Newport County defender David Pipe on his second chance ahead of FA Cup game v Tottenham
For David Pipe, simply playing football again is an achievement on its own considering where he was a few years ago.
In 2010, he was jailed for 38 months for fracturing the skull of another man in an unprovoked attack in Bristol.
Pipe, 26 at the time, hit Rhys Morris over the head with a wine bottle outside a nightclub in September 2009 and pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He feared his career was over, but was able to maintain his fitness by getting a job in the gym and playing football again when he was moved to an open prison after 13 months.
“The last words of the judge who sent me down were: ‘You’ll never play professional football again,’” he told The Sun in an exclusive interview ahead of Newport’s fourth round FA Cup tie against Tottenham.
And it didn’t take long for the reality of the terrible crime he had committed to dawn on him.
“I saw two lads from my wing carried out on boards and covered in black bags,” he recalled. “They were both under the age of 35, they had both taken their own lives.
“That wasn’t nice to see, especially when it’s 20 yards from where your bed is.”
“You can feel sorry for yourself or you can agree with [the judge], but I wanted to prove him wrong and I have done.”
Pipe was released in September 2011 and joined Newport in a deal arranged by his then agent, the late Cyrille Regis, whom he was keen to pay tribute to.
“He came to visit me in prison whenever I needed him,” he revealed of the former West Brom man whose death at the age of 59 stunned the football world. “He would make phone calls to my mum just to check up on her, so I didn’t have to worry about that from inside.”
As a result of the electronic tag Pipe was forced to wear for four months upon his release and the strict curfew he had to adhere to, the Welsh club was a good fit given it was close to his mum’s home near Caerphilly.
Shortly afterwards, Newport offered him a short-term contract. He was made club captain the following season and led County to their Conference play-off final win over Wrexham at Wembley in 2013.
Leave a Reply