Norris: David Martin (David)

2012-2015 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: 22-02-1981

Debut: Shrewsbury Town (h): 11-08-2012

5’8” 11st 7lb (2011)

Peterborough-born Norris started his football career in the Peterborough Sunday League before joining Stamford AFC in July 1998 and spent the 1998-99 season playing for them in the Southern League Midland Division in which they finished eighteenth. Steve Evans had been the Manager at Stamford and when he moved to Boston United at the end of the season he took Norris with him. He soon attacted the attention of Bolton Wanderers and Sam Allardyce pencilled him in as "one for the future", when he took him to the Reebok for £50,000 for the eighteen-year-old in February 2000. He had scored ten goals in starting twenty-four and came off the bench twice in the Dr Martens League and scored one more in three starts in the F.A. Cup in his first season with Boston and the Pilgrims went on to become Southern League Champions and were promoted to the Conference. He was a regular member of the Trotters' Reserve team but was unable to break into the first team at Bolton Wanderers and having played in both legs of the League Cup First Round tie against Macclesfield Town, he was loaned back to Boston twice in the first season that he spent at the Reebok. He was there for a month from 20th December 2000 and again for a month from 23rd January 2001, making five starts and scoring four goals in the Conference League North and scoring a hat-trick in twelve minutes in the one Football League Trophy game that he played against Tamworth. It was a similar story in 2001-02 when he was a regular in the Trotters' Reserve team but had three more outings with the first team, playing in the 4-3 home win over Walsall in the Second Round of the League Cup on 11th September 2001, when he was replaced after sixty minutes by Michael Ricketts, and the 1-0 home win over Nottingham Forest on 8th October 2001, when he came on as a eighty-first minute substitute for Djibril Diawara, and in the 4-1 win at Stockport County in the Third Round of the F.A. Cup on 16th January 2002, when he gave way to Cleveland Taylor after seventy-five minutes. He was loaned to Hull City on 4th March 2002 and it only took him four minutes to open his goalscoring account when he made his in a 4-1 home win over Mansfield Town on 5th March 2002, after coming on at half-time for Richard Sneekes. He did not add to that goal but made three starts and three substitute appearances in the month that he was at Boothferry Park. On 9th October 2002, he initially went on a one month loan to Plymouth Argyle and once more he was off to a flying start, scoring the only goal of the game just on half-time, as Argyle won in the League Two game at Crewe Alexandra on 19th October 2002 in his debut. His loan spell was twice extended and after scoring the one goal in seven League starts and another in the F.A. Cup Plymouth made the loan permanent when they signed him for £25,000 on 14th December 2002. Norris was very popular at Home Park and was a consistent and impressive performer as Argyle won the Division Two championship in 2003-04 and in the ensuing three seasons as they their position in the Championship over the next three seasons. He was Plymouth's "Player of the Year" in the 2005-06 season. His form with Argyle led to interest from several clubs and he eventually moved to Ipswich for a club record fee of around £2.25 million, part of which had to be paid to Bolton due to a sell-on clause. On the final day of the January 2008 transfer window Norris signed a three year deal with the Tractor Boys and after scoring twenty-six goals in two hundred and nine starts and another ten games as a substitute in League games and one goal in ten starts in the F.A. Cup, five starts in the League Cup and onne substitute appearance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after signing for Plymouth on a permanent basis. He made his Ipswich Town debut in a 2-1 win at Hillsborough over Sheffield Wednesday on 2nd February 2008. He scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's on 1st March 2008. In the summer of 2011 Norris turned down a new contract extension and he was linked with a move to Leeds United on a free-transfer. On 15th June 2011 Norris signed for Portsmouth on a free transfer and made his Pompey debut against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium and once more scored on debut with a goal two minutes after the half-time break, in a 2-2 draw on 6th August 2011. Portsmouth, due to a loss of ten points for entering into administration, were relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2011-12 season and Norris was one of several Portsmouth players to be sold as the club looked to reduce its wages bill and, on 27th July 2011, he signed a three year contract with Leeds United. The fee was thought to have been a free transfer as Norris was a free agent. He scored eight goals in forty League games for Portsmouth, one of which was as a substitute and he also made one start in each of the F.A. and League Cups. On 27th July 2012 Norris agreed to join Leeds on a free transfer on a three year contract. He went straight into the first team and was allocated the No. 19 shirt. He made his debut on 1st August 2012 in a 1-1 draw with Sandefjord in a friendly in Norway. He started the remaining friendlies at Preston North End and Burton Albion, before Captaining the side in his debut against Shrewsbury town in the League Cup on 11th August 2012 in which he scored his first Leeds goal. He made his League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers seven days later. He picked up a thigh strain in training on 7th September 2012 and was sidelined for more than a month. Leeds brought in Michael Tonge on loan from Stoke City to cover his absence. He did not return to first team football until 23rd October and celebrated by scoring his first League goal in the 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at Elland Road. He scored his second League goal at Huddersfield Town in a 4-2 away win on 1st December 2012. He he spent most of January on the bench but after reclaiming his spot in the team he scored his third League goal in a 2-1 home win over Blackpool on 20th February 2013. A knee injury saw him sidelined for the final games of the 2012-13 season under new Manager Brian McDermott. After taking part in the pre-season friendlies Norris again found himself out of favour with new Manager and his only game of the season came in the 2-1 League Cup win at home to Chesterfield on 7th August 2013 and he had to be content with life in the Reserves and at the end of the season he was placed on the list of players available for transfer. With the appointment of new coach Dave Hockaday, he was able to press his claims in the 2014-15 pre-season, but once more his only chance with the first team came in the 1-2 away defeat at Bradford City in the League Cup on 27th August 2014. But that was his only appearance and hos contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 2nd February 2015 and he became a free agent. On 13th February 2015 he was taken on a short-term contract by League One side Peterborough United until the end of the season. He made his Posh debut the following day when he came on as a sixty-ninth minute substitute for Erhun Oztumer in a 2-1 home win over Rochdale and three days later he made his run-on debut in a 0-2 away defeat at Bristol City. He finished the season have started three League fixtures and come on from the bench in another five. He was released by Peterborough at the end of the season. He joined Yeovil Town on a non-contract basis and made one substitute appearance before moving to Blackpool on 4th September 2015 on a free transfer until the end of the 2014-15 season. He made his debut on the following day as a sixty-third minute substitute in a 1-0 win at Scunthorpe United.