Don Givens
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Joseph Givens | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Limerick, Republic of Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1969 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1969–1970 | Manchester United | 8 | (1) |
| 1970–1972 | Luton Town | 83 | (19) |
| 1972–1978 | Queens Park Rangers | 242 | (76) |
| 1978–1981 | Birmingham City | 59 | (10) |
| 1979–1980 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 5 | (4) |
| 1980–1981 | Sheffield United | 11 | (3) |
| 1981–1987 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 149 | (34) |
| Total | 457 | (147) | |
| National team | |||
| 1969–1981 | Republic of Ireland | 56 | (19) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993–1997 | Neuchâtel Xamax (youth coach/coach) | ||
| 1997–2000 | Arsenal (youth coach) | ||
| 2000–2010 | Republic of Ireland U21 | ||
| 2002 | Republic of Ireland (caretaker) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Republic of Ireland (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Daniel Joseph "Don" Givens (born 9 August 1949 in Limerick, Republic of Ireland) is a football player and coach, and former Republic of Ireland U21 team manager. He was part of the FAI's three-man selection committee in helping to select the new Ireland manager.
A centre forward, Givens started his career at Manchester United in 1968, making a scoring debut against Shamrock Rovers in May 1969 but he played just 8 games before moving to Luton Town. He played for Queens Park Rangers from 1972 to 1978, where he became a first team player, making 243 appearances and scoring 76 goals for the club. He helped them win promotion to the old First Division in his first season with the club, scoring 23 times in their victorious campaign. As a First division striker, the next few years would see him reach his peak, scoring a combined 49 goals in four seasons and helping QPR hold onto their top-flight status. After an unsuccessful season in 1977–78, scoring just four goals in 37 appearances, he parted ways with QPR, and his career took him to Birmingham City, Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Neuchâtel Xamax. His time at Sheffield United will forever be remembered for the time he missed a last minute penalty in the last match of the 1980–81 season against Walsall at Bramall Lane in the old third division. If he had scored, The Saddlers would have been relegated, instead it was Sheffield United who were consigned to the 4th division for the first (and only) time in their history.
In 1981, escaping the negativity of his time at Sheffield United, Givens moved to Switzerland to play for Neuchâtel Xamax. In the 1981–82 UEFA Cup Givens scored at Hamburger SV in a quarter final tie. This turned out to be Franz Beckenbauer's last game in Europe. He would make 144 appearances for them, scoring 34 goals. He had the honour of leading Neuchâtel to their first ever League championship in his final season 1986–87 Nationalliga A.
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