Dave Merrington

David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professional footballer, manager and commentator. He served as a caretaker manager at Sunderland in 1978, and Leeds United in 1980. Merrington was manager of Southampton from 1995 until his dismissal in 1996.

Dave Merrington
Personal information
Full name David Robert Merrington
Date of birth (1945-01-26) 26 January 1945
Place of birth Newcastle, England[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1971 Burnley 98 (1)
Bristol City
Managerial career
1978 Sunderland (caretaker)
1980 Leeds United (caretaker)
1995–1996 Southampton
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Before his career as a coach, Merrington played as a defender, spending the majority of his playing career at Burnley before moving to Bristol City. Merrington later worked as a commentator for BBC Radio Solent. He retired from commentating in 2022.

Playing career

Merrington played for Burnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell as captain.[2] Whilst at Burnley, he was blighted continually by serious injuries.[2][3] He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching.[4]

Coaching career

Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland following the departure of Jimmy Adamson in 1978, and in 1980 he again took over from Adamson as caretaker manager (for 1 game only) at Leeds United.[5][6][7]

He became youth coach at Southampton in 1983, before taking over as manager for the 1995–96 season.[8] He was Premiership Manager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management.[9] Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded by Graeme Souness.[10] During the final weeks of the 1995–96 season, he guided Southampton to two crucial wins which played a big part in their survival - they first beat Manchester United (champions that season) 3–1 at The Dell, and then won their penultimate game 1–0 at Bolton Wanderers, a result which confirmed the other side's relegation.[11]

A year later he returned to the club as a coach under next manager Dave Jones but left again three years later after Jones was succeeded by Glenn Hoddle.[6] His next stop was a brief spell working as Walsall's first-team coach alongside manager Colin Lee in 2002, but later resigned due to personal reasons.[12]

Media career

Merrington worked for BBC Radio Solent, commentating on Southampton matches.[13] Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the 2021–22 season.[14][15]

Honours

Manager

Individual

References
  1. "Dave Merrington". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  2. "How Merrington made young Saints march". Lancashire Telegraph. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. "Burnley". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  4. "Swindon Town v Bristol City: Official Programme" (PDF). 2 October 1971. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. Rayner, Stuart (3 November 2017). "Sunderland's post-War caretaker managers: Assessing the men who minded the shop". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. Scholes, Tony (15 June 2015). "Dave Merrington". Clarets Mad. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  7. "CLARETS: Merrington relishes chance of Turf Moor return". Lancashire Telegraph. 19 May 1998. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. Moore, Glenn (21 October 1995). "Saint with an understanding of the sinners Southampton's trust in faith and reason". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  9. "Manager profile: David Merrington". Premier League. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. Duxbury, Nick (14 June 1996). "Merrington 'shocked' by Southampton dismissal". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. "Results Fixtures 1995-1996 Southampton - Southampton FC - Saints Mad". www.southampton-mad.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  12. "Walsall assistant Merrington resigns". Irish Examiner. 31 July 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. "Rickie Lambert backed for England by Dave Merrington - BBC Sport". BBC Sport.
  14. "Merrington ready for "emotional" last commentary". Southampton FC. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  15. "Southampton football pundit Dave Merrington retires". 23 May 2022. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
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