Just in case you didn’t notice Northern Ireland have done something special, not only did they qualify for their first international tournament in 20 years, but became the first team ever to top a qualifying group from a pot 5 seeding. To put that into context, the others teams in that pot were the likes of Moldova, Georgia and Lithuania. And whilst heaps of praise have been put on Kyle Lafferty, Norn Iron’s campaign might have gone a lot less smoothly without the former-Villa player, Steven Davis.
Unlike most of the players we’ve covered so far in this segment, Davis was brought through the youth academy, and was moulded into one of the best playmakers The Villans have produced since the turn of the millennium. At least that was the billing. He even got the Lawrie Sanchez seal of approval that he was: “the next Frank Lampard”. However, a botched move to a Fulham team going nowhere under said manager led to his career stalling before being reignited by his boyhood club Rangers and Southampton.
When he first came over from Northern Ireland he was a pivot in a FA youth Cup winning Villa side which also featured future Cardiff City legend Peter Whittingham and soon to be turncoat Liam Ridgewell.
Whist many of that team would go on to play for the likes of Solihull Moors, Leicester Nirvana F.C and Longford Town. Davis’s talents and potential was clear to see, potential that would see the Ballymena born player thrown into the first team.
He wouldn’t disappoint, making his debut as a sub for Nobby Solano against Norwich City, Davis would go on to make 27 more appearances in the 2004-05 season. Including that game against Southampton, where he would slot in his first goal for the club to secure one of our best comeback performances in the Premier League era.
His remaining four Villa goals would come in the following season, he would also go on to do a treble winning our “young player of the year”, “fans player of the year” and “player of the year”. The fact that he managed to bag the lot is a sad comment that in the mire that was the David O’Leary era, he was the only true bright spark.
Leaving Villa Park
His final season at Villa would see uncertainty about his future after being made a clear target by Fulham and former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez. Eventually the former Wimbledon player would get his man along with other NI internationals Alex Pearce, David Healey, and Chris Baird. Sanchez’s Northern Ireland contingent failed, in a similar way to his crystal ball when in 2007 he spoke to The Independent stating that Jose Mourinho would be a “footnote” in Chelsea’s history and that Louis Van Gaal was a ‘I get results, therefore b**** to everything else.’ manager in what is perhaps the most bizarre profile in journalism history.
Dream Move
After feuding with almost every manager in the league, Sanchez eventually departed Fulham after just eight months in charge, for Davis and the rest of the NI contingent it meant their Fulham careers’ were dead in the water. Fortunately for Davis, his football life would be saved when boy-hood club Rangers came knocking.
It was at the Scottish club that all the potential he showed at Villa would become a reality. His first season was a landmark year that would see The Gers reach the Uefa cup final and lift the Scottish league cup and FA Cup. Sadly that final is remembered for the wrong reasons rather than the valiant effort Davis put in to keep his team in the game, however they were outclassed by the Russian team, and out thought by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat.
Nonetheless, it acted as a catalyst for the entire team that would go on to win three league titles in a row before Craig Whyte would bring the club to its knees.
Moving Back To The Top
Rejecting the fresh start in the Scottish Third Division, Davis would move to Southampton and return to the Premier League. Seen by some at the old firm club as a traitor, Davis pleaded for fans to understand he was leaving for the sake of his career. Meanwhile the south coast welcomed him with open arms. Smashing in a 15 yard effort against Manchester City on his debut before rifling another in against the same club in the same season. With all the talk about the likes of Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez; Davis was hardly mentioned as a key player. However, after the departure of Morgan Schneiderlin has been vindicated as a key cog at the club.
The Euros
Obviously his greatest achievement will be leading Northern Ireland to the Euros, and doing it on merit to since it would be easy to argue that the team expansion was the reason for it if they came third and snuck through a play-off against Israel. However, that didn’t happen; Davis and co won a group consisting of former World Cup finalist Hungary, former world number three in Romania and Euro 2004 champions, Greece.
When the final whistle blew in Athens last month it represented a completion of a journey from the footballing wilderness to, what one could argue, being one of the top eight teams on the continent: “Whenever you mention yourself in the same breath as the ex-captains it is unbelievable,” Davis told reporters after the game. “It’s hard for me to sum that feeling up because it gives me so much pride.“Obviously Thursday night was a very proud moment for me as well. I was delighted for all my family and all the boys, Michael O’Neill and everyone, including the fans”.
It’s amazing how far both Davis has come since his younger days at Villa, and the nation he represents since not scoring in ten games this time a decade ago, that fire is still there in him and since it’s qualification to Euro 2016 is burning brighter than ever before. It’s certainly a fire we could do with being back at Villa Park.
