| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David John Bardsley | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-09-11)11 September 1964 (age 60) | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1983 | Blackpool | 45 | (0) |
| 1983–1987 | Watford | 100 | (7) |
| 1987–1989 | Oxford United | 74 | (7) |
| 1989–1998 | Queens Park Rangers | 253 | (4) |
| 1998–2000 | Blackpool | 64 | (0) |
| 2001 | Northwich Victoria | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 538 | (18) | |
| International career | |||
| 1983 | England Youth | 2 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | England | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David John Bardsley (born 11 September 1964) is an English football coach and former professionalfootballer.
As a player, he was adefender, playing in thePremier League forQueens Park Rangers. He also played in theFootball League withBlackpool,Watford andOxford United before finishing his career with non-league sideNorthwich Victoria. He was capped twice by theEngland national team.
After his retirement, he opened football schools in England and the United States and has previously worked forEredivise sideAFC Ajax as aFlorida-based coach for theirAmerican affiliate team.
Bardsley started withBlackpool in 1982 and subsequently moved toWatford in 1983 for £150,000 where he was noted for his pace, and played every game in Watford's run to the1984 FA Cup Final, where they eventually lost toEverton. He played 121 matches in all competitions for Watford, scoring nine goals.[2] In September 1987 Bardsley transferred toOxford United to replaceDavid Langan for a then club record of £265,000. He played 89 games for Oxford, scoring seven goals. In 1989 Bardsley completed a £500,000 move toQPR.[2]
Bardsley played in the QPR team of the early to mid-1990s that finished fifth in thePremier League in 1992–93, eighth in1993–94 and eighth in1995. He was part of the Premier League Team of the Year for 1992–93, the inaugural season of the Premier League.
After QPR's relegation from the Premier League in 1996, Bardsley suffered a potentially career-threatening Achilles tendon injury that kept him out for the best part of two seasons. He returned at the end of the 1997–98 season in the midst of a relegation battle underRay Harford's management. In total, he played 253 games in nine seasons for QPR, scoring four goals, helping keep QPR in Division One and the Premier League.[3]
Bardsley was released on a free transfer at the end of the 1997–98 season and returned to play for his first club, Blackpool.[4] After leaving Blackpool, he played for non-LeagueNorthwich Victoria.[3]
Bardsley's international career started at youth level, where he earned six England Youth International caps, before progressing to earn four England U21 caps. While at QPR, Bardsley was capped twice forEngland by his former club managerGraham Taylor during the 1992–93 season, playing againstSpain andPoland in a Friendly and a World Cup Qualifier respectively.[5][6]
After Northwich Victoria, Bardsley opened his own soccer schools. He subsequently moved to America and in March 2007BBC Sport reported that he was the director ofAjax's academy in Florida.[6] His schools subsequently ended their association with Ajax, but continued to coach a couple of teams until 2016.[3]
Individual