Ex-Premier League goalkeeper rejects retirement U-turn to save non-league club he owns

An ex-Premier League goalkeeper has told talkSPORT that he has had offers to keep playing – but instead wants to save a non-league club.

Former Fulham star David Stockdale completed his takeover of Farsley Celtic in December – ten months into his reign as manager.

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The 40-year-old’s stint in the dugout at The Celt Army was only his second job in the dugout following a 48-day spell at Blyth Spartans.

Crippling financial problems contributed to Stockdale’s failure to stop relegation from the sixth-tier National League North last season.

His West Yorkshire side then had to withdraw from the Northern Counties East Football League for the 2025/26 campaign.

But brighter times under Stockdale are hopefully ahead, with the goal of a competitive return next season as Phoenix Club, FC Farsley.

Stockdale on his non-league club takeover

The ex-Brighton and Birmingham City star, who grew up in Leeds, detailed his journey as a non-league owner on Hawksbee and Jacobs.

“Obviously, I’m a local lad,” Stockdale told talkSPORT. “So last year, when they were in the Conference North, they’d come into financial trouble.

“They asked me to fill in doing a bit of coaching, managerial [work], and it came from there, and I soon realised the stark reality of the club, the financial setting.

“It wasn’t something I initially thought I would do, but I think with what’s going on with a lot of football clubs, being able to do something that…

“Look, I’ve been in football for 30 years, and it’s hard to get out of, and you can’t just walk into a different office job when you’ve done that, and this is all I know, so it’s going to be hard, we all know that.”

Stockdale’s commitment to Farsley saw him invest thousands before he even owned the club in things like electrical safety certificates.

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‘It is very little by little’

The 6ft 3in shotstopper, who shares ownership with his wife, Katie, was then asked whether he went into the venture with his eyes open.

To which he remarked: “To be fair, the people who were looking after it before gave me full open books, all the horror stories.

“And what you’ve got to try and do is say, ‘Well, we’re the new owners, how do we make it better?’

“It is very little by little, but if people seeing what had happened before and where we are now with community things, even without a pitch, we’d manage to get people invested again in the whole site because it’s not just a football club, it’s a sports hall, it’s a community centre as well.

“So it’s a big old chunk of land that could be put to better use than what it was before.”

Stockdale, who made over 400 appearances as a professional, was also quizzed on whether he is tempted to don the gloves again.

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‘I’ve been offered by a couple of clubs’

However, despite offers to return to the pitch, he has categorically ruled it out.

He stated: “Well, now I’m manager, no way I would pick me at this age, the way I move now.

“It’s been offered, to be fair, like I’ve been offered by a couple of clubs recently.

“But I’m happy playing in charity games and raising money for good causes now.”

On Farsley working its way back up through the pyramid, Stockdale continued: “We have applied to go back in, but it’s so complicated.

“Basically, we’ve said, look, we will start from where we’re put, we want to be self-sustaining, and we’ve shown a good business plan going forward to the leagues and the FA, so hoping that we can get back in the league.”