David Gray (footballer, born 1988)

David Peter Gray (born 4 May 1988) is a Scottish footballer, who plays as a right-back for Hibernian, where he is also the current club captain. He represented Scotland at both under-19 and under-21 level.

David Gray
Personal information
Full name David Peter Gray
Date of birth (1988-05-04) 4 May 1988
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[2]
Position(s) Right-Back
Club information
Current team
 Hibernian
Number 2
Youth career
2000–2004 Hearts
2004–2007 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2010 Manchester United 1 (0)
2006–2007 → Royal Antwerp (loan) 1 (0)
2007 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 1 (0)
2009 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 14 (0)
2009 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 12 (0)
2010–2012 Preston North End 45 (0)
2012–2014 Stevenage 53 (0)
2014 Burton Albion 12 (0)
2014– Hibernian 125 (7)
National team‡
2006 Scotland U19 2 (0)
2008–2009 Scotland U21 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:16, 21 November 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:48, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

Gray progressed through Heart of Midlothian's youth system, before joining Manchester United for a fee of £50,000 in 2004. He spent six years at Manchester United, making one first-team appearance in a League Cup fixture in 2006. During his six-year tenure with the club, Gray was loaned on four occasions; spending time at Royal Antwerp, Crewe Alexandra, as well as two loan spells at Plymouth Argyle. Gray was released by Manchester United in 2010 and then signed for Preston North End. Gray spent two seasons at Preston, before being released at the end of the 2011–12 season. He then had spells at Stevenage and Burton Albion before signing for Hibs in 2014.

Prior to his second season at the club, Gray was given the captain's armband by Hibs manager Alan Stubbs, taking over from Liam Craig. Gray scored the winning goal in the 2016 Scottish Cup final for Hibs against Rangers, their first Scottish Cup win since 1902.

Club career

Early career

Gray began his career in the Heart of Midlothian youth academy. He was selected for the Lothian Schools XI in 2002 while a pupil at Beeslack High School in Penicuik, along with other Hearts youngsters John Armstrong, Jason Thomson and Andrew Driver.[3] Gray progressed through the youth ranks up until the age of 16,[4] when he attracted the interest of Manchester United, and signed for the club for a fee of £50,000 in 2004.[4] Gray was signed by the club as a winger, although Manchester United's coaching staff felt he was better suited as a full-back, and subsequently deployed him in the right-back position for the majority of the club's reserve games during the 2005–06 season.[5] After impressing during his first full season in the reserve side, Gray made his first-team debut for Manchester United during the 2006–07 season, playing the first 77 minutes in the club's 2–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup in October 2006.[6] It ultimately turned out to be Gray's only first-team appearance for the club.[7] Three months after making his first-team debut, in January 2007, he was sent out on loan to Belgian club Royal Antwerp, to gain match experience. However, after just two games he suffered an injury, which ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the season, and he returned to his parent club in May 2007.[5]

In November 2007, Gray was loaned to Crewe Alexandra on a one-month deal to provide cover for the club's injured players.[8][9] He made one appearance during his brief loan spell, playing 80 minutes in Crewe's 2–0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest.[10] He returned to Manchester United in December that year, and spent the remainder of the 2007–08 season playing for the reserve side.[5] Gray was to enjoy his first spell of first-team football during the 2008–09 campaign, with the player signing for Championship side Plymouth Argyle on loan in January 2009 until the remainder of the season.[11][12][13] He made his Plymouth debut in a 3–1 away defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup two days after signing,[14] and went on to make 15 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[15] Gray rejoined Plymouth for a second loan spell in September 2009,[16][17] featuring regularly once again, making 12 league appearances for the club before returning to Old Trafford in December 2009 at the end of his loan agreement.[18] Although both Plymouth and Manchester United discussed Gray's move to Home Park being made permanent in January 2010,[19] no transfer materialised and the player remained at Manchester United, captaining the reserve side on a number of occasions during the latter stages of the 2009–10 season.[20]

Preston North End

Gray's Manchester United contract expired at the end of the 2009–10 season, and although he was offered a one-year contract extension with the club,[4] he opted to join Preston North End on a two-year contract on 16 July 2010.[21][22][23] Gray started the 2010–11 season as a regular in Darren Ferguson's side, making his debut in a 2–0 home loss to Doncaster Rovers on the first day of the campaign.[24] He was ever-present during the first three months of the season,[25] before suffering an injury in November 2010 that ultimately ruled him out of first-team action for three months. He returned to the first-team in a 1–0 away defeat to Hull City on 12 February 2011,[26] although would suffer an even bigger injury setback a month later after breaking his leg in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road.[20][27][28] The injury ruled Gray out for the remainder of the season, as Preston were ultimately relegated to League One.[20][29] During his first season with the club, he made 25 appearances in all competitions.[25]

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, in June 2011, Gray was given permission by a specialist to begin training, just three months after he broke his leg.[30][31] As expected, he missed the first month of the new campaign as a result of his delayed start to pre-season training,[30] but eventually made his comeback appearance as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Southampton in the League Cup on 21 September 2011.[32] He went on to make 27 appearances for Preston during the season.[33] Gray's contract at Preston expired at the end of the season, and he was released by the club in May 2012.[34]

Stevenage

In June 2012, Gray signed for League One side Stevenage on a free transfer.[35] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2012–13 season, playing the whole match in a 3–1 home win against AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup.[36] Gray played regularly at right-back throughout the season, making 46 appearances in all competitions.[37] He was placed on the transfer list in May 2013.[38] With Gray entering the final year of his contract at Stevenage, new manager Graham Westley felt he would not play as much as he would have liked, and therefore it was "better for all" that Gray "move on to develop his career".[38]

Burton Albion

Gray signed for Burton Albion in January 2014 on a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season.[39] He made 12 appearances in 2013–14 Football League Two for Burton.

Hibernian

Gray signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship club Hibernian in July 2014.[40] He scored his first ever professional goal on 29 September 2014, in a 3–1 win over Rangers. In total, Gray made 34 appearances and scored three goals for Hibs in the 2014–15 season.[41] Gray was appointed captain at the end of the season, after the departure of Liam Craig, and also extended his contact until 2017.[41] At the end of the season, Gray wrote himself into Hibernian folklore by becoming the captain of the first Hibs side to win the Scottish Cup in 114 years, scoring the stoppage-time winner against Rangers in the 2016 final.[42]

Gray scored in a 3–0 win against Queen of the South on 15 April 2017, on the day when Hibernian clinched the Scottish Championship title, sealing promotion to the Scottish Premiership after a three-year absence.[43] He signed a two-year contract with Hibs in May 2017.[44] Gray suffered an achilles tendon injury during a friendly game against Willem II in January 2018,[45] which meant that he did not make another first team appearance in the 2017–18 season.[46]

Gray returned to the Hibs first team in July 2018, and he scored five goals during the early part of the 2018–19 season.[47] In April 2019, Hibs and Gray agreed a new contract that is due to run until 2023.[48]

International career

Gray played for the Scotland schoolboys team in 2003[49] and represented the Scotland under-19 side on two occasions in 2006. In 2008, he was called up to the Scotland under-21 team to play in a friendly against Northern Ireland,[50] making his debut during the match.[51] In March 2009, Gray was called up for two 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers later that month,[52] although he was an unused substitute for both games.[53][54] He was called up once again later that year,[55] and was an unused substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Austria.[56] A month later, he made his second appearance for the U21 side, playing 67 minutes of a 1–0 home victory against Belarus.[57]

Career statistics
As of 21 November 2020[58]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2006–07[59] Premier League 0000100010
2007–08[60] Premier League 0000000000
2008–09[15] Premier League 0000000000
2009–10[18] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000100010
Royal Antwerp (loan) 2006–07 Belgian Second Division 1010——20
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2007–08[60] League One 1000000010
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2008–09[15] Championship 140100000150
2009–10[18] Championship 120000000120
Total 260100000270
Preston North End 2010–11[25] Championship 2200030—250
2011–12[33] League One 230101020270
Total 450104020520
Stevenage 2012–13[37] League One 420102010460
2013–14[61] League One 110001000120
Total 530103010580
Burton Albion 2013–14[61] League Two 120000020140
Hibernian 2014–15 Scottish Championship 252313030343
2015–16 Scottish Championship 310615150472
2016–17[note 1] Scottish Championship 332401031413
2017–18[46] Scottish Premiership 700050—120
2018–19[62][note 2] Scottish Premiership 243201152326
2019–20[63] Scottish Premiership 401010—60
2020–21[64] Scottish Premiership 100031—41
Total 125716219316317615
Career total 263720227321333115
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy, Scottish Challenge Cup, UEFA Europa League and play-offs.

Honours
Hibernian

Notes
  1. Soccerbase did not record two appearances made (and a goal scored) by Gray against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016.
  2. Soccerbase did not record appearances made by Gray against NSI Runavik on 19 July, Asteras Tripolis on 26 July and 2 August, and Molde on 9 August and 16 August 2018.

References
  1. "David Gray". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  2. "David Gray". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  3. "Driver steers Select to Scottish Cup win". The Scotsman. 25 May 2002.
  4. "Hearts: David Gray tells why had to quit Manchester United". The Scotsman. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  5. "David Peter Gray". AboutManUtd. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  6. "Crewe Alexandra 1–2 Manchester United (AET)". BBC Sport. 25 October 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  7. "Games played by David Gray in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  8. "Crewe sign Man Utd defender Gray". BBC Sport. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  9. "Crewe take United youngster". Sky Sports. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  10. "Nott'm Forest 2–0 Crewe". BBC Sport. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  11. "David arrives". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  12. "Gray makes Pilgrims move". Sky Sports. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  13. "Plymouth snap up Man Utd defender". BBC Sport. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  14. "Arsenal 3–1 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  15. "Games played by David Gray in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  16. "Graychester". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  17. "Pilgrims raid Red Devils". Sky Sports. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  18. "Games played by David Gray in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  19. "Plymouth plan Gray talks". Sky Sports. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  20. "David Gray – Preston Profile". Preston North End F.C. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  21. "Preston swoop for Gray". Sky Sports. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  22. "North End Capture Man Utd Youngster". Preston North End F.C. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  23. "PNE move just right". Lancashire Evening Post. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  24. "Preston 0–2 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  25. "Games played by David Gray in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  26. "Hull 1–0 Preston". BBC Sport. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  27. "Norwich 1–1 Preston". BBC Sport. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  28. "Norwich City 1 Preston North End 1". Lancashire Evening Post. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  29. "English League Championship 2010–2011 : Table". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  30. "Gray making injury progress". Sky Sports. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  31. "PNE full-back given the green light". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  32. "Southampton 2–1 Preston". BBC Sport. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  33. "Games played by David Gray in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  34. "Summer Change Programme Underway". Preston North End F.C. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  35. "Defender David Gray moves to Stevenage from Preston". BBC Sport. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  36. "Stevenage 3–1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  37. "Games played by David Gray in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  38. "Four released and three listed". Stevenage F.C. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  39. "Transfer Deadline Day: Burton sign David Gray & Gary Alexander". BBC Sport.
  40. "Hibernian: Full-back David Gray signs two-year contract". BBC Sport.
  41. "Hibernian exit for Liam Craig, with David Gray new captain". BBC Sport. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  42. "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  43. "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  44. "Five Renew Contracts For Next Season". Hibernian FC. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  45. Brown, Anthony (17 January 2018). "Hibs learn extent of captain David Gray's Achilles injury". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  46. "Games played by David Gray in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  47. Palmer, Bryn (29 September 2018). "St Mirren 0–1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  48. "David Gray & Darren McGregor sign new Hibs contracts until 2023". BBC Sport. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  49. Temple, Alan (7 March 2015). "David Gray has sights set appearance at Hampden since school with Hibs". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  50. "Stark names new-look U21s squad". BBC Sport. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  51. "Ten rookies named in Scotland under 21 squad". Daily Record. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  52. "Scots learn U21 group opponents". BBC Sport. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  53. "Albania U21 0–1 Scotland U21". Soccerway. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  54. "Scotland U21 5–2 Albania U21". Soccerway. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  55. "Perry named in Scots U21s squad". BBC Sport. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  56. "Austria U21 1–0 Scotland U21". Soccerway. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  57. "Scotland U21 1–0 Belarus U21". Soccerway. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  58. David Gray at Soccerbase
  59. "Games played by David Gray in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  60. "Games played by David Gray in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  61. "Games played by David Gray in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  62. "Games played by David Gray in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  63. "Games played by David Gray in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  64. "Games played by David Gray in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
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