Player Details

David Gamble

Full Name: David Gamble
Born: 23/03/1971 (Liverpool)

Heritage Number: 1394
Debut Match*: 26/01/1991 v Gainsborough Trinity (Northern Premier League)
Last Match*: 13/04/1999 v Telford United (National League)
* Qualifying Games

Club record non-league appearance holder David Gamble began his career as a YTS at Grimsby Town having been spotted by former Everton player Mike Lyons playing near his Liverpool home. After two years with the Mariners, Gamble signed for Bath City on non contract terms just before Christmas 1990. Gamble had been due to make his debut for Bath against Sutton United but had been stranded by heavy snow just before the game. He eventually made his debut at home to Telford United only to be substituted after 82 minutes. That was his one and only appearance being released shortly afterwards. Returning briefly to Altrincham, Gamble signed for the Sandgrounders in January 1991.
Renowned for his deadly left foot, he was a real dead ball specialist. Free kick, corner or penalty, Gamble was the man, and cries of “Get Gamble On” are still regularly heard to this day when a referee indicates a free kick anywhere near striking distance of the goal.
Top scorer during the club’s first season in the Conference, with 15 from midfield, he cemented himself as a real fan favourite and left such an impression that fans are even known to have named their goldfish and pets “Gambo”.
The following season he finished top scorer again, this time jointly with Steve Haw, and began to attract serious attention of the League scouts. Cable Television channel Wire TV’s live coverage of the Conference during the 1994/95 caught Gambo at his finest. In the two live games in which Southport featured, he scored a wonderful curling free kick from 25 yards in a 4-0 victory against Halifax, and later in the year a spectacular long distance drive away at Runcorn.
Had Gamble been more of a consistent performer there is no doubt that Southport would have struggled to hold onto him. An immensely talented player Gamble forged a fierce reputation on the Non-League circuit. As with many a flair player he was often a frustrating player to watch but the spark that he was capable of producing was so special that he made himself irreplaceable. Described as an enigma by some by 1996 he had broken the club’s Non-League appearances record, and by the time of his departure eight and a half years after he first signed for the club he had amassed 263 games, 44 starts and 65 goals. His record was eventually broken by long serving goalkeeper Steve Dickinson in 2003.

(From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, published Wednesday 23rd Apr 1997.)

“Dave Gamble, whose performance last night justified his reputation for wielding the best left foot in Non League football, on the other hand, fired on all cylinders. His ninth minute corner swung in from the right with pace and, eluding Berryman, went straight into the Stanley goal. When he took another corner in the 34th minute, it speared in on goal again, went over the head of Berryman and was bundled in by Andy Whittaker.
Berryman was substituted three minutes later while everything Gamble touched continued to turn to gold.
“If Gamble wasn’t so lazy, he’d be playing league football,” enthused Darwen captain Steve Wilkes after the game.
“His left foot is a dream, his right foot – he just stands on it.”
He had a hand – or left foot – in the third goal too, unbelievably swinging in a cross from the corner flag to the far post, despite the close attention of Ged Walsh, where Whittaker headed down and Phil Horner booted into the roof of the net.”

Of the three big successes of the Non-League era (so far) it is rare to find a player who has featured in two of them. An integral part of the 1992-93 HFS Loans League championship winning side, Gamble had been attracting League interest throughout his time at Southport and rumour at the start of the 1997/98 season suggested that Gamble would take up a full-time playing role with former boss Ronnie Moore at Rotherham. The move never materialised, Gamble remained a scaffolder by trade, and the culmination of that season saw him start at Wembley in the centre of midfield in the FA Trophy final.
Gamble left Southport at the end of the following season just over a season short of his testimonial year.
Following his departure from Southport he signed for Marine and became player of the year in 2000/2001 before signing for future Southport manager Liam Watson at Runcorn FC Halton in June 2001. Gambo saw out the end of the 2002/2003 season on loan at Rossendale and played a big part in ensuring Unibond Division One safety for United. Gamble’s contribution was enough to convince manager Jim McBride to make the arrangement more permanent.

Player Profile reproduced with Permission from:
The Complete Non-League History of Southport Football Club 1978 – 2008, by Trust in Yellow (Legends Publishing, 2008). ISBN 978-1-906796-01-3

Season: 1993/1994 [Back to Player Stats]
The player made an appearance in the following games:

Date	Home Club	Away Club	Score	Goals	Competition	Round	Match Date	Heritage Qualifying	Void
09/08/1993	Southport	Blackburn Rovers	0 - 6	0	Friendly		09/08/1993	No	No
28/08/1993	Southport	Bromsgrove Rovers	1 - 2	0	National League		28/08/1993	Yes	No
30/08/1993	Northwich Victoria	Southport	2 - 1	1	National League		30/08/1993	Yes	No
04/09/1993	Merthyr Tydfil	Southport	2 - 2	0	National League		04/09/1993	Yes	No
07/09/1993	Southport	Runcorn	1 - 4	0	Conference League Cup	1 L1	07/09/1993	Yes	No
11/09/1993	Southport	Bath City	1 - 1	0	National League		11/09/1993	Yes	No
18/09/1993	Welling United	Southport	0 - 2	0	National League		18/09/1993	Yes	No
21/09/1993	Runcorn	Southport	2 - 1	0	Conference League Cup	1 L2	21/09/1993	Yes	No
25/09/1993	Southport	Slough Town	1 - 0	0	National League		25/09/1993	Yes	No
28/09/1993	Southport	Gateshead (1977)	1 - 1	0	National League		28/09/1993	Yes	No
02/10/1993	Macclesfield Town	Southport	0 - 1	0	National League		02/10/1993	Yes	No
09/10/1993	Southport	Woking	2 - 1	1	National League		09/10/1993	Yes	No
12/10/1993	Southport	Altrincham	3 - 1	1	National League		12/10/1993	Yes	No
16/10/1993	Telford United	Southport	1 - 3	0	National League		16/10/1993	Yes	No
23/10/1993	Macclesfield Town	Southport	5 - 3	2	FA Cup	Qualifying 4	23/10/1993	Yes	No
30/10/1993	Southport	Dover Athletic	3 - 2	1	National League		30/10/1993	Yes	No
06/11/1993	Stafford Rangers	Southport	0 - 2	1	National League		06/11/1993	Yes	No
20/11/1993	Kettering Town	Southport	2 - 0	0	National League		20/11/1993	Yes	No
27/11/1993	Southport	Yeovil Town	1 - 1	0	National League		27/11/1993	Yes	No
04/12/1993	Runcorn	Southport	3 - 0	0	National League		04/12/1993	Yes	No
11/12/1993	Southport	Telford United	1 - 0	0	National League		11/12/1993	Yes	No
18/12/1993	Southport	Kidderminster Harriers	1 - 1	1	National League		18/12/1993	Yes	No
03/01/1994	Southport	Northwich Victoria	0 - 0	0	National League		03/01/1994	Yes	No
08/01/1994	Southport	Everton Reserves	2 - 1	0	Liverpool Senior Cup	1	08/01/1994	No	No
11/01/1994	Southport	Marine	1 - 1	2	Lancashire Junior Cup	2	11/01/1994	No	No
15/01/1994	Southport	Dagenham & Redbridge	0 - 0	0	National League		15/01/1994	Yes	No
22/01/1994	Marine	Southport	0 - 0	0	FA Trophy	1	22/01/1994	Yes	No
25/01/1994	Southport	Marine	3 - 1	2	FA Trophy	1 Replay	25/01/1994	Yes	No
29/01/1994	Woking	Southport	1 - 0	0	National League		29/01/1994	Yes	No
02/02/1994	Halifax Town	Southport	2 - 2	0	National League		02/02/1994	Yes	No
05/02/1994	Southport	Welling United	2 - 1	1	National League		05/02/1994	Yes	No
09/02/1994	Accrington Stanley	Southport	0 - 1	0	Lancashire Junior Cup	3	09/02/1994	No	No
12/02/1994	Colwyn Bay	Southport	0 - 3	1	FA Trophy	2	12/02/1994	Yes	No
19/02/1994	Southport	Merthyr Tydfil	3 - 2	2	National League		19/02/1994	Yes	No
26/02/1994	Southport	Witton Albion	2 - 1	1	National League		26/02/1994	Yes	No
01/03/1994	Southport	Horwich RMI	2 - 0	0	Lancashire Junior Cup	Semi Final	01/03/1994	No	No
05/03/1994	Morecambe	Southport	2 - 1	0	FA Trophy	3	05/03/1994	Yes	No
12/03/1994	Kidderminster Harriers	Southport	2 - 0	0	National League		12/03/1994	Yes	No
14/03/1994	Southport	Tranmere Rovers	4 - 1	0	Liverpool Senior Cup	2	14/03/1994	No	No
19/03/1994	Bath City	Southport	2 - 1	0	National League		19/03/1994	Yes	No
22/03/1994	Southport	Macclesfield Town	1 - 0	0	National League		22/03/1994	Yes	No
26/03/1994	Yeovil Town	Southport	3 - 2	0	National League		26/03/1994	Yes	No
02/04/1994	Altrincham	Southport	1 - 2	0	National League		02/04/1994	Yes	No
04/04/1994	Southport	Stalybridge Celtic	0 - 2	0	National League		04/04/1994	Yes	No
09/04/1994	Dover Athletic	Southport	0 - 2	0	National League		09/04/1994	Yes	No
12/04/1994	Stalybridge Celtic	Southport	3 - 1	1	National League		12/04/1994	Yes	No
16/04/1994	Bromsgrove Rovers	Southport	2 - 2	1	National League		16/04/1994	Yes	No
19/04/1994	Southport	Kettering Town	0 - 1	0	National League		19/04/1994	Yes	No
23/04/1994	Southport	Stafford Rangers	0 - 2	0	National League		23/04/1994	Yes	No
26/04/1994	Morecambe	Southport	2 - 2	1	Lancashire Junior Cup	Final	26/04/1994	No	No
30/04/1994	Slough Town	Southport	0 - 0	0	National League		30/04/1994	Yes	No
04/05/1994	Southport	Runcorn	1 - 0	1	National League		04/05/1994	Yes	No
07/05/1994	Gateshead (1977)	Southport	1 - 3	2	National League		07/05/1994	Yes	No
09/05/1994	Marine	Southport	2 - 1	0	Liverpool Senior Cup	Final	09/05/1994	No	No