Name: David Vernon Watson
Nickname: "Big Dave"
Country: England
Club: Manchester City F.C. (1975-1979) | Werder Bremen (1979) | Southampton (1979-1982)
Position: *CB
Side: RF/BS
Age: 30-34 (05/11/1946)
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 73 kg
Attack: 68
Defence: 88
Balance: 86
Stamina: 84
Top Speed: 80
Acceleration: 79
Response: 84
Agility: 74
Dribble Accuracy: 69
Dribble Speed: 70
Short Pass Accuracy: 76
Short Pass Speed: 76
Long Pass Accuracy: 74
Long Pass Speed: 76
Shot Accuracy: 67
Shot Power: 85
Shot Technique: 66
Free Kick Accuracy: 62
Curling: 64
Header: 90
Jump: 92
Technique: 72
Aggression: 68
Mentality: 92
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 84
Injury Tolerance: A
Condition/Fitness: 8
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 8
Growth type: Late/Lasting
CARDS:
S07 - Man Marking
S08 - Slide Tackle
S10 - DF Leader
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Marking - Sliding - D-Line Control
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced
INFO:
Considered one of the best European central defenders in the late seventies. Unbeatable in air, rarely seen anyone so dominant, literally every ball in the air was his. First choice from corners and free kicks from the side. He liked occasionally to play a low weighted pass from deep to a burly striker (Latchford, Royle, Pearson...). A strong leg and physique, very tough tackler as well. From 76-80 he didn't miss any England game. Manchester City Player of the Year in 1976/77, PFA First Division Team of the year in 78/79 & 79/80 and finally World Soccer World XI: 1978.
While 'Big' Dave may have been an ironic nickname - he weighed less than 12 stone and was under 6 feet tall - what he lacked in size he more than made up for in heart. He reckoned never to “miss much in the air,” though, and was fast across the ground. But “the main thing,” he claimed “was concentration.” A tough, uncompromising defender with a never-say-die attitude.
Dave signed for Notts County in 1966 and a combination of incredible heading ability and his height seemed ideally suited to play as a striker. After three seasons at Rotherham he moved to Sunderland in 1970 and when new manager Bob Stokoe took over in November 1972, he transformed Dave into the legendary centre half that helped Sunderland beat Leeds Utd in the FA Cup Final of 1973. His tough tenacious performance that day against the great Leeds pairing of Clarke and Jones was singled out for praise by Stokoe after the game. Dave joined Manchester City in the summer of 1975 for £175,000. He played 4 seasons for the club. He soon established a strong, rock solid defensive partnership alongside Mike Doyle which, together with the now famous Dennis Tueart goal, helped City win the Football League Cup in 1976 with a 2-1 win over Newcastle Utd. City missed out on the League title by one point the following 1976-77 season. Changes at Manchester City saw Dave play his last game at Maine Rd on May 15th 1979, losing 2-3 to Aston Villa. At the age of 33, Dave Watson may not have been in his prime when he signed for Southampton in October 1979, but that didn't stop the centre back from being anything other than a huge success during a spell with the Saints that lasted just over two years. Having endured an unhappy six months playing in Germany for Werder Bremen - Watson was sent off in only his second match for pushing an opponent and subsequently banned for eight weeks - the former Sunderland and Manchester City man was offered an escape route by Lawrie McMenemy, who signed the tough tackling defender for a fee of 200,000 pounds. Dave almost instantly became a fan's favourite, forming a water-tight defensive partnership with another Saints' legend, Chris Nicholl. After two impressive seasons at the Dell, Watson's form slowly started to suffer and, after a poor start to the 1981-82 season, he found himself dropped by Southampton - and also England. He joined the threatened Stoke, where a string of typically robust performances helped the Potters to beat the drop.
Watson's performances at Centre Half for Sunderland were noticed at the highest level and less than a year after the FA Cup win and despite playing in the Second Division he was given his debut for England in a friendly game against Portugal in Lisbon. Watson – quite advanced in years for a debutant at 27 – was one of six first-timers on show in what would prove to be 1966 WC-winning manager Alf Ramsey's last game in charge. Later in 1974, Watson won his 2nd cap in a 2–0 defeat by Scotland, coming on as a substitute for Norman Hunter. His first competitive game at international level was his seventh appearance in all as England defeated Czechoslovakia 3–0 at Wembley in a qualifier for the 1976 European Championships. He played every minute of England's fixtures that year, including World Cup qualifying victories over Luxembourg (twice) and Italy. Watson did not miss another England game until 1980. During the same year, Watson's establishment as England's first choice central defender was galvanised by a 4–3 victory over Denmark in Copenhagen which set the seal on a qualification for the 1980 European Championships – England's first major tournament qualification for a decade. Watson continued his England career, earning his 50th cap against Argentina in a warm-up game prior to the European Championships in Italy. Watson duly played in all three of England's group games – against Belgium, Italy and Spain – but a draw, defeat and victory respectively was not enough for England to progress. His final appearance for England came against Iceland in June 1982 having gained 65 caps. He was excluded from the squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, with manager Ron Greenwood selecting only three specialist central defenders, Phil Thompson, Terry Butcher and Steve Foster. He did however, appear in the video for This Time We’ll Get It Right, England’s 1982 World Cup song. Watson remains the most-capped England player never to play in a World Cup finals match.
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