 Kitson warming up forReading in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Barry Kitson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-01-21)21 January 1980 (age 45) | ||
| Place of birth | Hitchin, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Maidenhead United Women (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1997 | Hitchin Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2000 | Hitchin Town | 2 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Arlesey Town | ||
| 2001–2003 | Cambridge United | 102 | (40) |
| 2003–2008 | Reading | 135 | (54) |
| 2008–2010 | Stoke City | 34 | (3) |
| 2009 | →Reading (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2009 | →Middlesbrough (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2010–2012 | Portsmouth | 68 | (12) |
| 2012–2013 | Sheffield United | 33 | (11) |
| 2013–2014 | Oxford United | 32 | (4) |
| 2014–2015 | Arlesey Town | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 422 | (129) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2025– | Maidenhead United Women | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer.
Kitson began his career with non-leagueHitchin Town andArlesey Town before he joinedCambridge United in 2001 and became one of the brightest prospects in the Third Division, which led to him being signed byReading in 2003 for a fee of £150,000.
He was part of Reading'sChampionship title winning team that gained promotion to thePremier League for the first time in 2006, with a record 106 points. After two seasons in the top flight Reading were relegated and Kitson signed forStoke City for a club record fee of £5.5 million.[3]
He had loan spells with Reading andMiddlesbrough before joiningPortsmouth. He spent two seasons atFratton Park but his contract with Portsmouth was cancelled in August 2012 with the club in danger of beingliquidated, and he subsequently joinedSheffield United on a short term deal, before signing a two-year contract atOxford United in June 2013.
After playing non-league football for Hitchin Town and Arlesey Town, Kitson joined Cambridge United, then in Division Two, in 2001 after being recommended by agentBarry Silkman to U's managerJohn Beck.
He made his debut in 3–2 victory away overStoke City on 17 March 2001.[4] On the final day of the same season, Kitson notched his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw atSwansea City.[4]
The following season saw the club relegated from League One but Kitson scored 10 goals,[5] finishing as the club's second-top goalscorer, one behindTom Youngs.
In the 2002–03 season, Kitson scored 25 goals, falling two goals short ofDavid Crown's club record of 27 goals in a season.[6] After 11 goals in 19 appearances at the start of the 2003–04 season,[7] Kitson left to join Reading, having scored 47 goals in 123 appearances in all competitions for Cambridge.[2][8]
Kitson was sold toReading on 26 December 2003, for afee of £150,000.[9]
He scored five goals in 10 starts in his first season.[7] In the2005–06 season, despite injury he went on to record an impressive goals-to-game ratio, and continued to do so as Reading won theChampionship title with a record 106 points.
Following promotion with Reading, Kitson scored the club's first Premier League goal in their 3–2 home win againstMiddlesbrough on the opening day of the2006–07 season,[10] but was then badly injured later in the same match.[11] The injury kept him out of the game until Reading'sFA Cup victory overBirmingham City on 27 January 2007.[12]
On 27 March 2007, he committed his future to Reading, signing a new deal until June 2010.[13]
In Reading's first Premier League game of the2007–08 season, Kitson was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute againstManchester United at Old Trafford, for a challenge onPatrice Evra.[14]
On 18 July 2008, Kitson moved in a £5.5m move from Reading toStoke City, breaking Stoke's record transfer fee.[15]
Speculation soon arose as to whether Kitson was settled at Stoke, as he struggled to adapt to the side's style of play after being played out of position by managerTony Pulis.
As a result, he failed to score any goals in any of the 18 competitive games he played for Stoke City in the 2008–09 season.[16]
Chairman Peter Coates and Pulis denied any rumour that he might be leaving theBritannia Stadium.[17] He rejoined Reading on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season on 10 March 2009.[18]
Kitson later revealed that he made the "wrong decision" in joining Stoke, adding that he and his family were happy at Reading and that "I threw all of that away for what I thought was going to be a new challenge... I hold my hands up – it was my fault. I made the decision to go to Stoke, I didn't have to, no-one forced me to go, and it was a bad decision."
Addressing his lack of goals for Stoke, he said "I'd been bought for a lot of money but I wasn't sure I was being utilised in the way I thought I was going to be... You do have some days at training when you go back in and wonder what you're doing there."[19]
However, Reading failed to gain promotion, meaning that Kitson returned to Stoke. Kitson stated that he would "start his Stoke career again".[20]
His first competitive goal for Stoke came in a 1–0League Cup win atLeyton Orient on 26 August 2009.[21]
He scored his first league goal for Stoke on 29 August 2009, which proved to be the winning goal againstSunderland and then scored again with a goal againstBolton Wanderers.[21]
However Kitson lost his place to James Beattie and joinedMiddlesbrough on a two-month loan.[22]
He scored his first goals for Middlesbrough when he scored a brace against Peterborough United on 28 November 2009.[21]
He returned to Stoke on 1 January 2010. He scored in the FA Cup againstManchester City andBolton Wanderers.[21]
Kitson joinedPortsmouth withLiam Lawrence on deadline day as part of a deal which sawMarc Wilson join Stoke City.[23] Kitson made his Portsmouth debut on 11 September 2010 in a 0–0 draw withIpswich atFratton Park.[24] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 defeat at Crystal Palace on 14 September 2010 and a further 2 goals in a 6–1 win overLeicester at Fratton Park on 24 September 2010.[24] In his first season, Kitson made 39 appearances and scored 8 goals.[24]
In his second season, Kitson was frequently left out of the squad, beforeSteve Cotterill left the club to become manager ofNottingham Forest. Kitson experienced a dip in form and was dropped to the bench by Cotterill's successorMichael Appleton. Kitson registered his first Portsmouth goal since October 2011 atDoncaster Rovers with a 90th minute equaliser, beforeMárkó Futács scored in stoppage time to secure a 4-3 win,[25] which kept Portsmouth in the division for at least one more week and confirmed Doncaster's relegation. Kitson left the club in August 2012.[26]
On 31 August 2012, Kitson joined Sheffield United on a short-term deal.[27] He made his debut on 15 September 2012, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 1–1 draw withBury.[28] His first goal for the Blades came in a 1–1 draw againstNotts County atBramall Lane on 29 September 2012.[28]
On 16 November 2012 Kitson extended his contract until the end of the season, stating that "It wouldn't have sat comfortably with me to leave a job half done after integrating myself into a great squad... I still would like to go to America but we will revisit that at a later date because the aim is to have a good crack at winning promotion here."[29]
Kitson played regularly for the remainder of the season, making 37 appearances in total and scoring 11 goals,[30] but with the Blades failing to gain promotion he was released when his contract expired in June 2013.[31]
On 27 June 2013, Kitson joinedLeague Two clubOxford United, signing a two-year contract.[32][33] He scored four league goals in his only season at the club.[34] On 22 July 2014 Kitson announced his decision to retire from playing professional football.[35]
In December 2014, Kitson returned toArlesey Town, but left in February 2015.[36][37][38]
Kitson launched The Dave Kitson Academy in October 2023, but it was dissolved in April 2025.[39]
In March 2024, it was announced that Kitson was set to manage theNauru national team for their first ever game. Then, in June 2024, it was announced that he was planning for Nauru to take onReading XL, a team made up of overweight footballers based in Reading, in the nation's first game. However, Kitson's role with Nauru and the game against Reading XL did not materialise.[40][41]
In June 2025, it was announced that Kitson had been appointed as manager of Maidenhead United Women.[42]
Kitson was born inHitchin,Hertfordshire and worked forSainsbury's as a shelf stacker prior to becoming a professional footballer.[43]
In 2008, Kitson was arrested and subsequently banned from driving for 18 months after failing to provide a breath test.[44]
Kitson caused controversy in December 2018 when, during aTalksport interview, he said that "players make themselves a target" following racist abuse ofRaheem Sterling.Tyrone Mings pulled out of a planned TalkSport interview in protest at Kitson's comments.[45]
In May 2020, Kitson came in for criticism following his announcement that he wanted to become chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, with the chairman of Kick It Out questioning his anti-racism credentials and three black players attacking the former Reading striker for his comments about Sterling.[46][47]
He has revealed that he wanted to give up playing football in his 20s and believes he should have retired after being part of the Reading side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2006. He said: "I should have stopped right there and then. I would have been a much happier person." He also admitted that he "still takes an awful lot of medication to get through the day".[48]
He has been written about as being a 'leading contender' as the former Premier League player behindThe Secret Footballer series ofGuardian columns and books.[49][50]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hitchin Town | 1997–98[51] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1998–99[51] | Isthmian League First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Cambridge United | 2000–01[4] | Second Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 2001–02[5] | Second Division | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 41 | 10 | |
| 2002–03[6] | Third Division | 44 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4[c] | 3 | 55 | 25 | |
| 2003–04[7] | Third Division | 17 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 11 | |
| Total | 102 | 40 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 123 | 47 | ||
| Reading | 2003–04[7] | First Division | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 5 | |
| 2004–05[52] | Championship | 37 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 19 | ||
| 2005–06[53] | Championship | 34 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | — | 40 | 22 | ||
| 2006–07[10] | Premier League | 13 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08[14] | Premier League | 34 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 10 | ||
| Total | 135 | 54 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | 146 | 60 | |||
| Stoke City | 2008–09[16] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[21] | Premier League | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 5 | ||
| Total | 34 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 40 | 5 | |||
| Reading (loan) | 2008–09[16] | Championship | 10 | 2 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 12 | 2 | ||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2009–10[21] | Championship | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | |||
| Portsmouth | 2010–11[24] | Championship | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 8 | |
| 2011–12[25] | Championship | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| Total | 68 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 72 | 12 | |||
| Sheffield United | 2012–13[28] | League One | 33 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 37 | 12 |
| Oxford United | 2013–14[34] | League Two | 32 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 |
| Career total | 422 | 129 | 26 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 478 | 145 | ||
Cambridge United
Reading
Individual
