David Norris (footballer)

David Norris

Norris with Ipswich Town in 2010
Personal information
Full name	David Martin Norris
Date of birth	22 February 1981 (1981-02-22) (age 30)
Place of birth	Peterborough, England
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Portsmouth
Number	19
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Boston United	17	(8)
2000–2002	Bolton Wanderers	0	(0)
2000–2001	→ Boston United (loan)	5	(4)
2002	→ Hull City (loan)	6	(1)
2002	→ Plymouth Argyle (loan)	7	(1)
2002–2008	Plymouth Argyle	218	(26)
2008–2011	Ipswich Town	106	(13)
2011–	Portsmouth	17	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:52, 20 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

David Martin Norris (born 22 February 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship club Portsmouth as a midfielder, having previously played for Boston United, Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town.

Club career

Boston United

Having started his career at Stamford AFC, Norris followed manager Steve Evans to Boston United, which was a non-league club at the time. 'Nosher', as he was known,^{[citation needed]} was a popular goal-scoring midfielder and his performances soon attracted the attentions of league clubs. Bolton Wanderers paid Boston £50,000 for the 18-year old in February 2000.

Time at Bolton

Described by Sam Allardyce as "one for the future",^{[citation needed]} Norris found first team appearances very rare. He was loaned back to Boston within a month of signing to keep himself match fit. He was loaned once again in 2002 to Hull City, for a month, playing 6 games (3 as a sub) and scoring 1 goal. After only making 2 appearances for Bolton in the League Cup and FA Cup, he was loaned to Plymouth Argyle. He had his loan extended to the full three months and was then signed for a fee of £25,000 in October 2002.

Plymouth Argyle

He has since acquired the new nickname of "Chuck", and became an integral part of Argyle’s promotion to The Championship in 2004. At the end of the 2005/06 season Norris was named Plymouth Argyle Fans Player of the Season, scoring a goal in the 3–2 win over Sunderland in August.

Ipswich Town

In the January 2008 transfer window Ipswich Town had two bids rejected by the Plymouth board despite Norris handing in a transfer request. Ipswich lodged one final, increased bid which was finally accepted after brokering a deal with Bolton that would allow Plymouth to receive more than the 50% Norris' clause initially gave them. Norris finally signed for Ipswich Town on 31 January 2008 for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until 2011.

In November 2008 Norris was heavily criticised for a controversial goal celebration against Blackpool, interpreted as a show of support for jailed friend and former Plymouth goalkeeper Luke McCormick.^[1] McCormick was returning from Norris' wedding in June 2008 when he fell asleep at the wheel due to the effects of alcohol and caused the deaths of two young boys.^[2] He was sentenced to seven years and four months prison time in October of that year.^[3]

The family of the bereaved took offence at Norris' gesture and he was subsequently fined and warned by Ipswich.^[4] He was once again caught out when he told the Ipswich website^[5] he had not intended the celebration as a show of support to Luke McCormick and the statement was later changed by the club, adding further to the controversy. The statement now reads that the celebration was in fact a message to Luke McCormick. Later that week it was revealed that Norris was fined £25000 by Ipswich and would make a face-to-face apology to Phil and Amanda Peak (the parents of the two boys).^[6]

He scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw with Southampton away from home. In the summer of 2011 Norris turned down a new contract extension at Ipswich Town, with the club only prepared to offer him a two-year extension, a year short of the midfielders demands. With rival Championship club Leeds United heavily linked with signing him on a free transfer.^[7]

Portsmouth

On June 15, 2011 Norris signed for Portsmouth on a free transfer after turning down a new two year deal with Ipswich.^[8] On 6 August, in his debut league appearance for Portsmouth, he scored against Middlesbrough in a game which ended 2–2.^[9] He scored his second goal for Portsmouth in a match away at West Ham United, which ended 4–3 to the home team. At first it was believed that Benjani Mwaruwari had scored the goal, but replays later showed that Norris had already put the ball over the line when Benjani headed in the rebound.^[10] His first goal at Fratton Park came in a 2–0 home victory against Barnsley. With the match goalless, Erik Huseklepp headed the ball down to Norris, who volleyed it into the net from the edge of the penalty area.^[11]

International career

Norris qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland, through his mother, who has family in Kildare. Though he has never been selected to play for them, he was contacted by Steve Staunton (Irelands former manager) about playing.^[12]

Career statistics

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other 1		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Boston United
	1999–00	17	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	18	8
	2000–01	5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	4
	Total	22	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	23	12
Bolton Wanderers
	2000–01	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	2001–02	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
	Total	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	5	0
Hull City
	2001–02	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
	Total	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
Plymouth Argyle
	2002–03	33	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	36	6
	2003–04	45	5	1	0	1	0	1	0	48	5
	2004–05	35	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	3
	2005–06	44	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	46	2
	2006–07	41	6	5	1	1	0	0	0	47	7
	2007–08	27	5	1	0	2	0	0	0	30	5
	Total	225	27	11	1	5	0	1	0	242	28
Ipswich Town
	2007–08	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
	2008–09	37	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	41	3
	2009–10	24	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	25	1
	2010–11	36	8	1	0	6	3	0	0	43	11
	Total	105	13	4	0	8	3	0	0	112	15
Portsmouth
	2011–12	13	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	14	3
	Total	13	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	14	3
Career total		354	50	16	1	14	3	1	0	384	54

Updated to games played as of 27 August 2011.

^1 Football League Trophy

Honours

Club

Plymouth Argyle

• Football League Second Division: 2003–04

Individual

• Plymouth Argyle Player of the Year: 2005–06

References

1. ^ Guardian: Family of killed boys 'disgusted' by Norris goal celebration, Retrieved on 10 November 2008
2. ^ McGee, Simon (8 June 2008). "Drink-drive quiz for soccer star in motorway crash that killed two brothers aged eight and ten". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1024902/Drink-drive-quiz-soccer-star-motorway-crash-killed-brothers-aged-ten.html. Retrieved 8 June 2008. 
3. ^ "Footballer killed boys in crash". BBC News. 6 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7654430.stm. Retrieved 6 October 2008. 
4. ^ "Club fines 'handcuff' footballer". BBC News. 10 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/7720615.stm. Retrieved 2 January 2010. 
5. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
6. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Leeds United: Whites chase Ipswich Town skipper – Latest Whites News. Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved on 4 June 2011.
8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/9513682.stm
9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/14351907.stm
10. ^ http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/West-Ham-4-Pompey-3-2545.aspx
11. ^ http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Pompey-2-Barnsley-0-2674.aspx
12. ^ Plymouth Argyle – Norris Not Picked For Ireland, Retrieved on 17 December 2007

External links

• David Norris career stats at Soccerbase
• David Norris at Plymouth Argyle
• David Norris at Hull City

Persondata
Name	Norris, David
Alternative names
Short description	English footballer
Date of birth	22 February 1981
Place of birth	Peterborough, England
Date of death
Place of death