Devon White

Devon White

Nationality:
Rovers apps (gls)¹:	202 (52)
Date of birth:	2 March 1964
Place of birth:	Nottingham
Height:	6 ft 3 in
Position:	Forward
Date joined:	August 1987
Joined from:	Grantham Town
Date left:	March 1992
¹ League appearances and goals only.

Devon White is a forward who played over 200 league games and scored over 50 goals for the Gas between 1987 and 1992.

He joined on a free transfer from non-league Grantham Town in August 1987, and although he had been playing non-league football for approximately a year at this point he did have some previous league experience with Lincoln City. He went on to become a firm fans' favourite at the Gas, known affectionately as 'Bruno' due to a supposed similarity in looks to boxer Frank Bruno.

Arguably the moment that sealed White's status as one of Rovers' most popular players ever was in the final home game of the 1989–90 season, when he scored twice in a 3–0 win over local rivals Bristol City to win the Division Three title and seal promotion to Division Two for the following season. He was the club's joint top scorer during the 1991–92 season with Carl Saunders, both players netting ten times in the old Division Two to help Rovers to a respectable mid-table finish.

In 2011 he was the victim of an imposter who posted many obscene and offensive comments on Facebook while claiming to be White. Devon reported the matter to the police and to Facebook.

Career[]

Devon white — Devon leaps for a header against Wigan Athletic at Twerton Park

Devon began his footballing career in the world of non-league football, starting out with Radford Olympic (now known simply as Radford). He had an unsuccessful trial with Notts County before joining Arnold Kingswell (later merged with Arnold FC to form Arnold Town), but his big break came in December 1984 when Lincoln City offered him his first professional contract. While at Lincoln he was loaned out to Boston United in October 1985 and to Maltese club Naxxar Lions in December of the same year. He joined Boston again, this time not on loan, in the summer of 1986 and also had a spell with Shepshed Charterhouse and played a single cup match for Grantham Town before joining Rovers in 1987.

After just under five years with Rovers Cambridge United signed him in a deal that saw Rovers receive a £100,000 transfer fee plus John Taylor in March 1992, then his former manager at Rovers, Gerry Francis, paid Cambridge £100,000 to bring him to Queens Park Rangers. After this he had spells with Notts County, Watford, Notts County (again) and Shrewsbury Town, before finally rounding his career off back in non-league football with Ilkeston Town.

He had trained as an electrician during his non-league days at the beginning of his career, and it was this profession to which he would return when his playing career ended, starting up his own company called D White Electrical Services. He had a brief flirtation with football coaching when he was appointed first team coach of Gedling Town on a temporary basis in December 2006.

Career stats[]

Season	Club	League
Season	Club	Apps	Goals
1983–84	Arnold Kingswell	?	?
1984–85	Lincoln City	?	?
1985–86	Lincoln City	?	?
1985–86	→Boston United (loan)	7	2
1985–86	→Naxxar Lions (loan)	?	?
1986–87	Boston United	12	2
1986–87	Shepshed Charterhouse	?	?
1987–88	Grantham Town	0	0
1987–88	Bristol Rovers	39	14
1988–89	Bristol Rovers	40	5
1989–90	Bristol Rovers	43	12
1990–91	Bristol Rovers	45	11
1991–92	Bristol Rovers	35	10
1991–92	Cambridge United	?	?
1992–93	Cambridge United	?	?
1992–93	Queens Park Rangers	?	?
1993–94	Queens Park Rangers	?	?
1994–95	Queens Park Rangers	?	?
1994–95	Notts County	?	?
1995–96	Notts County	?	?
1995–96	Watford	16	4
1996–97	Watford	22	2
1996–97	Notts County	9	0
1997–98	Notts County	6	2
1997–98	Shrewsbury Town	?	10
1998–99	Shrewsbury Town	?	0
1999–00	Ilkeston Town	?	?

Devon White

Career[]

Career stats[]

Further reading[]