Dave has served Norwich as a player, manager and as the Assistant Director of the Football Academy. He played 499 senior games for Norwich between 1965 and 1976 and played first as a full-back and then as a central defender. He spent four years at Cambridge United before joining Norwich as Youth team coach in 1980 leading the Youth team to FA Youth Cup glory in 1983. When Ken Brown resigned in 1987, Dave took over as manager and guided the Canaries to two FA Cup semifinals and to 4th place in the old Division One. He resigned from the high-profile and pressurised job as City's manager in May 1992 when the club only narrowly escaped relegation.

He returned to coaching working with the A team in the Essex & Herts Border Combination. He was then appointed as Assistant Director of Norwich's Football Academy working with the younger players as they prepare to become scholars at the club's football academy. Dave retired in the summer of 2001