Dave Hockaday
Encyclopedia
David "Dave" Hockaday is an English former professional footballer
who played as a right-back. He is currently first team manager at Conference National
club Forest Green Rovers.
, County Durham
, he started his career as a youth player with Billingham Synthonia
.
, then playing in the Second Division
. He made his first start for the Tangerines on 25 September 1976, in a 1-0 home loss to Chelsea
. Aside from a League Cup
second-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday
, he sat out the entire 1977-78
campaign, but the following season
he became a more regular first-team player as Blackpool slid down the leagues. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 loss at Colchester United
on 30 September 1978, and, later that season, scored both goals in Blackpool's 2-1 victory at Lincoln City
.
Also on 30 September, this time in 1981, Hockaday was amongst the scorers in Blackpool's 7-1 rout of Halifax Town
at Bloomfield Road
.
In his final season in Lancashire
, he made 40 league appearances and scored eight goals, but was unable to prevent Blackpool from finishing fourth from bottom and needing to seek re-election. In his eight seasons at Blackpool he made over 190 first-team appearances, scoring 27 goals.
side Swindon Town
. He was a solid, dependable right-back and was part of the team managed by Lou Macari
that gained the Fourth Division championship in the 1985-86 season, following this with promotion to Division Two in 1986-87. In 1988-89 Swindon reached the Second Division
play-offs
but failed in their attempt to gain promotion to the top flight. In 1989-90 Swindon won the Second Division play-off final but Sunderland
were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities. Swindon were initially demoted to the Third Division and replaced by Tranmere Rovers
, the division's losing play-off finalists, but this decision was later reversed on appeal.
In September 1990, Hockaday moved to Hull City
for a fee of £50,000 having made 308 appearances for Swindon, with 11 goals.
(where he helped them to the Division Two championship), he moved to Shrewsbury Town
. He was a member of the Shrewsbury team who won the Division Three championship at the end of his first season, before he dropped out of league football, moving to Cirencester Town
in 1995.
In his Football League career, which spanned twenty years, he won three league titles and gained two further promotions via the play-offs and was only denied the chance to play in the top flight because of financial irregularities outside his control.
. The Cirencester Football Academy was created in conjunction with the local Sixth Form College. The Academy team soon built up a nation-wide reputation by winning the National College Championship. Subsequently, his concept of a football academy has been adopted by most major clubs in England.
He was head-hunted for many jobs at league clubs and universities and in 2000 joined Graham Taylor
at Watford
as their Under 18 coach.
, Tommy Smith, Darren Ward, Ashley Young and Alhassan Bangura
. In 2005 he was elevated to first-team coach and helped the Hornets to promotion to the Premier League in 2006 on a tiny budget with half the team home grown.
In January 2007, as Watford struggled to avoid relegation, he was sacked by manager Adrian Boothroyd
and replaced by Malky Mackay
allegedly after complaints by a delegation of senior players about the team’s style of play
He then joined Martin Allen at MK Dons, helping them to reach the League Two play-offs. In May 2007, Martin Allen moved to Leicester City
and on 6 June it was announced that Hockaday would be joining the Leicester City coaching staff.
On 19 June 2007, it was announced that he would be joining Southampton
as youth team coach replacing Georges Prost, however he was put on Gardening Leave in January 2009 and was released from his contract in May of that year.
Hockaday again linked up with Martin Allen at his new club Cheltenham Town
for a short period before leaving when John Schofield was appointed as the club's assistant manager.
Hockaday led Forest Green Rovers to the third round of the FA Cup
in his debut season as a manager after overcoming Bath City in the second round. Rovers were knocked out in the third round however by League Two outfit Notts County meaning Forest Green missed out on the chance to face Premier League opposition in the shape of Wigan Athletic.
His first season as manager ended with relegation from the Conference National
. However, Forest Green were reinstated following Salisbury City
's failing in their appeal against demotion from the Conference for financial irregularities.
Hockaday was awarded a new one-year contract for the 2010-11 season, despite suffering a relegation in his first season with the club.
In his second season as Rovers boss, Hockaday led Forest Green to last day safety on goal difference, avoiding relegation to the Conference South
following a final day 2-1 loss away at Tamworth
.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played as a right-back. He is currently first team manager at Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
club Forest Green Rovers.
Playing career
Born in SedgefieldSedgefield
Sedgefield is a small town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It has a population of 4,534.Sedgefield has attracted particular attention as the Member of Parliament for the wider Sedgefield constituency was the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; he was the area's MP from 1983 to 2008,...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, he started his career as a youth player with Billingham Synthonia
Billingham Synthonia F.C.
Billingham Synthonia F.C. is a football club based in Billingham, England. They were established in 1923, playing first in the Teesside League, and joining the Northern League in 1945. In the 1993–94 season, they reached the Quarter-Finals of the FA Trophy, in a run which included victories over...
.
Blackpool
In June 1975, aged 17, he joined BlackpoolBlackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
, then playing in the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. He made his first start for the Tangerines on 25 September 1976, in a 1-0 home loss to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. Aside from a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
second-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, he sat out the entire 1977-78
1977-78 in English football
The 1977–1978 season was the 98th season of competitive football in England, from August 1977 to May 1978:-First Division:Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side took on the First Division by storm, by winning the League Cup on 22 March and confirming themselves as league champions the following month...
campaign, but the following season
1978-79 in English football
-FA Cup:Manchester United had seemingly pulled off a remarkable comeback against Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final to make the score 2–2 after being two goals down, but a last-minute goal from Alan Sunderland saw Arsenal lift the trophy with a 3–2 scoreline...
he became a more regular first-team player as Blackpool slid down the leagues. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 loss at Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
on 30 September 1978, and, later that season, scored both goals in Blackpool's 2-1 victory at Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
.
Also on 30 September, this time in 1981, Hockaday was amongst the scorers in Blackpool's 7-1 rout of Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
at Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
.
In his final season in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, he made 40 league appearances and scored eight goals, but was unable to prevent Blackpool from finishing fourth from bottom and needing to seek re-election. In his eight seasons at Blackpool he made over 190 first-team appearances, scoring 27 goals.
Swindon Town
In June 1983, he moved on a free transfer to fellow Fourth DivisionFootball League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
side Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
. He was a solid, dependable right-back and was part of the team managed by Lou Macari
Lou Macari
Luigi "Lou" Macari is a Scottish former footballer and football manager of Italian descent.-Playing career:...
that gained the Fourth Division championship in the 1985-86 season, following this with promotion to Division Two in 1986-87. In 1988-89 Swindon reached the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
play-offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
but failed in their attempt to gain promotion to the top flight. In 1989-90 Swindon won the Second Division play-off final but Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities. Swindon were initially demoted to the Third Division and replaced by Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
, the division's losing play-off finalists, but this decision was later reversed on appeal.
In September 1990, Hockaday moved to Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
for a fee of £50,000 having made 308 appearances for Swindon, with 11 goals.
Hull City, Stoke City and Shrewsbury Town
At Hull City he saw relegation from the Second Division at the end of his first season. After three seasons, including a brief spell loan in 1993 to Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
(where he helped them to the Division Two championship), he moved to Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
. He was a member of the Shrewsbury team who won the Division Three championship at the end of his first season, before he dropped out of league football, moving to Cirencester Town
Cirencester Town F.C.
Cirencester Town is an English football club based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at the Corinium Stadium...
in 1995.
In his Football League career, which spanned twenty years, he won three league titles and gained two further promotions via the play-offs and was only denied the chance to play in the top flight because of financial irregularities outside his control.
Cirencester Town
In 1995 he established the first football academy in the country at CirencesterCirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
. The Cirencester Football Academy was created in conjunction with the local Sixth Form College. The Academy team soon built up a nation-wide reputation by winning the National College Championship. Subsequently, his concept of a football academy has been adopted by most major clubs in England.
He was head-hunted for many jobs at league clubs and universities and in 2000 joined Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (football manager)
Graham Taylor OBE is a football pundit, ex-football manager, and a former player. He is best known as the manager of the England national football team, as well as being manager of Watford, a club he took from the Fourth Division to the First in the space of five years, then from bottom of the...
at Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
as their Under 18 coach.
Coaching in the Football League
As Under 18 coach at Watford, Hockaday helped develop the careers of players such as Paul Robinson, Hameur BouazzaHameur Bouazza
Hamer Bouazza , first name sometimes misspelled as Hameur, is an Algerian footballer who currently plays for Millwall in the Football League Championship. He usually plays as a left winger, but can also play on the right....
, Tommy Smith, Darren Ward, Ashley Young and Alhassan Bangura
Alhassan Bangura
Alhassan "Al" Bangura is a Sierra Leone footballer who plays for Forest Green Rovers as a midfielder.He has played for the Sierra Leone national team and is notable for having been the victim of human trafficking when he was a teenager and also the subject of a deportation case in the United...
. In 2005 he was elevated to first-team coach and helped the Hornets to promotion to the Premier League in 2006 on a tiny budget with half the team home grown.
In January 2007, as Watford struggled to avoid relegation, he was sacked by manager Adrian Boothroyd
Adrian Boothroyd
Adrian Neil "Aidy" Boothroyd is an English former footballer and is currently managing Northampton Town after being sacked as manager of Coventry City on March 14, 2011. He was manager of Watford of the Championship until 3 November 2008...
and replaced by Malky Mackay
Malky Mackay
Malcolm George "Malky" Mackay is a Scottish football manager and former player, who played as a central defender. He is currently the manager of Cardiff City. Mackay began his playing career in Scottish football, with Queen's Park and Celtic. He joined English side Norwich City in 1998, remaining...
allegedly after complaints by a delegation of senior players about the team’s style of play
He then joined Martin Allen at MK Dons, helping them to reach the League Two play-offs. In May 2007, Martin Allen moved to Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and on 6 June it was announced that Hockaday would be joining the Leicester City coaching staff.
On 19 June 2007, it was announced that he would be joining Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
as youth team coach replacing Georges Prost, however he was put on Gardening Leave in January 2009 and was released from his contract in May of that year.
Hockaday again linked up with Martin Allen at his new club Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
for a short period before leaving when John Schofield was appointed as the club's assistant manager.
Forest Green Rovers
In September 2009 Hockaday became the first team manager at Forest Green Rovers. His first ever first team managerial position.Hockaday led Forest Green Rovers to the third round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
in his debut season as a manager after overcoming Bath City in the second round. Rovers were knocked out in the third round however by League Two outfit Notts County meaning Forest Green missed out on the chance to face Premier League opposition in the shape of Wigan Athletic.
His first season as manager ended with relegation from the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
. However, Forest Green were reinstated following Salisbury City
Salisbury City F.C.
Salisbury City Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire currently playing in the Conference South. They were formed in 1947 and play at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium...
's failing in their appeal against demotion from the Conference for financial irregularities.
Hockaday was awarded a new one-year contract for the 2010-11 season, despite suffering a relegation in his first season with the club.
In his second season as Rovers boss, Hockaday led Forest Green to last day safety on goal difference, avoiding relegation to the Conference South
Conference South
Conference South is one of the second divisions of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National...
following a final day 2-1 loss away at Tamworth
Tamworth F.C.
Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....
.