Pugh: Daniel Adam (Danny)

2004-2006: 2011-2014 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Left Back

Born: Cheadle Hulme, Stockport: 19-10-1982

Debut: Derby County (h): 07-08-2004

6’0” 12st 10lb (2007)

Pugh came through the Manchester United Youth system, signing professional on 18th July 2000. His first game for them was as a seventy-fifth minute substitute for Rafi Cohen in the 5-2 home win over Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League this was followed three days later by his first game in the League when he was again a substitute, for Ryan Giggs with just five minutes left on the clock in a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. His first start came in the League Cup on 3rd December 2002 in a 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, when he played the whole game. His next two appearances were in the Champions League. He came on as a sixtieth minute substitute for John O'Shea in the 3-0 win at Juventus on 25th February 2003 and then he started the game at Deportivo La Coruna in a 0-2 defeat in which he played a full game on 18th March 2003. His sixth game was his third start and it came in the League Cup on 3rd December 2003 in a 0-2 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in which he played a full game. his seventh and final appearance lasted just one minute as a substitute for Quinton Fortune in a 3-0 win at Northampton Town on 25th January 2004 in the F.A. Cup. So after making one substitute appearance in the League, and one in the F.A. Cup, having two starts in the League Cup and one start and two games from the bench in the Champions League, at Old Trafford, Pugh became the first player signed under new Leeds Manager Kevin Blackwell as part-exchange for former Leeds favourite Alan Smith. Pugh was signed as a utility player, his ability to play on the left hand side of midfield or defence was to be a key factor in a Leeds squad which only had four players remaining from the season before (those four players being Gary Kelly, Michael Duberry, Frazer Richardson and Matthew Kilgallon). His Leeds career started well and for the first half of the season he held down the left midfield position in a 4-4-2 formation, and had been the club's top scorer until the arrival of David Healy from Preston North End. Pugh was then switched to left full back after an injury to Stephen Crainey and a dip in form from Frazer Richardson. However, Pugh subsequently fell out of favour at Leeds. Blackwell's decision to switch to a 4-3-3 formation meant that Pugh's position was taken by David Healy and, with Matthew Kilgallon occupying the left full back position, Pugh was dropped to the bench. He was sold to Preston North End on 6th July 2006 for a fee of £250,000, his last few months at Leeds having been spent almost entirely out of the first team, and he had made only five appearances in his final six months with the club. Pugh was a regular in the Preston first team, playing tucked in off the left flank or occasionally as an out-and-out central midfielder. On 2nd November 2007, it was announced that Stoke City had signed Pugh, initially on loan with a view to a permanent move in January. Manager Tony Pulis was "delighted to have signed a quality left-sided midfielder". At Deepdale Pugh had played fifty-two League games, including two as substitute, scoring five goals. He also scored once in five appearances in the Cup competitions. The move was made permanent on 3rd January 2008, after playing fourteen League games and one FA Cup game while on loan, with Stoke paying Preston £500,000 for Pugh's services in a three and and a half year deal. Pugh became a regular after joining the club, playing as left-sided midfielder and left back. He also deputised in centre midfield, winning ‘Man of the Match’ awards in games against Watford andNewcastle United. He wiped out memories of play-off failures with Preston and Leeds by winning automatic promotion in his first year at Stoke, playing thirty times, three of which were as a substitute, when, together with ex-Leeds players, Richard Cresswell and Dominic Matteo, he helped Stoke City win promotion to the EPL. While still a member of the squad, he was unable to command a regular place in the starting eleven, playing seventeen times, eight of which were from the bench, in the Club's debut Premier League campaign and no doubt he would be hoping for a more regular role in 2009-10. On 21st October 2009 he signed a further one year extension to his contract, which would keep him at Stoke until June 2012, despite having only played three games in the 2009-10 season to that point. He scored his first League goal for Stoke on 27th February 2010, but then conceded a penalty for hand ball in the last minute of the game against Arsenal. After not being able to get sufficient EPL appearances, on 17th November 2010 Pugh went on loan to his former club Preston North End for a month, which he extended for a further month and a few days later, on 20th December 2010, he signed an extension agreement with Stoke City which ran until 2013. It was an endorsement from Stoke Manager Tony Pulis of his worth to Stoke City as a utility player, despite his lack of first team appearances. He was recalled from Preston on 31st December 2010, after making five starts at Deepdale. He made two starts in the F.A. Cup and one substitute appearance in the League before he started a further League game when he was recalled to the Stoke team at Birmingham City on 12th February 2011 went on to make four starts and three games from the bench in the League and one start and two games from the bench in the F.A. Cup before the end of the season. He had played in eighteen games in all competitions during the season. It was back to the bench in the EPL and he came on three times in August, but was not listed in Stoke's twenty-five man EPL squad and on 22nd September 2011 he went on Loan to his old club Leeds United on a three month loan with an option for to make the move permanent at the end of the loan period. After having started fourteen League and one F.A. Cup games while on loan from Preston initially he had played a further twenty-eight starts and twenty-five games from the bench in the League and scored one goal and started four and come off the bench five times in the F.A. Cup, scored once and started six and come on as a substitute three times in the League Cup and made one substitute appearance in the UEFA Cup, while with Stoke City.He was off to a flying start with Leeds, making his debut at Brighton in a 3-3 draw on 23rd September 2011 when he played eighty-one minutes before giving way to Mika Vayrynen. He played the full game against Portsmouth at Elland Road on 1st October 2011 and scored the only goal of the game with a goal in the fourteenth minute and quickly followed this by his second goal in the very next game, when he opened the scoring in the twentieth minute in a 3-0 away win at Doncaster Rovers on 14th October 2011. He made himself a regular in the team and signed for Leeds on a permanent basis on 2nd January 2012, when he signed a contract for two and a half years. In his first season in his second stint at Leeds he started thirty-one League games and came on three times as a substitute and started once in the F.A. Cup. Leeds Manager Neil Warnock placed Pugh on the transfer list in August 2012. He made his first appearance of the season as a seventy-ninth minute substitute for Aidan White at Blackpool on 21st August 2012 and was then included at left-midfield in the starting eleven in the home game with Everton in the League Cup on 25th September 2012. He was again in the starting eleven for the 0-1 home League defeat by Birmingham City on 27th October 2012, this time at Left-Back, and came on in midfield as an eighty-ninth minute substitute for El-Hadji Diouf in the 3-0 home League Cup win over Southampton three days later. He was again a substitute at Brighton & Hove Albion, coming on in the forty-first minute for the injured Tom Lees. This time he went to Left-Back as Lee Peltier took over in Central Defence for the injured Lees. His final Leeds apperance of the season came as an eighty-first minute substitute for Left-Back Adam Drury, four days later at Burnley. On 25th January 2013 Pugh joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the Owls in a 2–1 away victory at Charlton Athletic the following day and his first goal came from a free-kick in the thirty-second minute of a 3-1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 2nd February 2013. It was his only goal in sixteen League starts for the Owls before returning to Elland Road at the end of the season and he took part in the pre-season games and the tour to Slovenia. On expiration of his contract, he was released by Leeds and he joined Coventry City on 16th July 2014 on a free transfer and a one year contract. By the end of November 2014 he had started five League games, one League Cup game and one Johnstone's Paint Trophy game without scoring.