| David Peach | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Sidney Peach | |
| Date of birth | January 21 1951 | |
| Place of birth | Bedford, England | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |
| Playing position | Full back | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1966-1969 | Gillingham | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1969-1974 1974-1980 1980-1982 1982-1983 |
Gillingham Southampton Swindon Town Orient |
187 (30) 224 (34) 53 (2) 47 (6) |
| National team | ||
| 1977 | England | 0 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
David Sidney Peach (born Bedford, 21 January 1951) is a former footballer, who played at left back for Southampton F.C. in the FA Cup Final 1976.
Contents |
Playing career
Chelsea & Gillingham
Peach played briefly as an associate schoolboy for Chelsea, before moving to Gillingham as an apprentice in May 1966, turning pro in February 1969. He also played minor counties cricket for Huntingdonshire. He was rated the best player in the Fourth Division and came to the attention of Lawrie McMenemy who made him his first signing for Southampton in January 1974, for a reported fee of £50,000.
Southampton
He made his debut in a match that is memorable to Saints fans for all the wrong reasons as Southampton lost 7-0 away to Ipswich. Peach soon settled into the team initially in midfield before becoming an imaginative, quick thinking attacking left-back and the club’s regular penalty taker. His first penalty was probably the most famous, when he belted home the second goal against Crystal Palace in the F.A. cup semi-final on 3 April 1976, which took the Saints to the final against Manchester United. Peach also played in the losing League Cup final against Nottingham Forest on March 17 1979, scoring the opening goal. He and Nick Holmes are the only two players to have played in two Cup Finals for Southampton. He played several times for the England under-21 and ‘B’ teams, and was in the England squad on their tour of South America in June 1977, although he never played. On 18 August 1979, he became the highest scoring full-back in the history of the Football League when he scored a penalty against Manchester United.
Swindon & Orient
He was transferred to Swindon Town for £150,000 (then Swindon’s record signing) in March 1980. Signed by Bobby Smith to replace Town legend John Trollope, circumstances were against Peach from the very moment he joined the club; his time at Swindon had the worst possible start - his debut coming in 6-2 thrashing at Millwall. That defeat, along with the size of the transfer fee, got Peach off to a terrible start with the fans - and he was never a popular player throughout his whole Town career. By March 1982, Swindon were in financial difficulties and Peach was released to Orient on a free transfer to reduce the club's wage bill, after a disappointing period at the County Ground. In moving to Orient, he swapped a team heading for relegation to Division 4 for one heading for relegation from Division 2. Whilst at Orient, he became the first player to have played on every Football League ground.
After football
After retiring from league football, Peach turned out for several Hampshire non-league clubs, including a spell as player-manager at Wellworthy Sports in Lymington. Nowadays, he lives in the New Forest where he runs his own building business.
Honours
As a player
With Southampton F.C.
- FA Cup winner 1976
- League Cup Runner Up 1979
References
- Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (2003). In That Number - A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
- Tim Manns (2006). Tie a Yellow Ribbon: How the Saints Won the Cup. Hagiology. ISBN 0-9534474-6-4.
