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Curtis Davies

Personal information
Full name	Curtis Eugene Davies
Date of birth	15 March 1985 (1985-03-15) (age 25)
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 career
2000–2001	Wimbledon
2001–2003	Luton Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2005	Luton Town	56	(2)
2005–2008	West Bromwich Albion	65	(2)
2007–2008	→ Aston Villa (loan)	12	(1)
2008–	Aston Villa	37	(2)
National team‡
2006–2007	England U21	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:31, 1 January 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

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 Creole 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-Premier League 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

2007–2008

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:

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]}

2008–2009

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]}

Davies captained Aston Villa for the first time on 6 November 2008, in the 1–0 UEFA Cup win against Slavia Prague,^[20] with regular captain Martin Laursen on the substitutes' bench.^[21] He netted his first goal of the 2008–09 season in January 2009, helping his team to a 2–1 win against his former club West Bromwich Albion.

2009–2010

Davies started in the team's first game at home against Wigan in the opening day of the season. The team lost 2–0 at Villa Park in a very disappointing and unsuccessful game with goals from Hugo Rodallega and Jason Koumas. However the team's next league game was away at Anfield, Davies scored the second goal of the game with a header off of a corner-kick in first half stoppage time. Davies' recurring shoulder problems prompted an operation in September 2009, forcing the player out of the side for a few months. During his absence, Villa brought in defenders James Collins from West Ham United and Richard Dunne from Manchester City. He made his return to action following the operation as a second half substitute in the F.A Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion on the 23 January, replacing Stephen Warnock.

Villa manager, Martin O'Neill has ruled out a loan move to Celtic, despite him having a big challenge to try and reclaim his place in the team.

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.^[22] He has since been named in other England squads but has yet to make his full debut.^[23]

Honours

Aston Villa

• Peace Cup
  • Winner: 2009

References

External links

• Profile at avfc.co.uk
• Profile at wba.co.uk
• Curtis Davies career stats at Soccerbase