David Puckett

{{Infobox football biography

| name = David Puckett

| image =

| fullname = David Charles Puckett

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|10|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Southampton, England

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/74 74] |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/74}}

| position = Forward

| youthyears1 = 1977–1978

| youthclubs1 = Southampton

| years1 = 1978–1986

| clubs1 = Southampton

| caps1 = 94

| goals1 = 14

| years2 = 1986–1989

| clubs2 = Bournemouth

| caps2 = 35

| goals2 = 14

| years3 = 1987–1988

| clubs3 = → Stoke City (loan)

| caps3 = 7

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 1988–1989

| clubs4 = → Swansea City (loan)

| caps4 = 8

| goals4 = 3

| years5 = 1989–1991

| clubs5 = Aldershot

| caps5 = 113

| goals5 = 50

| years6 = 1991–1992

| clubs6 = Bournemouth

| caps6 = 4

| goals6 = 0

| years7 = 1993–1994

| clubs7 = Woking

| caps7 = 25

| goals7 = 5

| years8 = 1997–1998

| clubs8 = Salisbury City

| caps8 =

| goals8 = 3

| years9 = 2011

| clubs9 = Lymington Town

| caps9 = 6

| goals9 = 1

| years10 = 2013–2014

| clubs10 = Totton & Eling

| caps10 = 15

| goals10 = 1

| totalcaps = 282

| totalgoals = 91

}}

David Charles Puckett (born 29 October 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played in The Football League for Aldershot, Bournemouth, Southampton, and Stoke City.{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=Simon|title=Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record|year=2000|publisher=Desert Island Books|isbn=1-874287-39-2}}

Playing career

Puckett began his career with Southampton during the 1970s and played nearly 100 games for them in the First Division between 1978 and 1986, scoring 14 times. However, he struggled to hold down a first team place and was transferred to Third Division side Bournemouth in 1986, helping them win that division's title and promotion to the Second Division a year later. During his time at Bournemouth he played on loan for Stoke City and Swansea City.

Puckett suffered a major knee injury while playing for the Dean Court side and was loaned to Aldershot in the 1988–89 season, scoring a hat-trick on his Third Division debut for the club, and was soon signed on a permanent basis, but was unable to save the Shots from relegation.

He made a total of 113 appearances for Aldershot in the league, scoring 50 goals, before returning to Bournemouth during the 1991–92 season, a few weeks before Aldershot went out of business and left the Football League.

The return to Bournemouth was Puckett's final contribution to senior football, as he made just four appearances for the club before hanging up his boots in professional football during 1992. He subsequently played for several non-league clubs in the south of England, including Salisbury City.{{Cite book |last=Thear |first=David |title=The Whites - Salisbury City F.C. the first 60 years 1947-2007 |last2=Walker |first2=Richard |last3=Waterhouse |first3=Peter |last4=Wood |first4=Peter |publisher=Citywhite Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=9780955417009 |pages=236–238}}

In 2011 Puckett signed for Wessex League club Lymington Town and on 26 November 2011 scored to become the league's oldest ever goalscorer at the age of 51.{{cite web | url=https://fulltime.thefa.com/statsForPlayer.html?selectedOrgStatRecordingTypeID_ForSort=&teamID=&selectedStatisticDisplayMode=3&personID=3210837&selectedSeasonID=3812550 | title=David Puckett player stats | Velocity Wessex Football League }}{{Cite web |url=http://wessexleague.co.uk/events/clubnews.html |title=Sydenhams Football League (Wessex) – |access-date=27 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127151644/http://wessexleague.co.uk/events/clubnews.html |archive-date=27 November 2011 |url-status=dead }} He later broke this record while playing for Totton & Eling when scoring at the age of 53 in February 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://nonleaguedaily.com/newsham-becomes-first-new-gladiators-signing-of-the-summer/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106050942/http://nonleaguedaily.com/newsham-becomes-first-new-gladiators-signing-of-the-summer/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=6 January 2018|title=Newsham becomes first new Gladiators signing of the summer | Non League Daily}} He made fifteen league appearances for Totton & Eling, scoring one goal.{{cite web | url=https://fulltime.thefa.com/statsForPlayer.html?selectedSeasonID=225445765&personID=3210837&selectedStatisticDisplayMode=3&selectedOrgStatRecordingTypeID_ForSort= | title=David Puckett player stats | Velocity Wessex Football League }}

On 21 May 2014 Puckett played a 4th division game in Iceland for Hvíti Riddarinn (The White Knights). Puckett was substituted in to the game in the 66th minute along with his son Bill who is one of two coaches of the team. The Knights won the game 2–0.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksi.is/mot/leikskyrsla/?Leikur=343264|title=Leikskýrsla: Hvíti riddarinn – Snæfell – Knattspyrnusamband Íslands|website=ksi.is}}

Coaching career

In July 2003, Puckett returned to Southampton as coach to the Saints academy, working with seven to 12-year-olds.{{cite web |url=http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2003/7/29/78792.html |title=Claridge Looks For Better Display |date=29 July 2003 |publisher=Bournemouth Daily Echo |accessdate=5 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022185746/http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2003/7/29/78792.html |archivedate=22 October 2009 }} In 2009, he was the Assistant Academy Manager, working with 12- to 16-year-olds.{{cite web|url=http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/AcademyContacts/|title=Academy contacts|publisher=Southampton F.C.|accessdate=5 April 2010|archive-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723181425/http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/AcademyContacts|url-status=dead}}

Career statistics

Source:{{ENFA}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|FA Cup !colspan="2"\|League Cup !colspan="2"\|Other{{ref label\|Other\|A

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

rowspan="2"|Club

!rowspan="2"|Season

!colspan="3"|League

!colspan="2"|FA Cup

!colspan="2"|League Cup

!colspan="2"|Other{{ref label|Other|A

}

!colspan="2"|Total

!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

|rowspan="7"|Southampton

|1980–81

|First Division

|7||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||7||0

|1981–82

|First Division

|17||3||0||0||1||0||0||0||18||3

|1982–83

|First Division

|24||3||0||0||3||1||0||0||27||4

|1983–84

|First Division

|18||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||18||3

|1984–85

|First Division

|13||1||1||0||3||0||0||0||17||1

|1985–86

|First Division

|15||4||2||0||5||1||2||0||24||5

!colspan="2"|Total

!94!!14!!3!!0!!12!!2!!2!!0!!111!!16

|rowspan="4"|Bournemouth

|1986–87

|Third Division

|19||10||2||3||2||0||1||3||24||15

|1987–88

|Second Division

|12||4||1||0||1||0||1||0||15||4

|1988–89

|Second Division

|4||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||5||0

!colspan="2"|Total

!35!!14!!3!!3!!4!!0!!2!!3!!44!!20

|Stoke City (loan)

|1987–88

|Second Division

|7||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||7||0

|Swansea City (loan)

|1988–89

|Third Division

|8||3||0||0||0||0||2||0||10||3

|rowspan="4"|Aldershot

|1988–89

|Third Division

|21||11||0||0||0||0||0||0||21||11

|1989–90

|Fourth Division

|46||18||1||0||4||3||3||1||54||22

|1990–91

|Fourth Division

|46||21||4||2||2||3||3||0||55||26

!colspan="2"|Total

!113!!50!!5!!2!!6!!6!!6!!1!!130!!59

|Bournemouth

|1991–92

|Third Division

|4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||4||0

!colspan="3"|Career Total

!261!!81!!11!!5!!22!!8!!12!!4!!306!!98

:A. {{note|Other}} The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup and Screen Sport Super Cup.

Honours

Southampton

Football League Division 1 Runners-up: 1983–84

Woking

FA Trophy: 1993–94{{cite news |first=Henry |last= Winter |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-fa-trophy-final-steele-has-edge-for-woking-1437593.html|title=Football / FA Trophy Final: Steele has edge for Woking |work=The Independent |date= 21 May 1994|access-date=25 May 2022}}

Lymington Town