David Cork (footballer, born 1962) explained

David Cork
Fullname:David Cork
Birth Date:28 October 1962
Birth Place:Doncaster, England
Height:[1]
Youthyears1:1978–1980
Youthclubs1:Arsenal
Years1:1980–1984
Caps1:7
Goals1:1
Years2:1980
Clubs2:GAIS (loan)
Caps2:6
Goals2:0
Years3:1985–1988
Caps3:110
Goals3:5
Years4:1988
Clubs4:West Bromwich Albion (loan)
Caps4:4
Goals4:0
Years5:1988–1989
Caps5:15
Goals5:0
Years6:1989–1992
Caps6:105
Goals6:25
Years7:1992
Caps7:6
Goals7:0
Clubs8:Worksop Town

David Cork (born 28 October 1962) is an English former professional footballer who made 200 appearances in the Football League for Arsenal, Huddersfield Town, West Bromwich Albion, Scunthorpe United and Darlington in the 1980s and early 1990s.[2] He played as a forward or midfielder.

Career

David Cork was born on 29 October 1962 in Doncaster, in what was then the West Riding of Yorkshire. He played representative football at district and county schools level, and had a trial with his home-town club, Doncaster Rovers, before signing schoolboy forms with Arsenal in 1978. He turned professional in 1980,[3] and the same year spent time on loan at Swedish second-tier club GAIS.[4] Mainly a reserve-team player during his time at Arsenal, Cork helped them win the Football Combination title in 1983–84. He made his first-team debut on 17 December 1983 against Watford in the First Division, a game Arsenal won 3–1. He made eight appearances in the 1983–84 season, the last of which was against Liverpool on 11 February 1984, and scored once, against Southampton in December 1983. He did not play a single first-team match during the 1984–85 season and was released in the summer of 1985.[5]

Cork signed for Second Division club Huddersfield Town, under the management of Mick Buxton. He made his debut in the opening match of the season, scored Huddersfield Town's 4000th league goal a week later (with help from the opposing goalkeeper),[6] [7] and finished the season with eight goals from 38 league appearances. Two of his nine goals in the 1986–87 season came in a 3–0 win at home to Millwall in the final fixture, which Huddersfield had needed to win to be sure of avoiding relegation.[8] Against a background of changes at managerial and board level, the team spent much of 1987–88 in the relegation places. Cork played in the club-record 10–1 loss to Manchester City, and was transfer-listed at his own request in March 1988.[9] [10]

He spent a month on loan to West Bromwich Albion of the Second Division in September and October 1988, and had a trial with First Division Norwich City later in the year, before joining Mick Buxton at Scunthorpe United in February 1989 on a non-contract basis.[3] He made 15 Fourth Division appearances as Scunthorpe fell just short of automatic promotion, and played in both legs of the play-off semi-final defeat to Wrexham.[11]

Cork then moved into non-league football with Darlington. He missed only one match as Darlington won the 1989–90 Conference title and with it promotion to the Fourth Division,[12] and scored 12 league goals, including an eight-minute hat-trick against Boston United for whose second element he variously "wrong-footed", "cut inside" and "bamboozled" opponents "and sent his shot into the net from the narrowest of angles".[13] Manager Brian Little said he "always loved Corky, he would always be able to do something different". He helped them gain a second successive promotion, scoring in the last match of the 1990–91 season, a 2–0 win against Rochdale that confirmed Darlington as champions, but in 1991–92 his contribution was not enough to prevent their relegation from the Third back to the Fourth. He spent the beginning of the following season with Boston United in the Conference,[14] and then played for Worksop Town.

In 2013, Cork was living in Doncaster, where he worked as a machinist for an aluminium manufacturer.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal1982–83[15] First Division0000000000
1983–84First Division71100071
1984–85First Division00000000
Total7110000081
Huddersfield Town1985–86[16] Second Division3882020428
1986–87Second Division36921424212
1987–88Second Division3683030428
1988–89Third Division0000000000
Total11025719212628
West Bromwich Albion (loan)1988–89Second Division4040
Scunthorpe United1988–89Fourth Division15020170
Darlington1989–90[17] Football Conference411251545117
1990–91Fourth Division3481042304210
1991–92Third Division303102010343
Total1052371629412730
Boston United1992–93[18] Football Conference6060
Career total2474915215411428859

Honours

Arsenal Reserves

Darlington

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jack . Rollin . Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 . Queen Anne Press . London . 1990 . 221 . 0-356-17911-7.
  2. Web site: David Cork . UK A–Z Transfers . Neil Brown . 20 June 2021.
  3. Book: Matthews, Tony . Who's Who of Arsenal . Mainstream . Edinburgh . 2007 . 72–73 . 978-1-84596-232-6.
  4. Web site: 1980 . Swedish . gais.nu . 20 June 2021.
  5. Book: Harris, Jeff . Tony . Hogg . Arsenal Who's Who . Independent UK Sports Publications . London . 1995 . 258 . 978-1-899429-03-5.
  6. Web site: Kache grabs landmark Town goal . Ceara . Best . Huddersfield Town A.F.C. . 11 February 2020 . 20 June 2021.
  7. News: Round up . Bob . Houston . The Observer . London . 25 August 1985 . 32 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Vital time for Joey's only Town goal . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 24 July 2004 . 4 . Gale OneFile: News . 23 June 2021 . subscription.
  9. News: When Manchester City thrashed Huddersfield 10–1 at Maine Road . Steven . Pye . The Guardian . London . 19 August 2018 . 21 June 2021.
  10. News: Huddersfield lose chairman Fielding . The Times . London . 12 March 1988 . 41 . subscription.
  11. Web site: The Iron Alphabet . Scunthorpe United F.C. . https://web.archive.org/web/20071222085648/http://www.scunthorpe-united.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0,,10442~1035625,00.html . 22 December 2007.
  12. Web site: Pic from the Past – 1989 . Ray . Simpson . Darlington F.C. . 14 June 2018 . 21 June 2021.
  13. News: Corking night for Quakers . Nick . Helliwell . The Northern Echo . 14 January 1990., cited at Web site: The story of the 1989–90 season part 3 . Ray . Simpson . Darlington F.C. . 16 August 2020 . 21 June 2021.
  14. Web site: Boston United Roll Call . Boston United FC – the original website . Ken Fox . 21 June 2021.
  15. Web site: Arsenal First Team Line-ups . The Arsenal History . Andy Kelly . 21 June 2021.
  16. Web site: Player search: Cork, D (David) . English National Football Archive . 21 June 2021 . subscription.
  17. Book: Tweddle, Frank . The Definitive Darlington F.C. . SoccerData . Nottingham . 2000 . 86 . 978-1-899468-15-7.
  18. Web site: Boston United's Season 1992/3 . Boston United FC – the original website . Ken Fox . 21 June 2021.
  19. Web site: David Cork . Arsenal F.C. . 20 June 2021.
  20. Web site: Where are they now? Darlington 1989–90 Conference Champions . The Non-League Paper . 7 June 2013 . 20 June 2021.
  21. News: Winning titles and getting stuck in, Brian Little looks back on his terrific days with Darlington . Craig . Stoddart . The Northern Echo . 5 December 2018 . 21 June 2021.