| Curtis Davies |
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Curtis Eugene Davies |
| Date of birth |
15 March 1985 (1985-03-15) (age 23) |
| Place of birth |
London, England |
| Height |
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Playing position |
Defender |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Aston Villa |
| Number |
15 |
| Youth clubs |
2000–2001
2001–2003 |
Wimbledon
Luton Town |
| Senior clubs1 |
| Years |
Club |
App (Gls)* |
2003–2005
2005–2008
2007–2008
2008– |
Luton Town
West Bromwich Albion
→ Aston Villa (loan)
Aston Villa |
56 (2)
65 (2)
12 (1)
07 (0) |
| National team2 |
| 2006–2007 |
England U21 |
03 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 02:47, 6 October 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 12:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)
|
Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March 1985 in London) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender. He currently plays for Aston Villa and has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, and West Bromwich Albion.
Club career
Early career
Davies was born in Leytonstone, to an English mother and a Sierra Leonean father.[1] He started his career with Wimbledon, as a trainee, at the age of 15. A year later, he was released. He wrote to every club in the local area, including Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall asking for a trial. Luton Town responded first, two weeks before any other club, and a trial was offered. During the trial, he scored two goals in three games and was handed a scholarship straight away. He made his full team debut in 2003.
He made six appearances in the league during the 2003–04 season, with the away performance at QPR particularly good. The next season Davies achieved his first promotion as he appeared in 44 league games for the Hatters, scoring his first senior goal in the title-clinching win at Wrexham. Davies was named League One Player of the Year for that season,[2] as well as winning the Luton Town Young Player of the Year award. He also made the League One PFA Team of the Year for 2004–05, alongside five of his teammates.[3]
The next season Davies only managed six games, and a goal in his final game at home to Millwall before his impressive displays saw him signed by then-Premiership side West Bromwich Albion on 31 August 2005 for a fee of £3 million.[4]
West Bromwich Albion
Davies had an impressive first season for West Brom, making 35 starts and scoring two goals. However, he was unable to stop West Brom being relegated. On 28 July 2006 he pledged his future to West Brom, by signing a new four-year deal.
In 2006–07 Davies became West Brom captain on a permanent basis, having worn the armband on several occasions during the previous season.[2] He became Albion's second youngest captain of all time.[5] He received his first-ever red card against Middlesbrough on 17 February 2007 after receiving two yellow cards for challenges on Boro striker Mark Viduka. On 14 March, Davies broke his fifth metatarsal bone in the Baggies' game against Crystal Palace, ruling him out for the rest of the season.[6] This made him unavailable for selection for the first ever game at the new Wembley Stadium, where he was expected to have appeared for the England Under-21s. Davies was named in the PFA Championship team of the year for 2006–07.[7]
On 21 June, Davies had a transfer request rejected by West Brom. Davies subsequently handed in two further transfer requests, both of which were rejected. [8] On 30 August 2007, Albion announced that they had given permission for Davies to speak to Aston Villa regarding a possible move.[9]
Aston Villa
On 31 August 2007, Davies signed for Aston Villa on a season long loan, with a view to a permanent transfer in the summer of 2008.[10] He made his Villa debut in a 1–0 League Cup defeat to Leicester City on 27 September 2007.[11] He compared his performance to that of a pub team player saying:
| “ |
"Just awful; I didn't contribute anything. I've been bigging myself up, saying I'm ready and obviously I'm not. I'm not good enough to get in the team yet. I'm honest with myself in every performance and that was rubbish - I looked like a pub team player."[12] |
” |
Davies made his Premier League debut with Villa in the 2–0 home victory against Derby County on 3 November. He scored on his first Premier League start in a 2–1 away victory at Wigan Athletic on 29 December 2007.[13] He then became a regular in Aston Villa's back four at the expense of Zat Knight.
On 1 March 2008 Davies suffered a season ending ruptured achilles tendon against Arsenal in a 1–1 draw and was thought to be out for around six months.[14] But he surprised doctors by making a remarkable comeback much sooner than expected. He played 60 minutes in a behind-closed doors friendly against Notts County at Villa's training ground, and then 62 minutes in another friendly against Reading at the Madjeski Stadium, a game that ended with a 1–1 draw.citation needed His move to Villa was made permanent on 3 July 2008, with Davies signing a four-year contract.[15] The fee was undisclosed but has been quoted variously at between £8–10 million.[16][17][18][19]
International career
Davies made his England under-21 debut on 28 February 2006, against Norway U21s.
He was named in Fabio Capello's first provisional England squad. Davies initially expressed shock at the news of his call-up.[20]
References
- ^ Kessel, Anna (2006-10-29). "Colour blind", The Observer. Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
- ^ a b "Davies Profile", Aston Villa F.C. (2007-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
- ^ "Sunderland/Wigan dominate line-up", BBC Sport (2005-04-24). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "West Brom snap up defender Davies", BBC Sport (2005-09-01). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "Davies makes Villa switch permanent", West Bromwich Albion F.C. (2008-07-03). Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ "Davies to miss rest of the season", BBC Sport (2007-03-14). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "Ronaldo secures PFA awards double", BBC Sport (2007-04-22). Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
- ^ "West Brom reject Davies request", BBC Sport (2007-06-21). Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ "Davies in Villa talks", West Bromwich Albion F.C. (2007-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
- ^ "Villa sign Davies on season loan", BBC Sport (2007-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Aston Villa 0-1 Leicester", BBC Sport (2007-09-26). Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
- ^ "Davies admits to nightmare debut", BBC Sport (2007-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ "Wigan 1-2 Aston Villa", BBC Sport (2007-12-29). Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ "Injury rules Davies out for Villa", BBC Sport (2008-03-01). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ "Permanent Villa move for Davies", BBC Sport (2008-05-25). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Curtis Davies player statistics". soccerbase.com. Racing Post. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ "Aston Villa's Curtis Davies targeting comeback against West Brom", Daily Mirror (2008-07-04). Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ Hill, Graham (2008-07-21). "Villa boss O'Neill expects Davies to make quick return from achilles injury", Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ "West Brom sign £3.2m Dutch defender Zuiverloon from Heerenveen", Evening Standard (2008-07-02). Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
- ^ "O'Neill pride at England call-ups", BBC Sport (2008-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
External links
|