David Stephens

David Rhys Remington Stephens (born 8 October 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Boreham Wood. Stephens has previously played for Norwich City, Lincoln City and Hibernian. He has represented Wales at youth international levels up to and including the Wales under-21 team.

Not to be confused with David Stephen.
For other people named David Stephens, see David Stephens (disambiguation).

David Stephens
Stephens playing for Barnet in 2013
Personal information
Full name David Rhys Remington Stephens[1]
Date of birth (1991-10-08) 8 October 1991[1]
Place of birth Welwyn Garden City, England
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Boreham Wood
Number 6
Youth career
2004–2009 Norwich City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Norwich City 0 (0)
2010 → Lincoln City (loan) 3 (0)
2010–2012 Hibernian 23 (0)
2012–2015 Barnet 130 (2)
2015– Boreham Wood 204 (6)
2023 → Dulwich Hamlet (loan) 7 (0)
International career‡
2007–2008 Wales U17 11 (2)
2008–2010 Wales U19 7 (1)
2010–2012 Wales U21 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:35, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:59, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Club career

Youth team at Norwich City

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire,[1] Stephens joined Norwich City's Academy as a 13-year-old. He was initially preferred in a central midfield role, but is now primarily thought of as a central defender.

Professional career

Stephens signed a professional contract with Norwich in June 2009. His first team debut came on 6 October 2009, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Gillingham in the Football League Trophy.[2] On 19 March 2010, Stephens joined Football League Two side Lincoln City on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[3]

Stephens signed for Scottish Premier League team Hibernian on a three-year deal in July 2010.[4] Stephens made his debut for Hibs as a substitute in the opening day 3–2 win at Motherwell on 15 August.[2] He made 29 appearances in just over two years with Hibs.[5]

Stephens left Hibs on 31 August 2012 and signed for Football League Two club Barnet.[5][6] Stephens played regularly for Barnet, forming several different centre back partnerships throughout the course of the 2012–13 season. Stephens was voted Barnet's Player of the Season by supporters in 2012–13 and again in 2013–14. He is known to be both superstitious and a fan of Engelbert Humperdinck. Stephens stated in an interview that he listened to Humperdinck's 1969 hit The Way It Used to Be before every game and believed he would have a bad game without it. He cited Humperdinck as a major factor in him winning Barnet's player of the year award in consecutive seasons. After promotion in 2014–15, Stephens rejected a new deal at Barnet and left the club on 1 July 2015.[7] In October of that year, Stephens joined Boreham Wood.

In March 2023, Stephens joined National League South club Dulwich Hamlet on loan until the end of the season.[8]

International career

Stephens made his debut for the Wales under-17 side on 27 August 2007 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium,[9] before scoring his first goal for the side two days later as a substitute during a second 2–1 victory over Belgium.[10] Having established himself in the team, he featured in all three matches of the first qualifying round as well as in two matches of the elite round of qualifying for the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, scoring his second under-17 goal in a 1–1 draw with Slovenia.[11] He made his final appearance at under-17 level on 19 July 2008 in a 1–0 defeat to Sweden.[12]

Three months later, Stephen moved up to the Wales under-19 squad, being handed his debut in a 0–0 draw with Montenegro on 30 September 2008.[13] He was also part of the unsuccessful under-19 squads for the qualifying rounds of both the 2009 and 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, scoring his first goal at under-19 level on 8 November 2009 in a 3–1 win over Macedonia.[14] He made his debut at under-21 level on 10 August 2010 in a 1–1 draw with Malta.[2][15]

Honours
Barnet

Career statistics
As of 29 April 2023[16][17]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Norwich City 2009–10[18] League One 0000001[lower-alpha 1]010
Lincoln City (loan) 2009–10[18] League Two 3000000030
Hibernian 2010–11[19] Scottish Premier League 100000000100
2011–12[20] 160001000170
2012–13[21] 1000000010
Hibernian total 270001000280
Barnet 2012–13[21] League Two 42110001[lower-alpha 1]0441
2013–14[22] Conference Premier 46120—2[lower-alpha 2]0501
2014–15[23] 42031—00451
Barnet total 13026100301393
Boreham Wood 2015–16[24] National League 18130—1[lower-alpha 2]0221
2016–17[25] 21110—5[lower-alpha 2]0271
2017–18[26] 41130—5[lower-alpha 3]0451
2018–19[27] 36210—3[lower-alpha 4]0402
2019–20[28] 30110—1[lower-alpha 2]0321
2020–21[29] 12040—1[lower-alpha 2]0170
2021–22[30] 34050—3[lower-alpha 2]0420
2022–23[31] 12031—00151
Boreham Wood total 2046211—1902447
Dulwich Hamlet (loan) 2022–23 National League South 7000—0070
Career total 37182721023042210
  1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in the FA Trophy
  3. Two appearances in FA Trophy, three appearances in National League play-offs
  4. Two appearances in FA Trophy, one appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. "Gillingham 0–1 Norwich". BBC Sport. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  3. "Lincoln City sign Norwich City's David Stephens on loan". BBC Sport. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  4. "Promising Defender Agrees To Join". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  5. "Stephens Leaves Hibernian". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  6. "Barnet sign Hibernian defender David Stephens on free transfer". BBC Sport. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  7. David Stephens departs
  8. "Stephens Joins On Loan From The Wood". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. "Wales 2–1 Belgium". Football Association of Wales. 27 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  10. "Wales 2–1 Belgium". Football Association of Wales. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  11. "Slovenia 1–1 Wales". Football Association of Wales. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  12. "Sweden 1–0 Wales". Football Association of Wales. 19 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  13. "Wales 0–0 Montenegro". Football Association of Wales. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  14. "Macedonia 1–3 Wales". Football Association of Wales. 8 November 2009. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  15. "Malta 1–1 Wales". Football Association of Wales. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  16. David Stephens at Soccerbase
  17. "David Stephens". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  18. "Games played by David Stephens in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  19. "Games played by David Stephens in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  20. "Games played by David Stephens in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  21. "Games played by David Stephens in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  22. "Games played by David Stephens in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  23. "Games played by David Stephens in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  24. "Games played by David Stephens in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  25. "Games played by David Stephens in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  26. "Games played by David Stephens in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  27. "Games played by David Stephens in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  28. "Games played by David Stephens in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  29. "Games played by David Stephens in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  30. "Games played by David Stephens in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  31. "Games played by David Stephens in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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