Dave Watson

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David "Dave" Watson (born 20 November 1961 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English former professional footballer who made 12 appearances for the English national team. He is now the youth team coach at Wigan Athletic.^[1]

[edit] Playing Career

Watson played for the Liverpool reserves before joining Norwich City for £50,000 on 29 November 1980. He made his league debut in the local derby against Ipswich Town on Boxing Day that year. He eventually made 256 appearances for Norwich, and as club captain lifted the Milk Cup in 1985. They went down to the Second Division that year, but won promotion the following year as champions.

He made his first 6 appearances for England whilst at Carrow Road, making his debut in a 2–0 victory against Brazil at the Maracana Stadium in June 1984, before moving on to play for Everton for £1.23 million in August 1986. He remained at Goodison Park for 15 years, winning the league title in his first season and captaining them to FA Cup glory in 1995. He also collected an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1989.

[edit] Management and Post-Career

Watson was appointed caretaker manager in March 1997 following the resignation of Joe Royle, but reverted to his playing duties in June 1997 when Howard Kendall was appointed manager for the third and final time. Watson's first-team opportunities gradually faded, but he made one appearance for Everton during the 2000–01 season, before finally announcing his retirement as a player at the age of 39, and moving into management with Tranmere Rovers. His key objective at Tranmere was to regain their Division One status which had just been lost, but he failed to achieve that goal and was sacked after just one season at the helm. He later became a scout for Birmingham City before joining Wigan Athletic as their Youth Team coach on 23 April 2008.

In 2002, Watson was voted into the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.

[edit] Sporting titles and awards

[edit] Individual

• Norwich City Player of the Year: 1983

[edit] Club

Norwich City

• Milk Cup Winner: 1985
• Second Division Champion: 1986

Everton

• First Division Champion: 1987
• FA Cup Winner: 1995

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk

v • d • e England squad – UEFA Euro 1988 1 Shilton • 2 Stevens • 3 Sansom • 4 Webb • 5 Watson • 6 Adams • 7 Bryan Robson • 8 Steven • 9 Beardsley • 10 Lineker • 11 Barnes • 12 Waddle • 13 Woods • 14 Anderson • 15 McMahon • 16 Reid • 17 Hoddle • 18 Hateley • 19 Wright • 20 Dorigo • Coach: Bobby Robson