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David Batty

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For the antiques expert, see David Battie.

David Batty
Personal information
Full name David Batty[1]
Date of birth (1968-12-02) 2 December 1968 (age 55)[1]
Place of birth Leeds, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder[1]
Youth career
0000–1987 Leeds United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1993 Leeds United 211 (4)
1993–1996 Blackburn Rovers 54 (1)
1996–1998 Newcastle United 83 (3)
1998–2004 Leeds United 90 (0)
Total 438 (8)
International career
1988–1989 England U21 7 (1)
1989–1992 England B 5 (0)
1991–1999 England 42 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Batty (born 2 December 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Batty played for Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Whilst with Leeds he was part of the team that won the old Football League Second Division and the Football League First Division in its final year before the formation of the Premier League. He would go on to lift that title itself when he was part of the Blackburn team that won the League in 1995, but did not get a medal. In total he made 438 league appearances during a 17-year career, scoring eight goals. He was capped 42 times by the England national team, and represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1992 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Following retirement in 2004, Batty has lived his life away from the media spotlight and very rarely gives interviews about his career. It is well publicised by some of his former teammates that he cared very little for football and merely saw it as a job he did because he was good at it, as opposed to loving the sport.[3][4]

Club career

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Leeds United

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Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire,[5] Batty made his debut for Leeds in November 1987 as an 18-year-old during a 4–2 win over Swindon Town,[6] and quickly earned a reputation as a fiercely competitive midfielder in the mould of Leeds legend Billy Bremner. Perceived to be a bit lightweight, to build up Batty's strength Bremner would call him into his office every morning to drink sherry with a raw egg stirred into it.[7] Batty was a key member of the Leeds team that won promotion from the second division in 1989–90, and a member of a midfield which included Gary Speed, Gary McAllister and Gordon Strachan, when Leeds won the first division championship in 1991–92. As a tireless and sometimes ruthless forager of the ball there were few equals, but there was more to his game than simply breaking up opposition attacks; having won the ball, his distribution was excellent, making him the springboard for many counterattacks.[citation needed] If there was one aspect missing from his game it was the lack of goals, as evidenced by cries of "shoot" from Leeds fans when Batty received the ball anywhere within the opponents half.[citation needed]

In October 1993 Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson needed funds to finance the rebuilding of his team, and reluctantly accepted an offer of £2.75 million for Batty from Blackburn Rovers, who were managed by Kenny Dalglish. Wilkinson used the funds to buy Carlton Palmer for £2.6 million eight months later.[8]

Blackburn Rovers

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At this point Blackburn were an emerging force in the newly created Premier League with players such as Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. He suffered a broken foot which ruled him out of the majority of Blackburn's title-winning campaign in 1994–95, only playing five games for them that season. He refused a winners medal at the end of the season, stating that his contribution had been minimal.[9] By the following season Batty was available to help Blackburn's Champions League campaign. However, the team failed to reach the lucrative knock-out stages; Batty's contribution to the campaign is best remembered for an incident involving himself and his teammate Graeme Le Saux, when they started fighting each other during the Champions' League game against Spartak Moscow.[10]

In 1996 Batty requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers, and moved to Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United for £3.75 million.[11]

Newcastle United

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With Batty providing midfield bite and cover for the defence, Newcastle were able to challenge the dominant team of the day, Manchester United; Newcastle finished up as runners-up in the league to Manchester United twice (1995–96 and 1996–97). Keegan commented that it was not until he worked on the training ground with Batty on a daily basis that he realised just how good a player he was.[citation needed] Batty's work-rate, tackling and unselfish play for the good of the team, therefore allowing the more skilful ball-players to perform, were appreciated by manager, colleagues and fans alike.[citation needed] His first full-season at St. James' Park saw the departure of Keegan, with Kenny Dalglish taking over and guiding the club to another runners-up spot. However, the 1997–98 season was a disappointing one, as Newcastle could only finish 13th. They did however reach the 1998 FA Cup Final, in which Batty started. The arrival of new manager Ruud Gullit in August 1998 marked the start of a team rebuild, and Batty made the move back to Leeds United in December 1998 for £4.4 million.[citation needed]

Return to Leeds United

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Batty rejoined a resurgent Leeds team under the management of David O'Leary; O'Leary wanted Batty to provide bite and experience for his youthful side. A rib injury picked up in his first game kept him on the sidelines for some time, but by the end of the 1998–99 season he was a regular in the Leeds team. However, in the early part of the 1999–2000 season he suffered an Achilles tendon injury, and recovery was lengthened by side effects of the drugs he had to take for the heart problems he suffered as a result of the earlier rib injury.[citation needed] This caused him to miss the Euro 2000 Championships.[citation needed]

Batty's experience was a key factor in Leeds qualification for the UEFA Champions League, and the cup runs to the semi-finals of both the UEFA Cup and the Champions League; however, when O'Leary was sacked by Leeds in 2002 Batty found himself out of favour with subsequent managers, and in May 2004 he was released by Leeds and retired from football.[12] He was injured in a game against former club Newcastle United on 7 January 2004. This would turn out to be the final game of his career.[13]

International career

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Batty's performances for Leeds resulted in him making his England debut under Graham Taylor in the 3–0 win against the Soviet Union in May 1991, aged 22. At the time of the 1998 FIFA World Cup Batty was an England regular under Glenn Hoddle, but made limited starts in the four matches England competed in and was notable, along with Paul Ince, for missing a penalty saved by Carlos Roa which prevented the team from advancing to the quarter-finals.[14] In all Batty gained 42 caps, making his final appearance for England in the 0–0 draw with Poland in 1999, where he was sent off in the 84th minute of the game.[15]

Personal life

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Since his retirement Batty has featured in 'The Match', in which a team of former professionals faced a team of celebrities in a charity match staged at Newcastle's St James' Park ground.[16]

Since retirement, some of Batty's former teammates including Alan Shearer and Jeff Kenna have commented that they didn't think Batty really liked football and that he had no real interest in it, only playing the sport because he was good at it. Shearer commented that he never studied the game or watched other games and that he was always the last one into training and the first one to leave, but regardless of this he was a fierce competitor. Following his retirement in 2004, Batty shunned life in the limelight and was living in Yorkshire, he is rarely interviewed and rarely attends functions.[4] Due to Batty's life out of the media spotlight Les Ferdinand recalled rumours that Batty was a Superbike champion under another name or that he was living in a caravan in Filey but stated "The reality is a little more mundane: Batty is simply enjoying a low-key retirement with his family in Yorkshire as he always planned to."[3]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[17]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Leeds United 1987–88 Second Division 23 1 1 0 0 0 — 2[a] 0 26 1
1988–89 Second Division 30 0 1 0 3 0 — 1[a] 0 35 0
1989–90 Second Division 42 0 1 0 2 0 — 4[a] 0 49 0
1990–91 First Division 37 0 6 0 6 0 — 4[a] 0 53 0
1991–92 First Division 40 2 0 0 4 0 — 1[a] 0 45 2
1992–93 Premier League 30 1 3 0 2 0 4[b] 0 1[c] 0 40 1
1993–94 Premier League 9 0 — — — — 9 0
Total 211 4 12 0 17 0 4 0 13 0 257 4
Blackburn Rovers 1993–94 Premier League 26 0 4 0 2 0 — — 32 0
1994–95 Premier League 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
1995–96 Premier League 23 1 1 0 4 0 5[b] 0 1[c] 0 34 1
Total 54 1 5 0 6 0 5 0 1 0 71 1
Newcastle United 1995–96 Premier League 11 1 — — — — 11 1
1996–97 Premier League 32 1 3 0 2 0 7[d] 0 1[c] 0 45 1
1997–98 Premier League 32 1 6 1 2 0 7[b] 0 — 47 2
1998–99 Premier League 8 0 — 2 0 1[e] 0 — 11 0
Total 83 3 9 1 6 0 15 0 1 0 114 4
Leeds United 1998–99 Premier League 10 0 0 0 — — — 10 0
1999–2000 Premier League 16 0 0 0 2 0 4[d] 0 — 22 0
2000–01 Premier League 16 0 2 0 0 0 8[b] 0 — 26 0
2001–02 Premier League 36 0 1 0 1 0 6[d] 0 — 44 0
2002–03 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2003–04 Premier League 12 0 1 0 1 0 — — 14 0
Total 90 0 4 0 4 0 18 0 — 116 0
Career total 438 8 30 1 33 0 42 0 15 0 558 9
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in Full Members' Cup
  2. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b c Appearance in FA Charity Shield
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1991 7 0
1992 4 0
1993 3 0
1994 1 0
1995 2 0
1996 2 0
1997 8 0
1998 10 0
1999 5 0
Total 42 0

Honours

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Leeds United

Newcastle United

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c "David Batty". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. ^ "David Batty: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Ciaran Kelly (25 November 2022). "David Batty 'living life to full' and Newcastle and Leeds United favourite's fury at Pizza Hut". Chronicle. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b Alex James (14 May 2020). "The Blackburn Rovers title winner who didn't like football - the curious case of David Batty". LancsLive. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  5. ^ "David Batty". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Rewind to the 1980s". Leeds United F.C. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  7. ^ Swan, Peter; Collomosse, Andrew (2008), Swanny: Confessions of a Lower-League Legend, John Blake, ISBN 978-1-84454-660-2
  8. ^ Guy Hodgson (25 March 1994). "Football: Batty effect takes over at Blackburn: Guy Hodgson on the best and worst buys of the season". The Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  9. ^ Bill Borrows; talkSPORT (2 August 2012). The talkSPORT Book of Premier League Legends. Simon and Schuster. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1-84983-942-6.
  10. ^ "Le Saux and Batty shame Blackburn". The Independent. 23 November 1995. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  11. ^ Guy Hodgson (24 February 1996). "Batty finally set for Newcastle". The Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  12. ^ Walker, Graham (14 May 2004). "Six Departures Confirmed". Leeds United F.C. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Newcastle 1–0 Leeds". BBC Sport. 7 January 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  14. ^ David Batty Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  15. ^ "Archive:David Batty". The Football Association. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  16. ^ "Sky One:The Match". BSkyB. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  17. ^ David Batty at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  18. ^ "David Batty - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  19. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1992). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1992–93. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 282–283, 594. ISBN 978-0-7472-7905-1.
  20. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 302–303, 614. ISBN 978-0-356-17911-7.
  21. ^ Fox, Norman (8 August 1992). "Football / Charity Shield: Cantona offers no charity". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  22. ^ Moore, Glenn (18 May 1998). "Football: Gunners train sights on European glory". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  23. ^ Lynch, Tony (1995). The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. London: Random House. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-09-179135-3.
  24. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1997). The 1997–98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 317. ISBN 978-1-85291-581-0.
  25. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The 1998–99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-85291-588-9.
  26. ^ Mitchinson, Rory (16 May 2022). "Joelinton scoops Newcastle United Player of the Year award". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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