David Marshall was a close friend of Peter Whittingham and instrumental in the organisation of the recent memorial match. I managed to speak to him during this period to chat about his eventful time at Cardiff.
Your seven years at Cardiff were a pretty intense period for the club and you played a significant role. You joined after Norwich were relegated from the Championship in 2009. What attracted you to Cardiff? Was the strong Scottish contingent at the time a factor?
They always seemed to be up there near the play-offs and I had played a couple of times at Ninian Park with Norwich, so you had a feel for how big the club was. Unfortunately, I never played for Cardiff at Ninian Park because my first year was at the new stadium. The goalkeeping coach at the time was Martyn Margetson who got in contact with me, so that was a big influence too. It just felt right. I remember flying down to Cardiff and it felt perfect. My first five years at the club were a cup final, two play-offs, promotion to and relegation from the Premier League, so it was an intense few years.
That first season was an eventful one, with Cardiff finishing fourth and making the play-offs. The second leg against Leicester is one of my favourite ever Cardiff games. It was a wild, end-to-end game and you were the hero in the end, saving a penalty. What are your memories of that game?
Whitts scored that free kick in the first leg, and that was probably my favourite of his goals. They came back to our place and we were losing not just on the night, but over both legs. Then Whitts rolled in a penalty, with no celebration in a play-off semi-final! I think we were a bit lucky on the night, but we went for it with that squad. We had flair up top with Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra, Whitts would always deliver, but that was probably one of the best games I’ve ever been involved in. If you save a penalty, it’s always amazing, but we did feel the weight of being the first Cardiff team to get to the Premier League. We had beaten Leicester, who were a stronger team than Blackpool on paper, so that’s why it felt like such a big night.
On the other hand, the final against Blackpool was pretty crushing. A play-off final is either a glorious or terrible way to end a season. How do you remember that day?
It was the worst moment in my whole career. If I’m honest, I don’t think I really got over it until we finally got promotion with Cardiff. We didn’t underestimate Blackpool, but it was one of those seasons where everything seemed to fall in to place for them, like when Jay Bothroyd went off injured for us. I remember it being so hot that day that I thought whoever could get their noses in front were probably going to win it and we took the lead twice. They went in 3-2 up at half time and it just felt half-way through the second half that everyone was dead on their feet. It was crushing because it felt like we had done the hard part in getting there. Falling at the final hurdle was tough to take.
When Tom Heaton joined, there was very little between the two of you during your time together. How did you find competing against Tom? Was it healthy competition or frustrating and was it hard to miss out on the Carling Cup Final, for example?
I got injured in the semi-final against Leicester and woke up the next day with pain in my elbow, but we had a fortnight until the final. A few months later, I had a poor start to the season and it eventually needed an operation. That was the last season with Dave Jones and then Malky came in. He said to me that I was going to be the first-choice goalkeeper and Tom was getting the cups. It was probably unusual in the Championship to have two goalkeepers that close in quality. I would love to have played in the League Cup final, but Tom was the cup keeper and did a hell of a lot to get us there, saving penalties against Palace and then saved one from Steven Gerrard in the final.
You signed a new deal in 2012 and again a couple of years later. Were you always planning to stay and did you ever come close to leaving before you eventually left in 2016?
There were a lot of clubs interested after I had a very good year in the Premier League and I think the club were interested in selling. West Brom came in and that was relatively close, but the owner called and changed his mind. My first five years at the club were very successful and enjoyable, so I was never pushing to leave. When we got relegated, I wanted us to be strong enough to bounce back instantly, but it never happened and it was frustrating as a player. Managers and a number of players were coming in, then another manager and a load of changes. It was a low Premier League, top Championship club, but we came away from that for a few years and that was frustrating. We nearly finished in the play-offs and the season after that I left.
Cardiff in the Premier League was always the holy grail, but when they finally got there, it didn’t go so well. For you personally though, in many respects, it was the opposite. You had a brilliant year, won the Player of the Year and earned another new deal.
There was a lot going on that year. We changed the manager half-way through and I see it as a missed opportunity that we never built on that season. Personally, I felt I was in good form for three or four years. I know the change had to be made due to all of the stuff that was going on, but we were maybe a bit unlucky how it all panned out.
You left to join Hull in 2016. How did that situation play out? It was an offer that the club couldn’t afford to refuse, but were you keen to leave and have another crack at the Premier League, or would you have been happy to stay put?
We had two years out of the Premier League and because I had a good season there, I wanted to have another crack at it and be a regular Premier League player. Not having that second chance was frustrating. Steve Bruce was the manager during the negotiations, but then he lost his job. I spoke to the club and everyone else was staying, but after six weeks, the goalkeeping coach left to go to Aston Villa. I think, with the benefit of hindsight, it was a bit rushed and probably not right. When I left Cardiff, they were struggling, but within 18 months Neil Warnock came in and got them promoted again, so you never know what will happen in football. I think I would have regretted not having another go at the Premier League, plus there was a little bit of frustration with where Cardiff were, but sometimes you don’t know how good you’ve got it!
Cardiff’s goal of the season last year was Rubin Colwill’s free kick against you at Loftus Road. It was a hell of a strike. What was it like to be on the receiving end of it?
It wasn’t great because that was the winner! It was a massive game for us because that would have kept us near the play-offs. It was a good free kick and we had spoken a lot about the lad in the build-up, so it was a disappointing day for us, but a good result for Cardiff. I think they deserved it after that second half.
Since then, you’ve featured for Wigan, Derby, QPR and joined Hibernian in the summer. You’ve had many memorable moments for your country too. Do you have any plans yet for when your playing career eventually draws to a close?
Nothing set in stone while I’m still playing, but I’m doing my coaching badges and a masters in sport directorship. I’m keen to stay in the game and I think it would be silly to walk away with twenty years of experience. I think I’ve got a lot to give and after my masters is done next summer, I need to spend some time coaching to see what my coaching style is and how I want to work.