Like many gifted soccer players of the 1970s and 1980s, the story told by legendary Middlesbrough, Southampton, and England winger David Armstrong includes some spectacular ups and downs; but the speed and ferocity of his personal rollercoaster ride are surely unique. Starting out at Leeds, David resisted signing for Don Revie—later followed by Clough’s Forest and Manchester United. He played an incredible 356 consecutive matches for Middlesbrough before being forced out after 10 years. On to Saints with Keegan, Ball, and Channon—and more near misses in the league and cup. Armstrong’s promising England career was sadly curtailed by a falling-out with Bobby Robson, and just four years later he was forced to sign on the dole. The break-up of his first marriage, his desperate desire for an ankle amputation, and bailiffs at the door lend David’s riches-to-rags story of stardom and poverty a human appeal far beyond soccer.

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