David Paul Murphy (born 1 March 1984) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 200 appearances in the English and Scottish Leagues. Born in Hartlepool, County Durham, Murphy played as a left back. Murphy started his professional career at Premier League side Middlesbrough in 2001, and remained at the club for three years, making sixteen appearances. During his time at Middlesbrough, he also had a loan spell with Division Two side Barnsley in 2004, where he made ten appearances. He left Middlesbrough for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian in the summer of 2004, and made 134 appearances for the club, before signing for Birmingham City in January 2008. He played 132 matches for the club in all competitions, and was an unused substitute as they won the 2011 League Cup Final, but his six-year stay was blighted by injuries, and he retired from football on medical advice in March 2014. He played several times for England at under-16 level. Club career Early career Murphy signed his first professional contract with Premier League side Middlesbrough in August 2001, having previously been part of the club's youth academy. He made his professional debut in a 3–1 victory over Northampton Town in the League Cup on 11 September 2001, a game where he also scored his first ever senior goal. He appeared in Middlesbrough's next League Cup match, a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, before making his FA Cup debut on 16 February 2002, in a 1–0 victory over Blackburn. Three days later, he made his Premier League debut in a 2–1 victory over Fulham, coming off the substitute's bench around the hour mark to replace Robbie Mustoe. He went on to make a total of eight appearances during the 2001–02 season, scoring one goal. He started the opening game of the 2002–03 Premier League season, a 0–0 draw against Southampton on 17 August 2002, but was replaced by Colin Cooper after 15 minutes of the match. He did not play again until 11 January 2003, where he played the last 20 minutes of a 2–2 draw, also against Southampton. He made six further appearances during the season, with his last appearance coming in a 1–1 draw with Charlton Athletic on 22 March 2003, a game he started, but was replaced by Franck Queudrue at half-time. A broken foot that failed to heal kept Murphy out of Middlesbrough's squad in