Steven Davis

Steven Davis
Davis lining up for Northern Ireland in 2012
Personal information
Full name Steven Davis[1]
Date of birth (1985-01-01) 1 January 1985
Place of birth Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 8
Youth career
St Andrews Boys Club
2002–2004 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Aston Villa 91 (5)
2007–2008 Fulham 22 (0)
2008 → Rangers (loan) 12 (0)
2008–2012 Rangers 140 (18)
2012– Southampton 191 (12)
National team‡
Northern Ireland U15 8 (1)
Northern Ireland U16 3 (0)
Northern Ireland U17 8 (0)
Northern Ireland U19 8 (0)
2003–2004 Northern Ireland U21 3 (0)
2004 Northern Ireland U23 1 (1)
2005– Northern Ireland 104 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:16, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:19, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

Steven Davis, MBE (born 1 January 1985) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of both Premier League club Southampton and the Northern Ireland national team. Davis made his full international debut in 2005 and has since been capped 100 times at senior level, scoring ten goals. He captained his nation at UEFA Euro 2016.

Davis began his career with Premier League side Aston Villa and made his first appearance for the club in 2004 against Norwich City. He was named "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" and "Player of the Year" for the 2005–06 season after making 42 appearances during the season. Davis was sold to Fulham for £4 million in the summer of 2007, but moved on loan to Scottish side Rangers in January 2008 for an initial six months. He was part of the side that reached the 2008 UEFA Cup Final and that won the 2007–08 Scottish League Cup and 2007–08 Scottish Cup.

At the end of the season, he moved permanently to Rangers for £3 million. He made 211 appearances for the Glasgow club, winning three consecutive league titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups. Following the club's insolvency in 2012, Davis exercised his rights under TUPE regulations to rescind his contract and become a free agent, returning to the Premier League with Southampton.

Club career

Aston Villa

Davis as an Aston Villa player, May 2007.

Davis, who was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, started his career at St Andrews Boys Club before transferring to Aston Villa in 2002.[3][4] He was a member of the 2002 FA Youth Cup winning team that beat Everton 4–2 in the final.[5][6] His first professional appearance was on 18 September 2004, he was a 57th-minute replacement for Nolberto Solano in a goalless Premier League match against Norwich City at Carrow Road.[7] Davis made 28 league appearances across the season, scoring the winner in a 3–2 comeback victory at Southampton on 16 April 2005.[8]

On 13 August 2005, in Villa's first game of the new campaign, Davis volleyed past Jussi Jääskeläinen to secure a 2–2 home draw against Bolton Wanderers, albeit after nine minutes.[9] He scored twice on 20 September in the third round of the Football League Cup, as Villa won 8–3 at Wycombe Wanderers.[10] By October 2005, he was a regular for the club and missed only one game for Villa in the 2005–06 season.[5] Davis was named Villa's "Young Player of the Year", "The Fans Player of the Year" and "Player of the Year" for the 2005–06 season.[5][11] His form prompted the Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez, to state that Davis could be "another Frank Lampard".[12] Davis made 102 appearances for Villa and scored nine times.[13] On 2 January 2006, he headed the first goal of a 2–1 win at rivals West Bromwich Albion.[14]

Fulham

In the summer of 2007, Davis followed teammate Aaron Hughes to Fulham on 5 July 2007 to team up with international manager Sanchez, for a fee of around £4 million.[3] He made his Fulham debut against Arsenal on 12 August 2007 and made 22 appearances for Fulham before moving to Rangers.[15][16]

Rangers

On 31 January 2008, Davis was signed on a six-month loan deal by Rangers, the club he supported as a boy.[16] Davis made his Rangers debut against Panathinaikos in the UEFA Cup on 13 February.[17] He scored his first goal, again in European competition, against German side Werder Bremen.[18] Davis scored for Rangers in the penalty shootout against Dundee United that won Rangers the League Cup.[19] He also helped the team reach the 2008 UEFA Cup Final,[20] and won the Scottish Cup in May.[21]

Davis made his move from Fulham permanent on 21 August 2008, in a deal worth £3 million, signing a four-year contract.[22] He made his first appearance of the season for Rangers against Aberdeen, during a 1–1 draw the day after he permanently signed.[23] Davis scored his first goal for Rangers, since his move became permanent, against Motherwell.[24] He scored the only goal in the final Old Firm derby of the season on 9 May 2009, to take Rangers to the top of the SPL by two points.[25] Davis won the SPL title and Scottish Cup with Rangers in the 2008–09 season.[26]

Davis began his goalscoring in the 2009–10 season against St. Mirren on 27 January.[27] He continued his goalscoring form against Falkirk in the next game, curling a free kick into Bobby Olejnik's top right hand corner.[28] Davis's performances in January 2010, earned him the SPL Player of the Month award.[29] He was also named SPFA Players' Player of the Year on 2 May 2010. and won the SPL and Scottish League Cup each for the second time.[30]

Davis scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Motherwell at Ibrox in October 2010, when he collected the ball 30 yards from goal before striking it into the top corner.[31] The goal drew comparisons to former Rangers favourite Ian Durrant.[31] Davis followed this up by scoring the winning goal in the match against Inverness at Ibrox in January 2011.[32] In the 2011 Scottish League Cup Final against Celtic, Davis opened the scoring in a match, which Rangers won 2–1 after extra time.[33] This was the third time he had won the Scottish League Cup.[33] Davis scored in back-to-back games in the 2011 title run in against Motherwell,[34] and then Hearts,[35] before playing his 54th, and final game of the season in a 5–1 win over Kilmarnock, as Rangers won their 3rd consecutive SPL championship.[36]

On 19 July 2011, Davis signed a new five-year contract with Rangers.[37] He was made Rangers temporary captain, with the absence of formal club captain David Weir for the first part of the 2011–12 season.[38] Davis scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox in August.[39] In the first Old Firm match of the 2011–12 season, Davis provided two assists in the game, as Rangers beat Celtic 4–2.[40] After Rangers beat Dunfermline 4–0 at East End Park, Rangers manager Ally McCoist praised Davis's performance by saying "It was a captain's performance from the best player on the park."[41] For his performances during September 2011, he received the SPL Player of the Month award.[42] Following the insolvency of Rangers in 2012, Davis exercised his rights under TUPE regulations to rescind his contract and become a free agent.[43] PFA Scotland had previously commented that players were entitled to become free agents if they objected to the transfer to the new company formed by Charles Green.[44]

Southampton

Davis playing for Southampton in the Premier League in October 2016.

Davis rejected the chance to stay with Rangers and instead signed a three-year deal with Premier League side Southampton on 6 July 2012.[45][46] The deal was subsequently extended to 2016 as part of the agreement with Rangers to complete the transfer without the need for the international transfer clearance to be agreed by FIFA, with the two clubs agreeing a fee.[47][48] After joining Southampton, Davis pleaded the Rangers fans to agree with his decision to leave but accepted that a minority of fans would take a different view[49] and made his explanation he left Rangers in order to revive his football career.[50]

He made his debut on 19 August 2012, and scored to put the team ahead at holders Manchester City only three minutes after coming on as a substitute, but Southampton eventually lost 3–2.[51] His only other goal of the season came against the same opposition, in a 3–1 home win on 13 February 2013.[52]

His first two goals of the 2013–14 season came in a 5–1 victory at Barnsley in the League Cup second round on 27 August, the latter being a penalty.[53]

On 17 October 2014, Davis signed a new contract to keep him at Southampton until 2018.[54]

On 8 May 2016, Davis scored his first ever league brace for Southampton in a 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[55] He followed this up with a goal in a 4–1 victory over Crystal Palace on the final day of the season.[56]

On 18 June 2016, he signed a new 3-year contract, extending his stay with the club until 2019.[57]

He made his 200th Southampton appearance on 16 September 2017 against Crystal Palace, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory.[58]

International career

Davis made his full international debut on 9 February 2005 in a 1–0 loss to Canada, and made the assist for David Healy in Northern Ireland's famous 1–0 victory over England in a 2006 World Cup qualification match on 7 September.[59] Davis' first goal came against Wales in a 3–2 home defeat in another qualifier on 8 October.[60] He was also part of the side who beat Spain 3–2 at Windsor Park in September 2006.[61]

On 21 May 2006, he became Northern Ireland's youngest modern day captain against Uruguay in the United States, a 1–0 loss.[5][62]

On 8 October 2015, Davis scored twice in a 3–1 victory over Greece to help Northern Ireland qualify for the final tournament of Euro 2016, their first European Championship.[63]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 October 2018
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 2004–05[64] Premier League 2811000—291
2005–06[65] Premier League 3544232—428
2006–07[66] Premier League 2800030—310
Total 9155262001029
Fulham 2007–08[67] Premier League 2201020—250
Rangers (loan) 2007–08[67] Scottish Premier League 12040109[lower-alpha 1]1261
Rangers 2008–09[68] Scottish Premier League 346514000437
2009–10[69] Scottish Premier League 36350316[lower-alpha 2]0504
2010–11[70] Scottish Premier League 374303110[lower-alpha 3]0535
2011–12[71] Scottish Premier League 33510103[lower-alpha 4]0385
Total 1521818112228121022
Southampton 2012–13[72] Premier League 3221000—332
2013–14[73] Premier League 3423032—404
2014–15[74] Premier League 3503030—410
2015–16[75] Premier League 34510303[lower-alpha 5]0415
2016–17[76] Premier League 32000404[lower-alpha 5]0400
2017–18[77] Premier League 2332000—253
2018–19[78] Premier League 100020—30
Total 191121001527022314
Career total 4563534335635155544
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one in UEFA Europa League
  5. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 12 October 2018[79]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Northern Ireland 2005101
200670
200790
200861
200970
201050
201172
201260
201381
201460
201583
2016131
201791
201831
Total10411

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.[79]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 October 2005Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland8 Wales2–22–32006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 15 October 2008Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland32 San Marino4–04–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 10 August 2011Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland47 Faroe Islands2–04–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
4 7 October 2011Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland50 Estonia1–01–2UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
5 15 October 2013Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel64 Israel1–11–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 8 October 2015Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
77
 Greece1–03–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
7 3–0
8 13 November 2015Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland79 Latvia1–01–0Friendly
9 8 October 2016Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland89 San Marino1–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 1 September 2017San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino96 San Marino3–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 11 September 2018Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland103 Israel1–03–0Friendly

Honours

Club

Aston Villa

Rangers

Southampton

Personal awards

Davis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to football.[81][82][83]

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile Steven Davis". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Fulham complete £4m Davis swoop". BBC Sport. 5 July 2007.
  4. ↑ "Profile of Steven Davis". Irish FA. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Fulham Sign Davis". Fulham F.C. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Villa lift FA Youth Cup". BBC Sport. 18 May 2002. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Norwich 0–0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 18 September 2004.
  8. ↑ "Southampton 2-3 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Aston Villa 2-2 Bolton". BBC Sport. 13 August 2005. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Wycombe 3-8 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Davis cleans up at Villa awards". Irish FA. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  12. ↑ Daley, Kieran (20 August 2005). "Sanchez says Davis could emulate Lampard". The Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis Aston Villa Stats in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "West Brom 1-2 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 2 January 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  16. 1 2 "Fulham's Davis loaned to Rangers". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008.
  17. ↑ "Rangers 0–0 Panathinaikos". BBC Sport. 13 February 2008.
  18. ↑ Moffat, Colin (6 March 2008). "Rangers 2–0 Werder Bremen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  19. ↑ "Dundee United 2–2 Rangers". The Guardian. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "Zenit St Petersburg 2–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  21. ↑ "Scottish Cup final as it happened". BBC Sport. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  22. ↑ "Fulham's Davis moves to Rangers". BBC Sport. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  23. ↑ "Aberdeen 1–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 23 August 2008.
  24. ↑ Dickson, Andrew (21 September 2008). "Rangers 2–1 Motherwell". Rangers F.C. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "Rangers 1–0 Celtic". BBC. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  26. ↑ Forsyth, Roddy (30 May 2009). "Rangers 1 Falkirk 0: Match report". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  27. ↑ "St Mirren 0–2 Rangers". BBC Sport. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  28. ↑ "Rangers 3–0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  29. 1 2 "Rangers' Steven Davis wins January SPL award". BBC Sport. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  30. ↑ "Davis crowned player of the year". BBC Sport. 2 May 2010.
  31. 1 2 Murray, Ewan (16 October 2010). "Four-goal Rangers make Motherwell pay for snatching early lead". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  32. ↑ "Rangers 1–0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  33. 1 2 Forsyth, Roddy (20 March 2011). "Celtic 1 Rangers 2: match report". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  34. ↑ "Motherwell 0–5 Rangers". BBC Sport. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  35. ↑ "Rangers 4–0 Hearts". BBC. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  36. ↑ "Kilmarnock 1–5 Rangers". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  37. ↑ "Steven Davis signs new five-year deal at Rangers". BBC Sport. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  38. ↑ "Weir important to Rangers – Davis". Football 365. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  39. ↑ "Rangers 2–0 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  40. ↑ "Ally McCoist praises Rangers players for second-half display". BBC Sport. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  41. ↑ "Manager McCoist delighted with Rangers reaction". BBC Sport. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  42. 1 2 "McCoist and Davis net SPL awards double for Rangers". BBC Sport. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  43. ↑ "Davis and McGregor become latest Rangers players to refuse newco switch". STV Sport. 26 June 2012.
  44. ↑ "Rangers: Players free not to join 'newco' says law expert". BBC Sport. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  45. ↑ "Saints Sign Steven Davis". Southampton FC. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  46. ↑ "Rangers captain Steven Davis signs for Southampton". BBC Sport. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  47. ↑ "Rangers Clear Saints' Davis Deal". Southampton FC. 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  48. ↑ "Southampton agree fee with Rangers for Steven Davis". 21 July 2012.
  49. ↑ "Rangers in crisis: Steven Davis fears fans won't forgive him after Southampton switch". Daily Record. Scotland. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  50. ↑ "I had to end my Ibrox hell, says Southampton new boy Steven Davis". Daily Record. Scotland. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  51. ↑ "Man City 3 – 2 Southampton". BBC Sport. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  52. ↑ Bevan, Chris (9 February 2013). "Southampton 3-1 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  53. ↑ "Barnsley 1-5 Southampton". BBC Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  54. ↑ "Southampton: Steven Davis extends contract until 2018". BBC Sport. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  55. ↑ "Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  56. ↑ Oscroft, Tim (15 May 2016). "Southampton 2 Crystal Palace 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  57. ↑ "Davis signs new Saints deal until 2019". Southampton FC. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  58. ↑ Reddy, Luke (16 September 2017). "Crystal Palace 0–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  59. ↑ "Northern Ireland 1–0 England". BBC Sport. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  60. ↑ "N Ireland 2–3 Wales". BBC Sport. 8 October 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  61. ↑ "Northern Ireland 3–2 Spain". BBC Sport. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  62. ↑ "NI v Uruguay photos". BBC Sport. 22 May 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  63. ↑ "Northern Ireland 3 Greece 1". BBC Sport. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  64. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  65. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  66. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  67. 1 2 "Games played by Steven Davis in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  68. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  69. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  70. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  71. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  72. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  73. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  74. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  75. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  76. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  77. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  78. ↑ "Games played by Steven Davis in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  79. 1 2 "Davis, Steven". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  80. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3 Southampton 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  81. ↑ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B17.
  82. ↑ "Davis awarded MBE". Southampton FC. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  83. ↑ "Queen's Honours: Awards for Rory Best, Jonathan Rea and Steven Davis". BBC Sport (Northern Ireland). 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  84. ↑ "Davis crowned player of the year". BBC Sport. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  85. ↑ "Davis named Northern Ireland Player of the Year". Southampton FC. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  86. ↑ "Northern Ireland's Award Winners". NIFG. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  87. 1 2 3 "Steven Davis profile". The Saints Hub. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  88. ↑ "Premier League Milestones". Premier League. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
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