- Dave Kitson
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For the Somerset cricketer, see David Kitson (cricketer).
Dave Kitson 
Personal information Full name David Barry Kitson Date of birth 21 January 1980 Place of birth Hitchin, England Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Playing position Striker Club information Current club Portsmouth Number 18 Youth career 1998–2000 Hitchin Town 2000–2001 Arlesey Town Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2001–2003 Cambridge United 102 (40) 2003–2008 Reading 135 (54) 2008–2010 Stoke City 34 (3) 2009 → Reading (loan) 10 (2) 2009 → Middlesbrough (loan) 6 (3) 2010– Portsmouth 46 (11) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:25, 5 November 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).David Barry "Dave" Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Portsmouth as a striker.
Contents
Early life
Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Kitson played football for Cambridge United and Arlesey Town in the early years of his career. In his late teens Kitson gave up on football with his local club Hitchin Town after they failed to realise his potential, and concentrated on his day job at national supermarket chain Sainsburys, as a frozen food stacker.[1]
Club career
Cambridge United
Kitson joined Cambridge United, then in League One, in 2001 after being spotted by U’s manager John Beck. He made his debut in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Stoke City, where fellow substitute Marcus Richardson scored the winning goal. On the final day of the same season, Kitson notched his first goal for the club in the 1-1 draw at Swansea City. The following season saw the club relegated from League One but Kitson scored 10 goals, finishing as the club’s second-top goalscorer, one behind Tom Youngs. It was in the 2002/03 campaign that Kitson really found his feet. He netted 25 goals in a prolific campaign which saw him hot on the heels of David Crown’s club-record of 27 goals in a season. Kitson’s attacking prowess and tireless running saw him become a fans’ favourite at the Abbey Stadium but those same supporters recognised it would not be long before their star man was picked up by a bigger club. After 11 goals in 19 appearances at the start of the 2003/4 season, Kitson left Cambridge to join second-tier outfit Reading. His return of 47 goals in 123 appearances (all competitions) ensured Kitson’s place among United’s all-time legends.
Reading
Kitson was sold to Reading on 26 December 2003, for a fee of £150,000.[2] At Reading, he scored five goals in 10 starts in his first season. In the 2004–05 season, despite injury he went on to record an impressive goals-to-game ratio, and continued to do so as Reading won the Championship title.
Following promotion to the Premier League with Reading, Kitson scored the club's first Premier League goal in Reading's 3–2 home win against Middlesbrough on the opening day of the 2006–07 season, but was then badly injured later in the same match.[3] The injury kept him out of the game until Reading's FA Cup victory over Birmingham City on 27 January 2007.[4] On 27 March, he committed his future to Reading, signing a new deal that would expire in June 2010.[5]
At the start of 2007–08, he was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute for Reading against Manchester United, for a late challenge on Patrice Evra. In January 2008 he made some controversial comments regarding the FA Cup, saying "We are not going to win the FA Cup and I do not care less about it, to be honest."[6]
Stoke City
On 18 July 2008, Kitson moved in a £5.5m move from Reading to Stoke City, breaking Stoke's record transfer fee.[7]
Having failed to score any goals in any of the 18 competitive games he played for Stoke City in the 2008–09 season, speculation arose as to whether Kitson was settled there or not. Chairman Peter Coates and manager Tony Pulis both denied any rumour that he might be leaving the Britannia Stadium.[8] The Stoke City board reacted to this growing disquiet, and he rejoined Reading on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season on 10 March 2009.[9]
Kitson later revealed that he made the "wrong decision" in joining Stoke, adding that he and his family were happy at Reading and that "I threw all of that away for what I thought was going to be a new challenge... I hold my hands up – it was my fault. I made the decision to go to Stoke, I didn't have to, no-one forced me to go, and it was a bad decision." With regards to his failure to score for Stoke, he said "I'd been bought for a lot of money but I wasn't sure I was being utilised in the way I thought I was going to be... You do have some days at training when you go back in and wonder what you're doing there."[10]
However Reading failed to gain promotion meaning that Kitson returned to Stoke. Kitson stated that he would 'start his Stoke career again'.[11] His first competitive goal for Stoke came in a 1–0 League Cup win at Leyton Orient on 26 August 2009.[12] He scored his first league goal for Stoke on 29 August 2009, which proved to be the winning goal against Sunderland[13] and then scored again with a goal against Bolton Wanderers.[14] However Kitson lost his place to James Beattie and joined Middlesbrough on a two month loan.[15] He scored his first goals for Middlesbrough when he scored a brace against Peterborough United on 28 November 2009.[16] He returned to Stoke on 1 January 2010. He scored in the FA Cup against Manchester City and against Bolton. However after an awful performance against Chelsea he never played for Stoke again and was branded as 'petulant' by manager Tony Pulis.[17]
Portsmouth
Kitson was announced as a Portsmouth player alongside Liam Lawrence on deadline deal as part of a deal which took Marc Wilson to Stoke City.[18]
Kitson made his Portsmouth debut on 11 September 2010 in a 0–0 draw with Ipswich at Fratton Park.[19] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 defeat at Crystal Palace on 14 September 2010 and a further 2 goals in a 6–1 win over Leicester at Fratton Park on 24 September 2010.[20]
International career
In 2008, Kitson was the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League for most of the season,[citation needed] leading to some sections of the media[who?] touting him for an England call up. Gabriel Agbonlahor was preferred to him by England manager Fabio Capello.[21]
Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Cambridge United 2000–01 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 2001–02 33 9 2 0 1 0 4 1 41 10 2002–03 44 20 6 1 2 1 4 3 55 25 2003–04 17 10 1 1 1 0 0 0 19 11 Total 102 40 9 2 4 1 8 4 123 47 Reading 2003–04 17 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 5 2004–05 37 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 19 2005–06 34 18 2 0 3 4 0 0 40 22 2006–07 13 2 4 2 0 0 0 0 18 4 2007–08 34 10 0 0 2 0 0 0 36 10 Total 135 54 6 2 5 4 0 0 146 60 Stoke City 2008–09 16 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 0 2009–10 18 3 2 1 2 1 0 0 22 5 Total 34 3 3 1 3 1 0 0 40 5 Reading (loan) 2008–09 12 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 14 2 Total 12 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 14 2 Middlesbrough (loan) 2009–10 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 Total 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 Portsmouth 2010–11 35 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 38 8 2011–12 11 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 3 Total 46 11 1 0 2 0 0 0 49 11 Career total 329 111 18 5 13 5 10 4 370 125 Footnotes
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League play-offs, and Football League Trophy.
Honours
Club
- Reading
- Football League Championship (1) : 2006
Personal life
On 9 January 2008, Kitson was stopped by police whilst driving late at night near his home in Shinfield, Berkshire, and was charged with failing to provide a breath sample.[22] He appeared at Reading Magistrates' Court on 18 January 2008, and received an 18-month driving ban, a £1000 fine, and was ordered to pay £60 costs.[23]
References
- ^ Walsh, David (11 November 2007). "Shooting from the lip". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/reading/article2848048.ece. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- ^ "Cash Point!". Cambridge Evening News. 27 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060509101728/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/sport/football/united/2006/03/27/b683caf1-e46e-45ef-8cf9-b6de50f1c4c5.lpf. Retrieved 16 May 2006.
- ^ "Royals come back from two-nil down to beat Boro in first ever Premiership match". Reading FC. 19 August 2006. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~885161,00.html. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
- ^ "Royals progress to the fifth round after good away win against Blues". Reading FC. 27 January 2007. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~971508,00.html. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
- ^ "Kitson signs new three-year contract". Reading FC. 27 March 2007. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1002595,00.html. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
- ^ "FA Cup does not matter – Kitson". BBC Sport. 2 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/reading/7168675.stm. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
- ^ "Stoke seal £5.5m Kitson transfer". BBC Sport. 18 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7511777.stm.
- ^ "Kitson going nowhere, says Coates". BBC Sport. 27 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7752488.stm.
- ^ "Kitson returns to Reading on loan". BBC Sport. 10 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7934235.stm. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
- ^ "Striker Kitson regrets Stoke move". BBC Sport. 12 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/reading/7940220.stm.
- ^ "Dave's Determined". Stoke City F.C. 15 August 2009. http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~1728883,00.html. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ^ "Leyton Orient 0–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. 26 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/8214952.stm. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ^ "Stoke 1–0 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 29 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8223452.stm. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ "Bolton 1–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. 19 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8256795.stm. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ "Kitson Completes Loan Move To Boro". Stoke City F.C. 17 November 2009. http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~1877556,00.html. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- ^ "Peterborough 2–2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 28 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8376208.stm. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ^ "Tony Pulis blasts Dave Kitson and Tuncay Sanli". Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/stoke/article7112203.ece. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ^ "Kitson and Lawrence In, Wilson Out". Portsmouth FC. 31 August 2010. http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Kitson-and-Lawrence-In-Wilson-Out-1318.aspx. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ "Portsmouth 0 Ipswich 0". BBC Sport. 11 September 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8978185.stm. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
- ^ "Portsmouth 6–1 Leicester". The Guardian. 24 September 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/24/portsmouth-leicester-city-championship. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ Lovejoy, Joe (27 January 2008). "Kitson set for call-up". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3257227.ece. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ^ "Footballer on breath test charges". BBC Sport. 10 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7182166.stm. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
- ^ "Top footballer given driving ban". BBC Sport. 18 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7195822.stm. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
External links
- Dave Kitson profile Stoke City website
- Dave Kitson career stats at Soccerbase
Portsmouth F.C. – current squad 2002–03 Football League Third Division PFA Team of the Year GK: Alan Fettis · DF: Carlos Edwards · DF: Graeme Lee · DF: Chris Westwood · DF: Paul Underwood · MF: Paul Hall · MF: Mark Tinkler · MF: Alex Russell · MF: Ritchie Humphreys · FW: Andy Morrell · FW: Dave KitsonReading F.C. Player of the Season 1963–64: Meldrum • 1964–65: Meldrum • 1965–66: Wheeler • 1966–67: Harris • 1967–68: Dixon • 1968–69: Silvester • 1969–70: Death • 1970–71: Bell • 1971–72: Cumming • 1972–73: Death • 1973–74: Death • 1974–75: Friday • 1975–76: Friday • 1976–77: Death • 1977–78: Bowman • 1978–79: Bowman • 1979–80: White • 1980–81: Hetzke • 1981–82: Williams • 1982–83: Richardson • 1983–84: Richardson • 1984–85: Wood • 1985–86: Wood • 1986–87: Bremner • 1987–88: Francis • 1988–89: Senior • 1989–90: Hicks • 1990–91: McPherson • 1991–92: Gooding • 1992–93: Gooding • 1993–94: Kerr • 1994–95: Hislop • 1995–96: Gooding • 1996–97: Morley • 1997–98: Parkinson • 1998–99: Parkinson • 1999–2000: Caskey • 2000–01: Butler • 2001–02: Murty • 2002–03: Harper • 2003–04: Murty • 2004–05: Kitson • 2005–06: Doyle • 2006–07: Ingimarsson • 2007–08: Hunt • 2008–09: Armstrong • 2009–10: Sigurðsson • 2010–11: Long
Categories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- People from Hitchin
- English footballers
- Association football forwards
- Cambridge United F.C. players
- Reading F.C. players
- Stoke City F.C. players
- Middlesbrough F.C. players
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- Premier League players
- The Football League players
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