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David Batty
David Batty (born 2 December 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Batty played for Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Whilst with Leeds he was part of the team that won the old Football League Second Division and the Football League First Division in its final year before the formation of the Premier League. He would go on to lift that title itself when he was part of the Blackburn team that won the League in 1995, but did not get a medal. In total he made 438 league appearances during a 17-year career, scoring eight goals. He was capped 42 times by the England national team, and represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1992 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Following retirement in 2004, Batty has lived his life away from the media spotlight and very rarely gives interviews about his career. It is well publicised by some of his former teammates that he cared very little for football and merely saw it as a job he did because he was good at it, as opposed to loving the sport.
Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, Batty made his debut for Leeds in November 1987 as an 18-year-old during a 4–2 win over Swindon Town, and quickly earned a reputation as a fiercely competitive midfielder in the mould of Leeds legend Billy Bremner. Perceived to be a bit lightweight, to build up Batty's strength Bremner would call him into his office every morning to drink sherry with a raw egg stirred into it. Batty was a key member of the Leeds team that won promotion from the second division in 1989–90, and a member of a midfield which included Gary Speed, Gary McAllister and Gordon Strachan, when Leeds won the first division championship in 1991–92. As a tireless and sometimes ruthless forager of the ball there were few equals, but there was more to his game than simply breaking up opposition attacks; having won the ball, his distribution was excellent, making him the springboard for many counterattacks.[citation needed] If there was one aspect missing from his game it was the lack of goals, as evidenced by cries of "shoot" from Leeds fans when Batty received the ball anywhere within the opponents half.[citation needed]
In October 1993 Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson needed funds to finance the rebuilding of his team, and reluctantly accepted an offer of £2.75 million for Batty from Blackburn Rovers, who were managed by Kenny Dalglish. Wilkinson used the funds to buy Carlton Palmer for £2.6 million eight months later.
At this point Blackburn were an emerging force in the newly created Premier League with players such as Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. He suffered a broken foot which ruled him out of the majority of Blackburn's title-winning campaign in 1994–95, only playing five games for them that season. He refused a winners medal at the end of the season, stating that his contribution had been minimal. By the following season Batty was available to help Blackburn's Champions League campaign. However, the team failed to reach the lucrative knock-out stages; Batty's contribution to the campaign is best remembered for an incident involving himself and his teammate Graeme Le Saux, when they started fighting each other during the Champions' League game against Spartak Moscow.
In 1996 Batty requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers, and moved to Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United for £3.75 million.
With Batty providing midfield bite and cover for the defence, Newcastle were able to challenge the dominant team of the day, Manchester United; Newcastle finished up as runners-up in the league to Manchester United twice (1995–96 and 1996–97). Keegan commented that it was not until he worked on the training ground with Batty on a daily basis that he realised just how good a player he was.[citation needed] Batty's work-rate, tackling and unselfish play for the good of the team, therefore allowing the more skilful ball-players to perform, were appreciated by manager, colleagues and fans alike.[citation needed] His first full-season at St. James' Park saw the departure of Keegan, with Kenny Dalglish taking over and guiding the club to another runners-up spot. However, the 1997–98 season was a disappointing one, as Newcastle could only finish 13th. They did however reach the 1998 FA Cup Final, in which Batty started. The arrival of new manager Ruud Gullit in August 1998 marked the start of a team rebuild, and Batty made the move back to Leeds United in December 1998 for £4.4 million.[citation needed]
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David Batty
David Batty (born 2 December 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Batty played for Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Whilst with Leeds he was part of the team that won the old Football League Second Division and the Football League First Division in its final year before the formation of the Premier League. He would go on to lift that title itself when he was part of the Blackburn team that won the League in 1995, but did not get a medal. In total he made 438 league appearances during a 17-year career, scoring eight goals. He was capped 42 times by the England national team, and represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1992 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Following retirement in 2004, Batty has lived his life away from the media spotlight and very rarely gives interviews about his career. It is well publicised by some of his former teammates that he cared very little for football and merely saw it as a job he did because he was good at it, as opposed to loving the sport.
Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, Batty made his debut for Leeds in November 1987 as an 18-year-old during a 4–2 win over Swindon Town, and quickly earned a reputation as a fiercely competitive midfielder in the mould of Leeds legend Billy Bremner. Perceived to be a bit lightweight, to build up Batty's strength Bremner would call him into his office every morning to drink sherry with a raw egg stirred into it. Batty was a key member of the Leeds team that won promotion from the second division in 1989–90, and a member of a midfield which included Gary Speed, Gary McAllister and Gordon Strachan, when Leeds won the first division championship in 1991–92. As a tireless and sometimes ruthless forager of the ball there were few equals, but there was more to his game than simply breaking up opposition attacks; having won the ball, his distribution was excellent, making him the springboard for many counterattacks.[citation needed] If there was one aspect missing from his game it was the lack of goals, as evidenced by cries of "shoot" from Leeds fans when Batty received the ball anywhere within the opponents half.[citation needed]
In October 1993 Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson needed funds to finance the rebuilding of his team, and reluctantly accepted an offer of £2.75 million for Batty from Blackburn Rovers, who were managed by Kenny Dalglish. Wilkinson used the funds to buy Carlton Palmer for £2.6 million eight months later.
At this point Blackburn were an emerging force in the newly created Premier League with players such as Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. He suffered a broken foot which ruled him out of the majority of Blackburn's title-winning campaign in 1994–95, only playing five games for them that season. He refused a winners medal at the end of the season, stating that his contribution had been minimal. By the following season Batty was available to help Blackburn's Champions League campaign. However, the team failed to reach the lucrative knock-out stages; Batty's contribution to the campaign is best remembered for an incident involving himself and his teammate Graeme Le Saux, when they started fighting each other during the Champions' League game against Spartak Moscow.
In 1996 Batty requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers, and moved to Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United for £3.75 million.
With Batty providing midfield bite and cover for the defence, Newcastle were able to challenge the dominant team of the day, Manchester United; Newcastle finished up as runners-up in the league to Manchester United twice (1995–96 and 1996–97). Keegan commented that it was not until he worked on the training ground with Batty on a daily basis that he realised just how good a player he was.[citation needed] Batty's work-rate, tackling and unselfish play for the good of the team, therefore allowing the more skilful ball-players to perform, were appreciated by manager, colleagues and fans alike.[citation needed] His first full-season at St. James' Park saw the departure of Keegan, with Kenny Dalglish taking over and guiding the club to another runners-up spot. However, the 1997–98 season was a disappointing one, as Newcastle could only finish 13th. They did however reach the 1998 FA Cup Final, in which Batty started. The arrival of new manager Ruud Gullit in August 1998 marked the start of a team rebuild, and Batty made the move back to Leeds United in December 1998 for £4.4 million.[citation needed]