinand recalled rumours that Batty was aSuperbike champion under another name or that he was living in acaravan inFiley but stated "The reality is a little more mundane: Batty is simply enjoying a low-key retirement with his family in Yorkshire as he always planned to."[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Leeds United | 1987–88 | Second Division | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 1988–89 | Second Division | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Second Division | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91 | First Division | 37 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | First Division | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 40 | 1 | |
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 211 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 257 | 4 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1993–94 | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Total | 54 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 1 | ||
| Newcastle United | 1995–96 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 32 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | — | 47 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 83 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 114 | 4 | ||
| Leeds United | 1998–99 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 90 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | — | 116 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 438 | 8 | 30 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 558 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1991 | 7 | 0 |
| 1992 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 0 | |
Leeds United
Newcastle United
Individual
England squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
