David Hilton (footballer)

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David Hilton
Personal information
Full name David Hilton[1]
Date of birth (1977-11-10) 10 November 1977 (age 46)[1]
Place of birth Barnsley,[1] England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Left back, left wing
Youth career
1994–1995 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Manchester United 0 (0)
1997–1998 Darlington 1 (0)
1998 Ayr United 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Hilton (born 10 November 1977) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Darlington.[3] He played as a left back or on the left wing.

Career[edit]

Hilton was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire.[1] He was a schoolboy international;[4] in June 1993, the Independent's Henry Winter reported that "the chase [was] on to sign David Hilton, a left-sided Barnsley boy with a healthy appetite for raiding down the wing".[5] The chase was won by Manchester United, for whom Hilton had signed schoolboy forms by the time he appeared for England under-16s the following February.[6]

Hilton was a substitute in the second leg of the 1995 FA Youth Cup Final, won by Manchester United on penalties.[7] He turned professional with the club, but never appeared for the first team.[1] Towards the end of the 1996–97 season, with his contract due to expire, Hilton had a trial at Burnley, where he impressed manager Adrian Heath,[8] but no contract ensued. He joined Darlington on a monthly contract at the start of the 1997–98 Football League season and appeared once, on 30 August as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw with Rotherham United in Division Three.[2] In early 1998, Hilton joined Scottish First Division club Ayr United on trial, on the recommendation of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.[9] He signed for them in March,[10] but never played for the first team.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-85291-585-8.
  2. ^ a b c "Games played by David Hilton". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Darlington: 1946/47–1988/89 & 1990/91–2009/10". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  4. ^ Willacy, David (15 March 1993). "Scottish initiative rewarded". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  5. ^ Winter, Henry (14 June 1993). "England offer hope: Solid Germans are held at Wembley". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  6. ^ Lovejoy, Joe (5 February 1994). "School for youth to survive adult apathy". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  7. ^ Hodgson, Guy (16 May 1995). "Cooke's spot success for United". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Heath releases eight trainees". Lancashire Telegraph. 30 April 1997. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
    Dewhurst, Tony (6 May 1997). "Heath's facing fight for Murdock". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. ^ Simpson, Gordon (20 January 1998). "Airdrie v Ayr United". Daily Record. Glasgow – via NewsBank.
  10. ^ "McManus turns down £100,000 move to Motherwell". The Herald. Scotland. 1 April 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2014.