Billy Davies
Encyclopedia
William McIntosh "Billy" Davies (born 31 May 1964) is a Glasgow-born
Scottish
football manager
, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship
with East Midlands Rivals
Derby County
and Nottingham Forest
and Preston North End
which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at this level, in the game." He won the 2007 Playoffs
with Derby County, finished as runners-up in 2005
with Preston and reached the semi-finals in 2006 (Preston), 2010 and 2011 (both with Nottingham Forest). He also holds the record for the most Football League Championship Manager of the Month
awards (jointly with Neil Warnock
having won two each at Preston, Derby and Nottingam Forest.
and he was offered a contract by then manager Dave Sexton
, but ended up leaving without ever playing a first-team game.
Davies started his professional playing career at the Scottish club Rangers F.C.
, where he spent six years. He made his debut aged against Brechin City
on 23 September 1981. He had a brief spell with Swedish team IF Elfsborg. Davies went on to play for St Mirren, Leicester City
and Dunfermline Athletic
before he finished his playing career with Motherwell
in his native Scotland.
and took on the role of assistant manager to former Scotland
national coach Craig Brown at . Following Brown's departure in 2004 Davies was installed as caretaker manager before being given the job on a permanent basis.
Davies took Preston to the brink of the Premier League via the play-offs in May 2005 but lost in the final. Despite a difficult start to the 2005–06 season, Preston went on to qualify for the play-offs for a second successive season although the side again failed to win promotion as they were knocked out by Leeds United
after losing the semi-final second leg, where he famously left Elland Road (the 1st leg) issuing the quote "Job Done" to the media, just to be beaten at home and knocked out of the play-offs.
Davies's success at Deepdale saw him linked with a number of other jobs. He was interviewed for the position at Charlton Athletic
when it was announced that Alan Curbishley
would be stepping down after 15 years as manager, but Davies was unsuccessful and the job went to Iain Dowie
instead. Davies then accepted an offer to manage Preston's Championship rivals Derby County
in June 2006.
in the semi-finals and then West Bromwich Albion
at Wembley Stadium
, ending Derby's five year absence from the top flight. Davies signed a one year extension to his contract. Derby struggled in the Premier League, gaining only six points from fourteen games. After criticising Derby's board for lack of investment, Davies left Pride Park
by mutual consent in November 2007 with the club bottom of the league. Some critics believed that Davies was a victim of his own success after overachieving in his first season at Pride Park, while others cited his apparent tactical inefficiencies at top flight level, poor big money signings (including £3m Claude Davis
) and suggested Davies had engineered his own departure, in the form of an outspoken rant against the board so as to avoid having a relegation on his CV.
Davies was later linked with the managerial positions of the Scottish national team
after Alex McLeish
stepped down to take charge of Birmingham City
(Davies would eventually withdraw interest from the post), Leicester City
(after Gary Megson
defected to Bolton Wanderers
), as well as Dundee
and Hibernian
. Davies was also considered a candidate to become assistant manager to boss David Moyes
, a role which came vacant when Alan Irvine
left to take charge of Davies's old club Preston.
website that the club was in negotiations with Davies to succeed the recently-sacked Colin Calderwood
. Davies was confirmed as their manager on 1 January 2009.
In the summer of 2009 Davies made several additions to his squad and spent around £4m. Despite having six first-team strikers, the season did not get off to the best start, with Forest playing well but failing to get the results many thought their performances deserved. However Forest embarked upon a 18-match unbeaten run starting at the end of September and including 10 wins, 5 of which came successively, to rapidly climb the table into a playoff position at the end of November.
Davies was nominated for the manager of the month award for October after guiding Forest to three successive wins and a draw, but he missed out to Dave Jones of Cardiff City
. Following failure in the play-offs for the second season running, on 12 June 2011 Davies was sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest.
Derby County:
and the brother-in-law of John Spencer
. Davies signed both his brother and Spencer when he was manager
of Motherwell
.
In the aftermath of the perjury conviction of his childhood friend, Tommy Sheridan
– HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan
– Davies was alleged to have taken part in group sex alongside Sheridan, journalist Anvar Khan and Laura Smith. Davies denied the allegations and his wife, Martha, publicly asserted that she believes her husband "100%". He strenuously denied the allegation.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
football manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
with East Midlands Rivals
East Midlands derby
This article is only about games featuring Nottingham Forest and Derby County. For games with either of those clubs against Leicester City, see Leicester City F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. rivalry or Derby County F.C. and Leicester City F.C. rivalry....
Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
and Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at this level, in the game." He won the 2007 Playoffs
2007 Football League Championship play-off final
The 2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, also known as the 2007 Coca-Cola Championship play-off Final due to sponsorship from Coca-Cola, was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, at the end of the 2006–07 season...
with Derby County, finished as runners-up in 2005
2005 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2005 Football League Championship play-off Final was contested by West Ham United and Preston North End at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. West Ham won 1–0, with a goal from Bobby Zamora.-Match details:-References:...
with Preston and reached the semi-finals in 2006 (Preston), 2010 and 2011 (both with Nottingham Forest). He also holds the record for the most Football League Championship Manager of the Month
Football League Championship Manager of the Month
The Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
awards (jointly with Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
having won two each at Preston, Derby and Nottingam Forest.
Playing career
As a schoolboy, Davies was associated with Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and he was offered a contract by then manager Dave Sexton
Dave Sexton
David "Dave" Sexton OBE is an English former football manager and player.-Playing career:Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he started his playing career with West Ham United in 1948. Playing mainly at inside-forward, he would finish his career with time at Luton Town, Leyton Orient,...
, but ended up leaving without ever playing a first-team game.
Davies started his professional playing career at the Scottish club Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, where he spent six years. He made his debut aged against Brechin City
Brechin City F.C.
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football team based in Brechin, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Football League and play in the Second Division in the 2010–11 season...
on 23 September 1981. He had a brief spell with Swedish team IF Elfsborg. Davies went on to play for St Mirren, Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
and Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
before he finished his playing career with Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
in his native Scotland.
Motherwell
Davies went on to player-coach and then manage Motherwell, helping them first avoid relegation with few games remaining in his first season in charge, In the next season he took them to the brink of European Football. The subsequent season was less successful, due mainly to the clubs financial situation, the club sold nine first-team players in the off-season, and Davies was sacked after poor form saw Motherwell gain just 3 points from seven matches at the start of the 2001–02 season.Preston North End
Following his dismissal as Motherwell boss, Davies moved south to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and took on the role of assistant manager to former Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
national coach Craig Brown at . Following Brown's departure in 2004 Davies was installed as caretaker manager before being given the job on a permanent basis.
Davies took Preston to the brink of the Premier League via the play-offs in May 2005 but lost in the final. Despite a difficult start to the 2005–06 season, Preston went on to qualify for the play-offs for a second successive season although the side again failed to win promotion as they were knocked out by Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
after losing the semi-final second leg, where he famously left Elland Road (the 1st leg) issuing the quote "Job Done" to the media, just to be beaten at home and knocked out of the play-offs.
Davies's success at Deepdale saw him linked with a number of other jobs. He was interviewed for the position at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
when it was announced that Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
would be stepping down after 15 years as manager, but Davies was unsuccessful and the job went to Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
instead. Davies then accepted an offer to manage Preston's Championship rivals Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
in June 2006.
Derby County
In Davies's first season as Derby manager he led them to third place in the league and then won the play-offs after defeating SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in the semi-finals and then West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, ending Derby's five year absence from the top flight. Davies signed a one year extension to his contract. Derby struggled in the Premier League, gaining only six points from fourteen games. After criticising Derby's board for lack of investment, Davies left Pride Park
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...
by mutual consent in November 2007 with the club bottom of the league. Some critics believed that Davies was a victim of his own success after overachieving in his first season at Pride Park, while others cited his apparent tactical inefficiencies at top flight level, poor big money signings (including £3m Claude Davis
Claude Davis
Claude Davis is a Jamaican footballer who plays as a centre back. He currently plays for Crawley Town F.C. in English League Two.-Portmore United:...
) and suggested Davies had engineered his own departure, in the form of an outspoken rant against the board so as to avoid having a relegation on his CV.
Davies was later linked with the managerial positions of the Scottish national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
after Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
stepped down to take charge of Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
(Davies would eventually withdraw interest from the post), Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
(after Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
defected to Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
), as well as Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
and Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
. Davies was also considered a candidate to become assistant manager to boss David Moyes
David Moyes
David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...
, a role which came vacant when Alan Irvine
Alan Irvine
James Alan Irvine , more commonly known as Alan Irvine, is a Scottish former football player and manager, currently in charge of the Everton academy. Irvine played for five different clubs in Scotland and England during a 15 year playing career. He then became a coach, assisting Davie Moyes at...
left to take charge of Davies's old club Preston.
Nottingham Forest
On 31 December 2008, it was announced on the official Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
website that the club was in negotiations with Davies to succeed the recently-sacked Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood is a Scottish football player and coach. In November 2011 he was appointed as Chris Hughton's assistant manager at Birmingham City....
. Davies was confirmed as their manager on 1 January 2009.
In the summer of 2009 Davies made several additions to his squad and spent around £4m. Despite having six first-team strikers, the season did not get off to the best start, with Forest playing well but failing to get the results many thought their performances deserved. However Forest embarked upon a 18-match unbeaten run starting at the end of September and including 10 wins, 5 of which came successively, to rapidly climb the table into a playoff position at the end of November.
Davies was nominated for the manager of the month award for October after guiding Forest to three successive wins and a draw, but he missed out to Dave Jones of Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
. Following failure in the play-offs for the second season running, on 12 June 2011 Davies was sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest.
Club
Preston North End:- Football League Championship Playoffs
- Runners-up (1): 2004–05
Derby County:
- Football League Championship Playoffs
- Winners (1): 2006–07
Individual
- SPL Manager of the MonthScottish Premier League monthly awardsThis article lists the winners of the Manager, Player and Young Player monthly awards in the Scottish Premier League since the2000–01 season. No Young Player of the Month were awarded in the 2000–01 season. Rising Star awards were issued most months in the 2007–08 season.The awards are currently...
winner (1):- Motherwell (1): November 2000
- Football League Championship Manager of the MonthFootball League Championship Manager of the MonthThe Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
winner (6):- Preston North End (2): January 2006, April 2006
- Derby County (2): November 2006, January 2007
- Nottingham Forest (2): December 2009, January 2011
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Motherwell Motherwell F.C. Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998... |
 |
14 October 1998 | 18 September 2001 | 123 | 41 | 31 | 51 | 33.33 |
| Preston North End Preston North End F.C. Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One... |
 |
29 August 2004 | 2 June 2006 | 101 | 45 | 35 | 21 | 44.55 |
| Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... |
|
2 June 2006 | 26 November 2007 | 69 | 31 | 14 | 24 | 43.63 |
| Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... |
|
31 December 2008 | 12 June 2011 | 126 | 53 | 36 | 37 | 42.06 |
| Total | 419 | 170 | 116 | 133 | ||||
Personal life
Billy Davies is the brother of John DaviesJohn Davies (footballer born 1966)
John Davies is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Clydebank, St. Johnstone, Airdrie, Ayr United and Motherwell....
and the brother-in-law of John Spencer
John Spencer (footballer)
John Spencer is the head coach for Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. Spencer is a former professional football player, who represented Scotland at international level...
. Davies signed both his brother and Spencer when he was manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
of Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
.
In the aftermath of the perjury conviction of his childhood friend, Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
– HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan
HM Advocate v Sheridan and Sheridan
Her Majesty's Advocate v Thomas Sheridan and Gail Sheridan was the 2010 criminal prosecution of Tommy Sheridan, a former Member of the Scottish Parliament and his wife Gail Sheridan for perjury in relation to the earlier civil case Sheridan v News Group Newspapers.In Scotland criminal prosecutions...
– Davies was alleged to have taken part in group sex alongside Sheridan, journalist Anvar Khan and Laura Smith. Davies denied the allegations and his wife, Martha, publicly asserted that she believes her husband "100%". He strenuously denied the allegation.