David Artell

Dave Artell

Personal information
Full name	David John Artell[1]
Date of birth	22 November 1980 (1980-11-22) (age 30)
Place of birth	Rotherham, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Centre-back
Club information
Current club	Crewe Alexandra
Number	5
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2003	Rotherham United	37	(4)
2002–2003	→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)	28	(1)
2003–2005	Mansfield Town	45	(5)
2005–2007	Chester City	80	(4)
2007–2010	Morecambe	110	(13)
2010–	Crewe Alexandra	24	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 16 January 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

David John "Dave" Artell (born 22 November 1980 in Rotherham) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Crewe Alexandra.

Playing career

The Rotherham years

David began his career with hometown club Rotherham United, making his Football League debut as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat by Swansea City in October 1999, his only appearance as the Millers were runners-up in Division Three. But the following season saw him enjoy a regular first-team spot as Rotherham surprisingly won a second successive promotion.

Sadly Artell was to not play for Rotherham again and he spent most of the 2002-03 on loan with Shrewsbury Town. Although this period saw Artell be part of the side that surprisingly knocked Premier League giants Everton out of the FA Cup, it was largely a bitterly disappointing season that ended with Shrewsbury suffering relegation due largely to a poor defensive record.

Mansfield, Chester and Morecambe

In the summer of 2003, Artell joined Mansfield Town, where he was to spend two years. The first saw Mansfield reach the Division Three play-off final in 2003-04, but Artell was to be an unused substitute - something that had frustratingly been the case for him in the closing weeks of the season. However, he regained his place under Keith Curle early the following season and followed him to Chester in the summer of 2005 for a nominal sum.

Artell was to also spend two years at Chester, as the imposing centre-half established cult-figure status with the fans due to his no-nonsense attitude, which regularly saw him playing through the pain barrier after getting injured in heavy challenges. He was voted runner-up in the club's player of the season awards to John Danby in 2006-07, having played regularly under Mark Wright during the season.

However, Artell's contract was not renewed by new manager Bobby Williamson in the summer of 2007 and he joined league newcomers Morecambe on a free transfer. In only his second competitive game for the club, he achieved hero status by scoring a late winner in a shock Carling Cup 2-1 success at neighbouring giants Preston North End. In his time with the Shrimps, he struck up an effective central defensive partnership with Morecambe legend Jim Bentley which helped the club achieve two 11th place finishes before making the Playoffs in 2009-2010. In the 2009-2010 play-off semi-final against Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. he netted the final goal ever for Morecambe at Christie Park.

However, Artell's was only offered a further one year contract extension Sammy McIlroy in the summer of 2010 and Artell opted, instead, to join Crewe Alexandra F.C. on a two year-deal.

Crewe Alexandra

On 16 June 2010 Artell signed for Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer.^[2] In early August 2011, he gave an interview to BBC Stoke, about Crewe's first game of the season against Swindon Town. He stated that he wanted to spoil Paolo Di Canio's first game in charge of Swindon, and give him a bitter taste of what League 2 is really like. Members of the Swindon Town faithful have vowed to give Artell some fearful abuse come August 6th when the game takes place.

Personal life

He is currently doing a degree in forensic biology at Chester College.^[3]

Honours

Rotherham United

• Division Two runners-up: 2000-01 (36 apps)
• Division Three runners-up: 1999-2000 (1 app)

Mansfield Town

• Division Three play-off finalists: 2003-04 (unused sub)

References

1. ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
2. ^ Defender David Artell signs for Crewe Alexandra
3. ^ "Artell on course for forensic degree". Football League. 2009-01-27. http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/LatestNewsDetail/0,,10794~1532976,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 

External links

• David Artell career stats at Soccerbase
• 'Double Signing' - Morecambe FC Official Website
• 'Morecambe Team's Jigsaw' - Morecambe Visitor

Persondata
Name	Artell, David
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	22 November 1980
Place of birth	Rotherham, England
Date of death
Place of death