Simon Davies (footballer born 1979)

Football player infobox
playername = Simon Davies


fullname = Simon Davies
nickname = Digger
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|10|23
cityofbirth = Haverfordwest
countryofbirth = Wales
height = height|m=1.78
currentclub = Fulham
clubnumber = 25
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Wrexham Peterborough United
years = 1997–2000 2000–2005 2005–2007 2007–
clubs = Peterborough United Tottenham Hotspur Everton Fulham
caps(goals) = 065 0(6) 121 (13) 045 0(1) 051 0(7)
nationalyears = 2001–
nationalteam = Wales
nationalcaps(goals) = 053 0(6)
pcupdate = 20:50, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 17:20, 11 October 2008

Simon Davies, (born October 23 1979), is a Wales international football player who currently plays for Fulham. His favoured position is the right side of midfield.

Club career

Peterborough United

Davies was a trainee with Wrexham, before joining Peterborough United at the age of 15. After graduating from the side's academy system, he quickly established himself as a first team player with the club, amassing over 50 first team appearances before he turned 20. His performances for the club encouraged Tottenham Hotspur manager George Graham to spend £700,000 to take him, along with fellow winger Matthew Etherington, to White Hart Lane on December 31 1999.

Tottenham Hotspur

Davies made his Spurs debut on April 9 2000 during a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool.

Davies spent the early months of the 2000/01 season as a substitute. However, after coming on for the injured Øyvind Leonhardsen early in the FA Cup 5th round tie against Stockport County on February 17 2001, Davies scored twice. This game marked the beginning of his transformation into a first-team regular for the club.

In the five years that Davies played for Tottenham, during which time he suffered a number of injuries, he made 154 appearances and scored 24 goals in all competitions.

Everton

On May 26 2005 he completed a transfer to Everton for a fee which could reach £4m depending on appearances. The move meant that Davies received his first chance to play in Europe's premier football competition, the UEFA Champions League. On the whole, Davies had a poor first season in Everton's disappointing 2005/06 campaign. He did, however, score a winning goal at Birmingham City to give Everton their first win in over two months, a result which prompted a change in fortunes for the Merseysiders.

Fulham

In January 2007, he left Everton for Fulham, for an undisclosed fee. He was brought in as the long term replacement for Steed Malbranque on the right side of midfield. On January 30 2007, he played his first Premiership match for Fulham against Sheffield United.

Since joining Fulham from Everton, he has become a mainstay on the right hand side of midfield contributing with some spectacular goals (free kick against Sunderland and full volley against Reading) and great crosses. His pace, along with his high work rate have made him a crowd favourite and earned him the respect of former manager Lawrie Sanchez. Simon Davies was voted Fulham's player of the season in the 2007/2008 season [. cite web|title=Tactical Formation|work=Football-Lineups.com
url=http://www.football-lineups.com/wiki/_match3670.php | accessdate=February 7 | accessyear=2007]

International career

Davies made his debut for Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on June 6, 2001.

Davies has played for Wales 51 times and scored six goals. His best performance for his country came on October 16 2002 when he scored the team's opening goal in a shock 2-1 victory over Italy.

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=10757|name=Simon Davies
* [http://www.uptheposh.com/people/2475/ Profile] at [http://www.uptheposh.com/ UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database]