Manchester United Born in
Leek, Staffordshire, Fox is the son of former footballer
Peter Fox, who was playing as a
goalkeeper for
Stoke City at the time of David's birth. After Peter signed for
Exeter City in 1993, the family moved to Devon and David joined the club's youth system. In April 2000, Fox was invited to play for
Manchester United's under-17s side at the Nivea Junior Football Tournament in
Bludenz, Austria, where he played in four of the five matches. In July 2000, shortly after his father's departure from Exeter, Fox signed a trainee contract with Manchester United, before signing his first professional contract on 13 December 2000, his 17th birthday. In his first season with Manchester United, Fox was a regular in the under-17s, playing in 26 out of a possible 27 matches in the
FA Premier Academy League and scoring seven goals. He also made one appearance in the
FA Youth Cup, coming on as a substitute for Gary Sampson in the 8–0 fourth-round win over
Scunthorpe United, as well as making his debut for the under-19s in a 2–1 defeat away to
Wrexham on 17 March 2001. In 2001–02, he made the permanent step up to the under-19s, appearing in 25 of a possible 28 league matches and scoring three goals, as well as appearing in all four FA Youth Cup matches. He got his first taste of reserve team football early in the season, appearing in three friendlies before making his first competitive appearance as a substitute for
Phil Neville in a 1–0 league win at home to
Aston Villa on 25 October 2001. After a further five substitute appearances for the reserves, he made his first start in the 2–1 defeat away to
Oldham Athletic in the
Manchester Senior Cup on 11 March 2002, before following it up with another start in a 2–0 away win over
Sheffield Wednesday in the
FA Premier Reserve League, in which Manchester United finished as champions. He returned to Manchester United in January 2004, and made nine more appearances for the reserve team before the end of the season, including the final of the Manchester Senior Cup, in which Manchester United beat
Manchester City 3–2 to win the cup. and scored his first goal in his second game, a 4–1 defeat at
Leyton Orient a week later. He made two more appearances for Shrewsbury before returning to Manchester United in November 2004. On his return, Fox was made captain of the reserves, and led the team to victory in the Premier Reserve League,
The Central League First Division West, and the Central League Cup, as well as the final of the Manchester Senior Cup, in which they lost 3–2 to Manchester City. On 9 June 2009, Fox was one of eight Blackpool players released by new manager
Ian Holloway. He joined
Colchester United on 1 July.
Colchester United Fox made his debut for Colchester in the opening game of the season on 8 August 2009, in their 7–1 away victory over
Norwich City, in which he scored direct from a free-kick. Fox added a second goal to his tally for Colchester on his home debut Against
Yeovil. His third goal came in the 2–2 draw against
Oldham Athletic.
Norwich City After one season at Colchester, Fox agreed to sign for Norwich on 2 June 2010 on a two-year deal and was given the squad number 15. Initially used as a substitute, Fox became a regular selection in midfield. He scored his first goal for Norwich in the 1–1 draw at
Millwall. In the 2011–12 season, Fox came third in the voting Norwich's
player of the season award for consistently good performances throughout the club's return to the
Premier League. However, Fox fell out of favour under new Norwich manager
Chris Hughton and rarely featured in the 2012–13 season. Despite this, in September 2012 it was announced that he had signed an extension to his contract — extending it until summer 2014, with the option of a further year.
Loan to Barnsley On 27 September 2013, it was announced that Fox had joined
Championship side
Barnsley on a 93-day emergency loan. Fox played against Leicester City the following day, starting seven consecutive games until he contracted mumps. His last game for Barnsley before returning to Norwich was on 9 November.
Return to Colchester United Following his release from Norwich, Fox had an unsuccessful period training with League One side
Preston North End, before rejoining his former club
Colchester United on trial. After impressing Colchester manager
Tony Humes, Fox signed a three-month contract with the club on 6 October 2014. He made his second debut for the club on 11 October, starting in the U's first home win of the season as they defeated
Fleetwood Town 2–1 at the
Community Stadium. He extended his stay with the U's on 8 January, signing a six-month contract to see him remain until the summer of 2015. Fox scored the first goal of his second stint with the club from a free kick in Colchester's 3–2 defeat to
Crawley Town on 14 March. He then scored in the next match against Yeovil Town, converting a penalty after
Jacob Murphy had been fouled by
Nathan Smith. After making 33 appearances during the season and with his contract expiring in the summer, Fox decided not to take up a contract offer by Colchester in order to move closer to his family in the North West of England.
Crewe Alexandra After his decision to leave Colchester United, Fox signed a one-year deal with
Crewe Alexandra on 14 July 2015.
Plymouth Argyle On 22 July 2016, David signed for
Football League Two club
Plymouth Argyle . Fox scored his first goal for Plymouth in an
FA Cup tie against
Mansfield Town on 5 November 2016. He was offered a new contract by Plymouth at the end of the 2017–18 season, and again at the end of the 2018–19 season, but rejected the second in favour of a move closer to home. He later joined his brother at
Leek County School Old Boys in the
Staffordshire County Senior League. ==International career==