Dave Challinor

David Paul Challinor (born 2 October 1975) is an English professional football manager who is currently manager of Hartlepool United and former player who played as a centre back. He played in the Football League as a professional from 1994 until 2008 with Tranmere Rovers, Stockport County and Bury.

Dave Challinor
Challinor training with Bury in 2007
Personal information
Full name David Paul Challinor[1]
Date of birth (1975-10-02) 2 October 1975[1]
Place of birth Chester, England[1]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre back[1]
Club information
Current team
 Hartlepool United (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2002 Tranmere Rovers 140 (6)
2002–2004 Stockport County 81 (1)
2004 → Bury (loan) 15 (0)
2004–2008 Bury 158 (2)
2008–2011 Colwyn Bay
Total 394 (9)
Teams managed
2010–2011 Colwyn Bay
2011–2019 AFC Fylde
2019– Hartlepool United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

The centre back, who played for Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County, previously held the world record for the longest throw in football. This was 152 feet (46.34 meters) in a special challenge set-up at Prenton Park in 1998, beating the previous record held by Cardiff City's Andy Legg.[3][4] When at Tranmere, he played in the 2000 Football League Cup Final.[5]

He was transferred to Stockport County for a fee of £120,000 in January 2002. Whilst playing for Stockport County against Grimsby Town, Challinor's tackle on striker Martin Pringle broke the leg of Pringle in two places, and effectively ended his career. Though Challinor only received a yellow card, Carlton Palmer, Stockport's player-manager, fined Challinor two weeks' wages and called the tackle "horrendous".[6][7]

Challinor joined Bury on loan for three months in January 2004.,[8] the move was made permanent during the summer.[9] After spending four seasons at Bury as captain, he was forced to retire from professional football in May 2008 due to a knee injury.[10]

In October 2008, Challinor joined Colwyn Bay in the Northern Premier League Division One North, he captained the side to the play-offs in his first season where they lost out to Newcastle Blue Star on penalties. The following season the team, again captained by Challinor reached the play-offs and this time were promoted thanks to a 1–0 victory at Lancaster City in the final.[11]

Managerial career

Colwyn Bay

Challinor was appointed as player-manager at Northern Premier League Premier Division club Colwyn Bay on 28 May 2010.[12]

He was assisted by former teammate Colin Woodthorpe. During their first season in management, they led Colwyn Bay to runners-up in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and a place in the play-offs. Victories over North Ferriby United and FC United of Manchester secured the club promotion to the Conference North.[13] The club also won the North Wales Coast Cup, with victory over Flint Town United in the final on penalties. The club won the Fair Play Award for the fewest disciplinary points through the season and Challinor was named manager of the month for March, April and May 2011.

AFC Fylde

On 2 November 2011 it was announced that Challinor had been appointed the new manager of AFC Fylde, in the Northern Premier League Division One North.[14] He guided Fylde to the NPL First Division North championship in the season of his arrival and as a consequence was named Evo-Stik NPL Manager of the Year 2011–12.[15]

In 2012–13, Fylde once again qualified for the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs but were defeated on penalties by Hednesford Town who took their place in the Conference North. Fylde did qualify for the FA Cup First Round proper, eventually being defeated by Accrington Stanley and also were victorious in the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy at The Reebok Stadium, Bolton.

The 2013–14 season saw Fylde gain promotion to the National League North after defeating Ashton United in the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs.[16] They also retained their Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy with a 4–1 victory over rivals Chorley. In addition, they won the Doodson Sport League Cup with victory at Edgeley Park over Skelmersdale United. Their disciplinary record meant they won the Fair Play Award for the Premier Division and their overall record throughout the three leagues came out on top which saw them claim the Presidents Cup. They also had the best technical area marks for the Evo-Stik league to match the previous year's statistic. The year saw Fylde move to their highest rung of the pyramid and a fourth promotion in five years for Challinor.

In 2016–17 Challinor clinched promotion as National League North champions, with a 3–0 victory over Boston United on 22 April 2017.[17] In June 2017, he signed a new two-year contract with the club.[18]

On 12 October 2019 Fylde announced that it was parting company with him as the manager.[19]

Hartlepool United

On 11 November 2019, Challinor was officially appointed as manager of Hartlepool United.[20]

Personal life

He studied at Salford University training to be a physiotherapist and in July 2012 graduated with a First Class Honours degree.

Jeff Stelling has a cat named after Challinor.

Managerial statistics
As of match played 30 January 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
PWDLWin %
Colwyn Bay 28 May 2010 2 November 2011 66 34 12 20 051.52 [12][14][21]
AFC Fylde 2 November 2011 12 October 2019 415 226 93 96 054.46 [14][22]
Hartlepool United 11 November 2019 Present 46 20 12 14 043.48
Total 527 280 117 130 053.13

    Honours

    Player

    Colwyn Bay

    Manager

    Colwyn Bay

    • Northern Premier League Premier Division play-offs: 2011[13]

    AFC Fylde

    References
    1. "Dave Challinor". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
    2. "Dave Challinor". Soccerbase. 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
    3. "League throw out the towel". BBC Sport. 25 February 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
    4. David Williams (20 January 2010). "League throw out the towel". Sky News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
    5. "Leicester City 2–1 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 27 February 2000. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    6. "Pringle contract boost". BBC Sport. 16 May 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
    7. "Palmer fines Challinor". 27 February 2002. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
    8. "Shakers grab Challinor". BBC Sport. 9 January 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    9. "Challinor makes Bury switch". BBC Sport. 30 June 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    10. Iles, Marc (17 April 2008). "Challinor out for season". The Bolton News. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    11. "Lancaster City 0–1 Colwyn Bay". BBC Sport. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    12. "Colwyn Bay appoint Dave Challinor as new boss". BBC Sport. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
    13. Williams, Aled (10 February 2011). "Dave Challinor's Colwyn Bay promotion dream". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
    14. "AFC Fylde name new boss". Blackpool Gazette. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
    15. Snee, Tom (17 April 2012). "AFC Fylde - Champions". Pitchero. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
    16. Watters, David (3 May 2014). "Congratulations To Play-Off Winners AFC Fylde!". Pitchero. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
    17. Whitney, Steve (12 April 2017). "AFC Fylde Seal National League North Title". Pitchero. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
    18. "AFC Fylde: Manager Dave Challinor signs new two-year deal". BBC Sport. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
    19. "STATEMENT | Club Part Company With Management Team". AFC Fylde. 12 October 2019.
    20. "Challinor To Be Unveiled As New Manager". Hartlepool United FC. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
    21. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-869833-70-1.
      Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0.
    22. "AFC Fylde: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    23. "Football Club History Database - Northern Premier League 2009-10". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
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