Dai Astley

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Dai Astley

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = David John Astley

| birth_date = {{birth date|1909|10|11|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dowlais, Wales

| death_date = {{death date and age|1989|11|7|1909|11|7|df=y}}

| death_place = Birchington-on-Sea, England{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Neilson |title=VE Day WW2 players as at May 2020 |url=https://www.leytonorient.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/VE-DAY-WW2-players-as-at-May-2020.pdf |access-date=18 July 2020 |pages=5–6}}

| position = Forward

| height = 5 ft 11 in{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-dispatch-football-guide-1936-vi-d/134505593/ |title=Villa have talent to succeed |newspaper=Sunday Dispatch Football Guide |location=London |date=23 August 1936 |page=vi |via=Newspapers.com}}

| years1 = 1927–1928

| years2 = 1928–1931

| years3 = 1931–1936

| years4 = 1936–1938

| years5 = 1938–1940

| years6 =

| years7 = 1946–1947

| clubs1 = Merthyr Town

| clubs2 = Charlton Athletic

| clubs3 = Aston Villa

| clubs4 = Derby County

| clubs5 = Blackpool

| clubs6 =

| clubs7 = Metz

| caps1 = 5

| caps2 = 96

| caps3 = 165

| caps4 = 93

| caps5 = 20

| caps6 =

| caps7 = 10

| goals1 = 3

| goals2 = 27

| goals3 = 92

| goals4 = 45

| goals5 = 6

| goals6 =

| goals7 = 2

| nationalyears1 = 1931–1938

| nationalteam1 = Wales

| nationalcaps1 = 13

| nationalgoals1 = 12

| manageryears1 = 1948

| manageryears2 = 1949–1950

| manageryears3 = 1950–1954

| manageryears4 = 1955–1957

| managerclubs1 = Internazionale

| managerclubs2 = Genoa

| managerclubs3 = Djurgården

| managerclubs4 = Sandvikens IF

}}

David John Astley (11 October 1909 – 7 November 1989) was a Welsh international footballer who played as an inside forward in The Football League in the 1920s and 1930s.{{Cite book |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |first=Michael |last=Joyce |publisher=Soccerdata |year=2004 |isbn=1-899468-67-6 }}

Club career

Dowlais-born Astley played for Merthyr Town, Charlton, Aston Villa, Derby County, Blackpool and Metz. He scored 92 goals for Aston Villa in 165 matches.

Astley made his league debut on 19 November 1927 against Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic. When Albert Lindon was appointed player-manager at Charlton Athletic in January 1928, he signed Astley for £100.{{Cite book |title=Merthyr Town A.F.C. 1908–1934 A history |first=Philip |last=Sweet |publisher=T.T.C Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-9539376-3-9}} Astley made his debut for Blackpool, then under the managership of Joe Smith, two-thirds of the way through the 1938–39 campaign, in a 1–1 draw with Sunderland at Bloomfield Road on 25 January 1939. He went on to make a further sixteen League appearances before the season's end, scoring six goals. In 1939–40, he appeared in the three League games that occurred prior to the competition being abandoned as a result of the outbreak of World War II.{{Cite book |title=Blackpool A Complete Record 1887–1992 |first=Roy |last=Calley |publisher=Breedon Books |year=1992 |isbn=1-873626-07-X }}

After the war, he joined Metz, where he spent a year.[http://www.playerhistory.com/player/2783/ playerhistory.com]

International career

He was capped 13 times for the Wales national football team, scoring on 12 occasions. He scored two goals in Wales' final match of the 1933 British Home Championship, a 4–1 victory over Ireland which gave Wales the title.{{cite web|title=1930's Month: When Wales Ruled Britannia|url=http://equaliserfootball.com/2011/01/25/wales-britchamp/|publisher=The Equaliser|access-date=9 August 2011|date=25 January 2011|archive-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925070847/http://equaliserfootball.com/2011/01/25/wales-britchamp/|url-status=dead}}

Management

Astley managed Djurgården and Sandvikens IF{{Cite web|url=http://www4.idrottonline.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=128827|title=Tränare genom åren|access-date=6 November 2010|archive-date=22 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722205645/https://www4.idrottonline.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=128827|url-status=dead}} in Sweden from 1950 to 1954 and from 1955 to 1957, as well as Inter Milan during 1948 and Genoa in 1949.