Wednesday 7th February sees Steve Davies coming to the Crown Oil Arena as guest of honour at hospitality before the match against Forest Green Rovers.
Date of birth: 29th December 1987
Also played for: Tranmere Rovers, Derby County, Bristol City, Blackpool, Sheffield United (loan) Bradford City, Hamilton Academicals, Runcorn
Steven Gary Davies spent 17 years across English and Scottish leagues before retiring in 2022, scoring 74 goals in 347 domestic league appearances. His career highlights include a prolific spell at Bristol City where he scored 13 goals in the 2012/13 Championship season and a memorable late equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018 FA Cup 5th round whilst at Rochdale earning a replay at Wembley Stadium.
Steve began his professional career with hometown club Tranmere Rovers, making his senior debut in the 2005/6 season and accumulating 60 appearances with 5 goals over three years in League One. In 2008, he transferred to Derby County for an undisclosed fee, where he spent four seasons in the Championship, scoring 21 goals in 83 matches, Rams’ leading league scorer with 12 goals in the 2011/12 campaign. He joined Bristol City in 2012, enjoying one of his most productive seasons with 13 league goals, though the Club was relegated to League One. In 2013, Steve signed with Blackpool in the Championship, where he netted 8 goals across two spells in 47 appearances, including a brief loan to Sheffield United in 2015. Later moves included Bradford City, 5 goals in 25 games, a two year stint at Rochdale before a final professional spell with Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premiership, 4 goals in 22 games before concluding his career in non-league football at Runcorn Town.
Steve joined Rochdale on a one-year contract in August 2016, signing as a free agent following his release from Bradford City. During his two seasons with the Club in EFL League One, he made 61 league appearances, scoring 16 goals, contributing significantly to Dale’s efforts in maintaining the position. In the 2016/17 season, he netted 9 goals in 29 appearances, helping Dale secure 21st place with 40 points and avoid relegation on the final day, his form earned him a nomination for the EFL League One Player of the Month award in December, after scoring 4 goals in 3 matches, including braces against Swindon Town and Walsall. The following 2017/18 campaign saw him add 7 league goals in 32 outings, as Rochdale finished 20th with 51 points, again emphasizing stability under manager Keith Hill.
One of Steve’s most memorable contributions came in the 2017/18 FA Cup, where he scored a dramatic injury time equalizer in a 2–2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup 5th round at Spotland Stadium on 18th February, his 90th minute strike from a Keith Watson cross forcing a replay at Wembley, marking the highlight of Rochdale’s run. “They say it’s every kid’s dream to play at Wembley and we have done enough to go there. I’ve done my job, it’s dropped to me and I’ve finished it”
On his second contract at Dale Steve commented “It’s something me and the manager have been talking about for a couple of weeks and if it wasn’t for my injury, we probably would have got the deal done sooner. I’ve been focusing on rehabilitating properly from that, then we got down to business to get the deal done. The injury came at a difficult time, so for the gaffer to still want to give me a new deal was great”
During his time at Dale, he quoted “Me and the Gaffer have got a relationship where we understand each other. The day I signed, he spoke about how highly he rated me and how he has followed my career from when I first started. He knows what I’m about and he knows that I’m not in the mould of the players that he normally takes on. He normally has high energy young players, but I’m obviously 28 years old now and I don’t have the same energy as some of the younger lads but the way I play compliments what they do and we help each other”
Steve departed Rochdale upon the expiry of his contract in May 2018, becoming a free agent before re-joining Blackpool on a short term deal in October that year then playing at Runcorn before retiring from professional football.