David Barry "Dave" Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English footballer who plays for Football League One side Portsmouth as a striker.

Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Kitson played football for Cambridge United and Arlesey Town in the early years of his career. In his late teens Kitson gave up on football with his local club Hitchin Town after they failed to realise his potential, and concentrated on his day job at national supermarket chain Sainsburys, as a frozen food stacker.

Kitson joined Cambridge United, then in League One, in 2001 after being spotted by U’s manager John Beck. He made his debut in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Stoke City, where fellow substitute Marcus Richardson scored the winning goal. On the final day of the same season, Kitson notched his first goal for the club in the 1-1 draw at Swansea City. The following season saw the club relegated from League One but Kitson scored 10 goals, finishing as the club’s second-top goalscorer, one behind Tom Youngs. It was in the 2002/03 campaign that Kitson really found his feet. He netted 25 goals in a prolific campaign which saw him hot on the heels of David Crown’s club-record of 27 goals in a season. Kitson’s attacking prowess and tireless running saw him become a fans’ favourite at the Abbey Stadium but those same supporters recognised it would not be long before their star man was picked up by a bigger club. After 11 goals in 19 appearances at the start of the 2003/4 season, Kitson left Cambridge to join second-tier outfit Reading. His return of 47 goals in 123 appearances (all competitions) ensured Kitson’s place among United’s all-time legends.

The Secret Footballer is the pseudonym of a current Premier League footballer who contributes articles to The Guardian newspaper. The identity of the secret footballer is much debated and a blog piecing together the clues from various columns exists in an attempt to uncover the footballer's identity. The Secret footballer is known to be English, married and to have played for at least two Premiership clubs.

Anthony Richard "Tony" Pulis (born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer currently managing Stoke City. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification. His son, Anthony, is a professional footballer and played under Pulis at Stoke. Pulis had a seventeen year career as a defender where he played for Bristol Rovers, Newport County, Bournemouth and Gillingham. He did also have a short spell in Hong Kong with Happy Valley.

Pulis took his first steps into management at Bournemouth, where he was a player/coach and then Harry Redknapp's assistant. He then took control when Redknapp left the club. He then went on to Gillingham before leaving in 1999 after a dispute with chairman Paul Scally. Pulis then had unsuccessful spells at Bristol City and Portsmouth before being appointed manager of Stoke City in 2002. He guided Stoke through a tough 2002–03 season avoiding relegation to Division Two on the final day of the season. He spent two more seasons with Stoke before being sacked by Stoke's Icelandic board for 'failing to exploit the foreign market'. He spent the 2005–06 season at Plymouth Argyle before returning to Stoke along with Peter Coates. After narrowly missing out on a play-off spot in the 2006–07 season he guided Stoke City to the Premier League in the 2007–08 season by finishing runners-up in the Football League Championship.