David Wetherall was born on 14 March 1971. He is an English football coach and former professional defender who currently works as an academy strategic advisor at Huddersfield Town.
As a player, he played most of his career in the Premier League for Leeds United and Bradford City. He began his playing career with Sheffield Wednesday but did not make any appearances for the team. He then joined Leeds United, where he played more than 200 matches. Later, he moved to Bradford City for a record fee of £1.4 million at that time. In his first season with Bradford, he played every minute of every match and scored the goal that helped the team stay in the Premier League on the final day of the season. Wetherall became the team captain and ended his playing career at the end of the 2007–08 season.
After retiring as a player, he served as a caretaker manager for Bradford City twice. He was also an important member of the club’s coaching team. In June 2011, he left Bradford after 12 years with the club to take a position with the Football League. He was added to Show Racism The Red Card’s hall of fame for his work with their anti-racism campaign.
Playing career
Wetherall was born in Sheffield and supported Sheffield Wednesday as a child. He was selected to play for England's schoolboy team, and in 1989, after finishing school, he signed with Sheffield Wednesday under the management of Howard Wilkinson. Wetherall attended Rotherham sixth form college, where he earned four A-levels with top grades. He chose to study chemistry at the University of Sheffield so he could live at home with his parents and continue playing for Sheffield Wednesday's reserve team. He graduated with a first-class honors degree in 1992, becoming the first Premier League player to earn such a qualification. In 1990, he joined a British team that traveled to Italy for the world student five-a-side football championship. He also represented Great Britain at the 1991 World Student Games in Sheffield, where they won a bronze medal in association football.
Wilkinson, who was then the manager of Leeds United, returned to his former club in July 1991 to sign two young center-backs: Jon Newsome first and Wetherall a few days later, for a combined fee of £275,000. At 20 years old, Wetherall's first season at Leeds was the final year of his degree course. He played for the reserve team while studying part-time. He made a brief appearance in the First Division on 3 September 1991 at Elland Road as a late substitute against Arsenal. Leeds went on to win the 1991–92 league title. Wetherall recalls, "With 20 minutes to go, we were 2–1 down and I was on the touchline ready to go on, then Lee Chapman scored and the gaffer (Howard Wilkinson) told me to sit down again. But he threw me on for the last two minutes. I always tell people that made the difference in winning the title!" When his teammates celebrated the league trophy on an open-top bus tour, Wetherall chose to study for his exams, a decision he later regretted because "those experiences don't come around that often." His revision efforts paid off, and he graduated with first-class honors.
Wetherall made his first start for Leeds in the newly formed Premier League in September 1992 against Southampton. He scored his first goal for the club the following March in a home game against Chelsea, securing a draw. He finished the 1992–93 season with 13 league appearances. He noted, "I noticed a massive difference in my fitness coming in full-time after just having two games a week." In the 1993–94 season, he became a regular first-team player. The following season, he scored in a 2–1 win against defending champions Manchester United. He continued scoring important goals, including a last-minute equalizer to avoid a defeat by Walsall in the 1995 FA Cup. In the replay, he scored for both Leeds and Walsall, with an own goal sending the match to extra time. Leeds finished fifth in the league, and Wetherall was named manager Wilkinson's player of the season. Wilkinson praised his performance in a 3–0 UEFA Cup first-round win against AS Monaco in September 1995. However, Leeds were defeated by PSV Eindhoven in the next round. Wetherall played in the League Cup Final in 1996, his first major final, but Leeds lost 3–0 to Aston Villa.
In the 1996–97 season, Wetherall played less regularly as new manager George Graham experimented with defensive strategies. By the following season, he re-established himself in the starting lineup, sometimes acting as captain, and signed a new five-year contract. On 27 September 1997, he scored in a 1–0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester United. During the match, Roy Keane's knee was seriously injured after fouling Alfie Haaland, who accused Keane of pretending to be hurt. Later that season, Wetherall was part of the Leeds team that escaped unharmed when their aircraft crash-landed after an engine caught fire on takeoff.
When David O'Leary became manager, it became clear that his preferred center-back pairing was Lucas Radebe and the 18-year-old Jonathan Woodgate. Wetherall decided to leave Leeds for a club where he could play regularly. A transfer to nearby Huddersfield Town failed after terms were agreed, and he rejected an offer from Southampton because he did not want to move house while his wife, Caroline, was pregnant with their second son. After eight years with Leeds, having scored 18 goals in 250 games across all competitions, he accepted an offer from fellow West Yorkshire club Bradford City.
Bradford City signed Wetherall for a club record £1.4 million to provide experience to a team that had just been promoted to the Premier League. Wetherall was 28 years old, but manager Paul Jewell had signed several players over 30, leading journalists to nickname his team "Dad's Army." Bradford won their first game 1–0 with a last-minute goal at Middlesbrough, scored by Dean Saunders, who celebrated by mocking the club's critics. Wetherall's first goal for Bradford was in a League Cup game at Reading. He scored again in the next round, but Bradford was knocked out by Barnsley. His first league goal came in a 2–0 win against Newcastle United on 18 December. Wetherall missed only two cup games for Bradford City during his first season and was the only player in the Premier League to play every minute of the league season. His partnership with Andy O'Brien in central defense was key to Bradford's survival attempt.
Bradford faced possible relegation in the final game of the season. After 12 minutes against Liverpool, Wetherall headed in a free kick by Gunnar Halle. Bradford held on for a 1–0 win, and with Wimbledon's defeat at Southampton, Bradford stayed in the Premier League with a record-low 36 points. The goal directly helped Wetherall's former club, Leeds United, qualify for the next season's Champions League.
The 2000–01 season started early for Bradford after chairman Geoffrey Richmond decided to
Managerial career
In November 2003, Wetherall was one of four senior players who temporarily managed Bradford City for two weeks after Nicky Law was dismissed. Along with Peter Atherton, Wayne Jacobs, and Dean Windass, Wetherall helped with training during this time. The team played only one match, which they lost 1–0 to Stoke City, with Jacobs directing the game from the sideline.
Wetherall began his first full role as a manager in February 2007, when he was named player-manager of Bradford City after Colin Todd was fired. At that time, the team was performing poorly. Wetherall’s role was extended in March, but he could not improve the team’s performance. The club was relegated to League Two, and during his time in charge, the team won only two games and drew four others. While managing Bradford, Wetherall hired Nigel Martyn, a former teammate from Leeds, as the goalkeeping coach. Martyn kept this role when Stuart McCall became the full-time manager later that year.
After McCall became the permanent manager in 2007, Wetherall focused again on his playing career. In 2008, he returned to Bradford City’s coaching staff and managed the reserve team. In 2009, he also managed the youth team after Chris Casper left the club. Wetherall said he felt the pressure of senior management roles was too great, explaining that football is a business where results are most important.
When McCall was fired, Peter Taylor became Bradford’s manager and brought in Junior Lewis to the coaching staff, leaving Wetherall to focus on youth development. After Taylor left in February 2011 and Lewis and assistant manager Jacobs were placed on gardening leave, Wetherall worked as an assistant to interim manager Peter Jackson. He stayed with Bradford until the end of the season and then left to become head of youth development for the Football League.
In September 2023, Wetherall became an academy strategic advisor at Huddersfield Town.
Personal life
Wetherall was honored by Show Racism The Red Card's hall of fame in December 2007 for his efforts in their anti-racism campaign. He joined the campaign with his former teammate Gunnar Halle while they played for Leeds United. On August 30, 2009, he participated in a charity football match that included many former players from Bradford City and Leeds United. The event aimed to raise funds for Martin House Children's Hospice.