Steve Davis (footballer born 1968)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Mark "Steve" Davis (born 30 October 1968 in Hexham
, England
) is an English
former footballer
who played as a defender. He had two spells with Burnley
, and has subsequently coached for them. He is currently the first team coach for Premier League side Bolton Wanderers
.
in August 1986, turning professional in July 1987. He was a virtual ever-present in the reserve team in both the 1987–88
and 1988–89
seasons, making 35 appearances each time. Despite this, he failed to break through into the first team.
In November 1989 he went on loan to Burnley
(who already had a player called Steve Davis
) and returned to The Dell
in February 1990. He made his Southampton debut in a 4–1 victory over Norwich City
on 27 February 1990 (in which game Matthew Le Tissier
scored a hat-trick). After a run of four games, Davis lost his place to Micky Adams
, who was returning from injury. Davis only made two further appearances for Southampton, and then, after a short loan spell at Notts County
, in August 1991 he returned to Burnley on a permanent basis for a fee of £60,000.
At Burnley he helped the club to the Division Four
championship in 1991–92
and to promotion via the play-offs in 1993–94
. Burnley were relegated the following season, and Davis was sold to Luton Town
for £750,000 in July 1995.
In 1996, despite his performing admirably for the Hatters, the club were relegated to the Division Two for the first time in over 25 years. He was then part of the side that finished third in the league in the 1996–97 season
, before losing in the play-offs to Crewe
. Due to his aerial ability, Davis was often used as an emergency striker by then-manager Lennie Lawrence
. During part of his spell at Luton, he was captain.
After over three years with Luton, Davis returned to Burnley in December 1998 for a fee of £800,000. He became club captain, and in 1999-00 he helped them back to the First Division
, thus completing Stan Ternent
's two-year rebuilding project.
He remained at Burnley until July 2003, when he moved on to Lancashire
rivals Blackpool
on a two-year deal. He joined York City
in June 2004 on a two-year deal, however he retired from the game in 2005.
hoped to prepare him for a coaching role at the club at some level.
In January 2006 Burnley first team coach Mark Yates
was offered the managers job at Conference side Kidderminster Harriers. This meant a step up for Steve Davis, who came in as a direct replacement for Yates, taking up the roles of first team coach and reserve team manager. The move was greeted with great support from Burnley fans, as Davis was still held in very high regard at Turf Moor. Davis shared the supporters' sentiment, quoting "This has to be top of my list for football memories. Burnley is my club and everyone knows what it means to me." Davis' quick rise would continue in November 2007 when he was moved up a rank once again by Cotterill, replacing the outgoing Dave Kevan
(who had moved to a similar role at Notts County) as assistant manager. This role lasted just a matter of days, before he was promoted up to caretaker-manager upon the sacking of Cotterill. His first job was to take the team to Leicester City for a Football League Championship
match. An early Andy Gray goal gave him a 1-0 win, in what he described as one of the proudest moments of his career. He was a candidate to replace Cotterill full-time as Burnley manager but in the end the board went for Scottish rookie Owen Coyle
, however Davis would remain on the staff in his former role as first-team coach. Under Coyle's stewardship Burnley won promotion to the Premier League.
In January 2010, Davis was made caretaker manager
of Burnley for a matter of days before joining the backroom staff at Coyle's new club, Bolton Wanderers
. During this spell he never took charge of a first team game.
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
, England
England
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...
) is an English
England
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...
former footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played as a defender. He had two spells with Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, and has subsequently coached for them. He is currently the first team coach for Premier League side 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....
.
Playing career
Davis started his career as a trainee with 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 August 1986, turning professional in July 1987. He was a virtual ever-present in the reserve team in both the 1987–88
1987-88 in English football
The 1987–88 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season....
and 1988–89
1988-89 in English football
The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...
seasons, making 35 appearances each time. Despite this, he failed to break through into the first team.
In November 1989 he went on loan to Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
(who already had a player called Steve Davis
Steve Davis (footballer born 1965)
Steven Peter "Steve" Davis is an English footballer and is the manager at Crewe Alexandra.-Playing career:...
) and returned to The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
in February 1990. He made his Southampton debut in a 4–1 victory over Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
on 27 February 1990 (in which game Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
scored a hat-trick). After a run of four games, Davis lost his place to Micky Adams
Micky Adams
Michael Richard "Micky" Adams is an English former professional footballer turned football manager who is in charge of League Two side Port Vale. As a player he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen year professional career in the Football League, including five...
, who was returning from injury. Davis only made two further appearances for Southampton, and then, after a short loan spell at Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
, in August 1991 he returned to Burnley on a permanent basis for a fee of £60,000.
At Burnley he helped the club to the Division Four
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
championship in 1991–92
1991-92 in English football
- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...
and to promotion via the play-offs in 1993–94
1993-94 in English football
The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years...
. Burnley were relegated the following season, and Davis was sold to Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
for £750,000 in July 1995.
In 1996, despite his performing admirably for the Hatters, the club were relegated to the Division Two for the first time in over 25 years. He was then part of the side that finished third in the league in the 1996–97 season
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
, before losing in the play-offs to Crewe
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
. Due to his aerial ability, Davis was often used as an emergency striker by then-manager Lennie Lawrence
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, is a British football manager who is assistant manager of Crystal Palace. He has managed a number of English clubs and one Welsh club in a coaching career spanning over 30 years...
. During part of his spell at Luton, he was captain.
After over three years with Luton, Davis returned to Burnley in December 1998 for a fee of £800,000. He became club captain, and in 1999-00 he helped them back to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
, thus completing Stan Ternent
Stan Ternent
Francis Stanley "Stan" Ternent is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He is currently a scout for Sunderland.-Career:...
's two-year rebuilding project.
He remained at Burnley until July 2003, when he moved on to Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
rivals Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
on a two-year deal. He joined York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
in June 2004 on a two-year deal, however he retired from the game in 2005.
Management career
Davis returned to Burnley in a scouting role in October 2005, as manager Steve CotterillSteve Cotterill
Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...
hoped to prepare him for a coaching role at the club at some level.
In January 2006 Burnley first team coach Mark Yates
Mark Yates (footballer)
Mark Jason Yates is an English football manager and former player, currently managing Cheltenham Town. As a player he played primarily in a central midfield role.-Playing career:...
was offered the managers job at Conference side Kidderminster Harriers. This meant a step up for Steve Davis, who came in as a direct replacement for Yates, taking up the roles of first team coach and reserve team manager. The move was greeted with great support from Burnley fans, as Davis was still held in very high regard at Turf Moor. Davis shared the supporters' sentiment, quoting "This has to be top of my list for football memories. Burnley is my club and everyone knows what it means to me." Davis' quick rise would continue in November 2007 when he was moved up a rank once again by Cotterill, replacing the outgoing Dave Kevan
Dave Kevan
David "Dave" Kevan is a Scottish football coach, currently with Stoke City. He is also a former professional player who played as a midfielder, making nearly 200 career appearances.-Playing career:...
(who had moved to a similar role at Notts County) as assistant manager. This role lasted just a matter of days, before he was promoted up to caretaker-manager upon the sacking of Cotterill. His first job was to take the team to Leicester City for a 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...
match. An early Andy Gray goal gave him a 1-0 win, in what he described as one of the proudest moments of his career. He was a candidate to replace Cotterill full-time as Burnley manager but in the end the board went for Scottish rookie Owen Coyle
Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle is a Scottish-born Irish international former professional player and professional association football manager . He is currently the manager of Bolton Wanderers....
, however Davis would remain on the staff in his former role as first-team coach. Under Coyle's stewardship Burnley won promotion to the Premier League.
In January 2010, Davis was made caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
of Burnley for a matter of days before joining the backroom staff at Coyle's new club, 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....
. During this spell he never took charge of a first team game.