David Nugent was a prolific goalscorer during his professional playing career and, after four years away from the game, has made his return to football
David Nugent played 635 games and scored 162 goals in his professional career for the likes of Leicester City, Preston North End and Portsmouth. Nearly four years after playing his last competitive game for Tranmere Rovers, the 40-year-old has come out of retirement.
The striker’s return to football was announced last week as he joined Leicestershire non-league Anstey Nomads as player/coach. The club plays in the eighth tier of the English football system, competing in the Northern Premier League’s Midlands Division.
After winning just five of their opening 11 games, Nomads confirmed the signing of Nugent on Friday night. Less than 24 hours later, he was named in the matchday squad against Loughborough Students.
Liam Murphy opened the scoring halfway through the first half, and Anstey held on to secure a huge three points with the help of several decent saves from Anthony Nunez. In injury time, Nugent’s time came.
In the 90th minute, Nugent and Oscar Tonge came on for Danny Gordon and Courey Grantham. A resounding reception from those inside the ground then occurred, followed by the “der, der, der, der, David Nugent” chant that was often sung inside the King Power Stadium previously.
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“Very odd! I didn’t expect to come on, to be honest,” he said after his debut for Anstey. “Conrad’s asked me to come along and help coach because one of the managers has gone on holiday. I said I’d come in and help; hopefully, the lads can learn from my experience.
“It feels a lot harder! I didn’t even warm up! I stood on the sideline for 85 minutes and then came on for five. It’s nice to be out there. That was my first competitive game since 2021, so it is tough.
“Conrad was asking me for 10; I said I’d do five. It was nice to be out there and help the lads. I didn’t really contribute much, but hopefully, with more training and getting fitter, I can contribute more.”
Nugent spent almost the entirety of the game standing up alongside Logan in the dugout, barking instructions out to the players and conversing with the former goalkeeper. Despite spending a number of years in punditry and media, the one-time England scorer plans to go into coaching.
“I’m doing my coaching B licence now, so that’s one route I need to go down to get into the game,” he explained. “I know Conrad from when I was at Leicester. I only live down the road, so it’s not hard to get to, and my daughter plays in the academy, so I’m Anstey through and through now!
“Commentating and doing analysis on the game is different. But when you’re involved, it’s better to be on the pitch. After five years out, I’d rather be on the sidelines, let’s put it that way. My legs don’t work like they used to.”
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