David Soames

David Soames

Personal information
Full name	David Soames
Date of birth	10 December 1984 (1984-12-10) (age 26)
Place of birth	Grimsby, England
Height	5'8
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
2000-2002	Grimsby Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002-2005	Grimsby Town	24	(1)
2005-2006	Armthorpe Welfare	33	(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

David Soames (born 10 December 1984 in Grimsby) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played in the Football League for Grimsby Town from 2002 until 2005, but retired in 2006, aged just 21, due to a persistent injury problem that hampered most of his playing career. He is now a community football coach for SportsLincs in North East Lincolnshire, helping to run soccer classes in order to keep children off the streets.

Career

Grimsby Town

Soames, nicknamed Digger, signed professional football terms with Grimsby Town in October 2002 following an injury crisis at the club, he was part of a decent reserve team strike force that also boasted Darren Mansaram. He made his debut on the 23rd of November when he was drafted in to the squad to face Crystal Palace and played in the clubs defeat at Selhurst Park. On Boxing Day 2002, he came off the bench to score his first senior goal in a 3-1 away win over Derby County, this would be his only senior goal in professional football. He continued his good form for The Mariners, but without scoring. A burst of pace and skill could have seen him score against Stoke City but he was upended by defender Sergei Shtanyuk, who was dismissed for his challenge. Grimsby were unable to avoid relegation from the First Division and rumours circulated that linked Soames with Port Vale and Lincoln City but nothing ever came of either. After suffering an injury early on in the 2003-2004 season, Soames found it tough to break back into the first team, and with the club having Michael Boulding, Iffy Onuora, Laurens ten Heuvel, Phil Jevons, Darren Mansaram, Jonathan Rowan and eventually Lee Thorpe and Isaiah Rankin in the squad, his first team appearances throughout the season were numbered. In August 2004, Grimsby found themselves in yet another different league, and with Soames once out injured yet again, He didn't make a showing until the last part of the season. He made his first showing of the new season in March 2005 in a 2-0 defeat against Rochdale. Soames carried on missing the target, which seemed to frustrate himself as well as the supporters.At the end of the season manager Russell Slade did not offer him a contract extension, but invited him back for training for the new season, with the possibility of earning a new deal, but after still struggling with injury, He decided against the idea and left the club.

Armthorpe Welfare

Upon leaving Grimsby he took a few months out of the game, before reappearing on trial with York City with former team-mate Giovanni Carcehdi. After failing to earn himself a short term deal with York, Soames moved into the non-league side circuit, joining Yorkshire outfit Armthorpe Welfare just before the start of the 2005-2006 season. Come the end of the season, Soames had finished as Armthorpe's top scorer and had a brief but fruitful partnership with Clint Marcelle, who was a team-mate of his at Grimsby Town for 4 months during the previous season. Soames left Armthorpe at the end of the 2005-2006 season, and opted to retire from playing the game at a competitive level.

Retirement

Due to his ongoing injury woes that had destroyed his professional football career, Soames retired from the game in the summer of 2006, aged just only 21. He now works as a fitness instructor and coach for SportsLincs, who together in a partnership with North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police have created football coaching classes to help keep children off the streets of Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Soames also plays amateur Sunday League football in the Grimsby area.

Career statistics

Club performance

Club	Season	League	Level	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Grimsby Town	2002–03	First Division	2	10	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
	2003–04	Second Division	3	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2004–05	League Two	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Armthorpe Welfare	2005–06	NCEL Premier Division	9	33	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	16

External links

• David Soames career stats at Soccerbase
• David Soames profile at thefishy.co.uk

Persondata
Name	Soames, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	10 December 1984
Place of birth	Grimsby, England
Date of death
Place of death