Perkins, David
Birth Date
21st June 1982
Birthplace
Heysham, Lancashire
Occupation
Midfielder
Biographical Text
A veteran of over 700 games for his various clubs David Perkins, then aged forty-two and member of Exeter City's coaching staff, made an unlikely debut as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur under-21s in the EFL Trophy in September 2024 to become the club's oldest-ever player in Football League competitions.
Born in nearby Heysham, he started his career at then non-league Morecambe in 2000. Playing around two hundred league and cup games for the Shrimps, he moved into the Football League with Rochdale in January 2007 several months before Morecambe beat the Grecians in a Wembley play-off to gain promotion from the Conference.Playing sixty league games in an eighteen-month stay at Spotland, David then spent three seasons with Colchester United during which time he was loaned to Chesterfield and Stockport County. A move to Barnsley followed in 2011 where he made a hundred league and cup appearances. Remaining in the Championship with Blackpool (for whom he started sixty-five league games) he then dropped down to League One to meet up with future Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell at Wigan Athletic. Winning promotion at the first attempt in 2016 and being voted the club's players' player of the season, David made close on a hundred first-team appearances for the Lancashire club before having a short spell back at Rochdale and a longer stint with Tranmere Rovers. He then joined AFC Fylde in 2020 and became increasingly involved in coaching alongside working in Blackpool's academy. Leaving the club in 2022, David briefly played for Bamber Bridge ahead of following Gary Caldwell to St James' Park in November 2022 as first-team coach and under-23s manager.
No longer regarded as a player David was nonetheless registered to play in emergencies and was was an unused substitute for the League One game at Reading on 1 January 2024. He later made an appearance in the friendly at Weston-super-Mare in July 2024 before coming on as a second-half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur under-21s in the EFL Trophy on 24 September 2024 to become the club's oldest-ever player in English Football League competition at the age of forty-two. Making his first appearance in an EFL competition since March 2020, David entered the field of play alongside his 15-year-old team mate Louie Cayless.
Born in nearby Heysham, he started his career at then non-league Morecambe in 2000. Playing around two hundred league and cup games for the Shrimps, he moved into the Football League with Rochdale in January 2007 several months before Morecambe beat the Grecians in a Wembley play-off to gain promotion from the Conference.Playing sixty league games in an eighteen-month stay at Spotland, David then spent three seasons with Colchester United during which time he was loaned to Chesterfield and Stockport County. A move to Barnsley followed in 2011 where he made a hundred league and cup appearances. Remaining in the Championship with Blackpool (for whom he started sixty-five league games) he then dropped down to League One to meet up with future Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell at Wigan Athletic. Winning promotion at the first attempt in 2016 and being voted the club's players' player of the season, David made close on a hundred first-team appearances for the Lancashire club before having a short spell back at Rochdale and a longer stint with Tranmere Rovers. He then joined AFC Fylde in 2020 and became increasingly involved in coaching alongside working in Blackpool's academy. Leaving the club in 2022, David briefly played for Bamber Bridge ahead of following Gary Caldwell to St James' Park in November 2022 as first-team coach and under-23s manager.
No longer regarded as a player David was nonetheless registered to play in emergencies and was was an unused substitute for the League One game at Reading on 1 January 2024. He later made an appearance in the friendly at Weston-super-Mare in July 2024 before coming on as a second-half substitute against Tottenham Hotspur under-21s in the EFL Trophy on 24 September 2024 to become the club's oldest-ever player in English Football League competition at the age of forty-two. Making his first appearance in an EFL competition since March 2020, David entered the field of play alongside his 15-year-old team mate Louie Cayless.
Collection
Files
Comments