Quick Facts
Biography
David John Brightwell (born 7 January 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as defender from 1988 to 2002.
He notably played Premier League football for Manchester City and went on to play in the Football League for Chester City, Lincoln City, Stoke City, Bradford City, Blackpool, Northampton Town, Carlisle United, Hull City and Darlington.
Playing career
Brightwell played for ten professional clubs during his long career. He started at Manchester City, where he had been a trainee. He played 44 league games but also had loans spell at Chester City, Lincoln City, Stoke City and Bradford City.
He joined Bradford permanently in December 1995 for £30,000 and took part in their 1995–96 promotion season. He spent a period on loan at Blackpool before he signed on a free transfer for Northampton Town. He made further free transfers to Carlisle United and Hull City before signing for his final club Darlington in February 2001. Whilst at Carlisle, he played a part in one of the most dramatic footballing moments of all time. With Carlisle needing to beat Plymouth Argyle on the last day of the season to avoid relegation from the Football League, Brightwell equalised from 25 yards when they fell behind and this paved the way for Jimmy Glass, their goalkeeper, to score the winner in injury time.
Brightwell played a total of 258 league games during his career, scoring eight goals.
Personal life
Brightwell was born in Lutterworth, England. He is the son of Olympic gold medalist Ann Packer and 400m runner Robbie Brightwell and brother of footballer Ian Brightwell. He now works as a fireman.
Career statistics
- Sourced from David Brightwell profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City | 1990–91 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991–92 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Chester City (loan) | 1990–91 | Third Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Lincoln City (loan) | 1995–96 | Third Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Stoke City (loan) | 1995–96 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bradford City | 1995–96 | Second Division | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Blackpool (loan) | 1996–97 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Northampton Town | 1997–98 | Second Division | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 1 |
| Carlisle United | 1998–99 | Third Division | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 4 |
| 1999–2000 | Third Division | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| Hull City | 2000–01 | Third Division | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| Darlington | 2000–01 | Third Division | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Third Division | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 257 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 303 | 9 | ||
Honours
As a player
Manchester City
- Second Division runner-up: 1988–89