Kevin Cyril Davies (born 26 March 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. He managed Southport in the 2017–18 season, before his contract was terminated on 30 April 2018.
Davies originally made his name as a vital part of the Chesterfield team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1997. He left Chesterfield at the end of that season, having made 148 appearances for the club and joined Premier League club Southampton in May 1997. He only spent one season at Southampton, making 30 appearances, before he joined Premier League club Blackburn Rovers in a club-record £7.5 million deal. Once again, he spent a single season at the club, making 29 appearances, before rejoining Southampton in 1999. In his second spell at the club, he made 95 appearances, also spending part of 2002 on loan to First Division club Millwall, where he made nine appearances. Released by Southampton at the end of the 2002–03 season, he joined Premier League club Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009, but began to fall out of favour at Bolton towards the end of the 2012–13 season, and the club decided against renewing his contract. Davies made 407 appearances for Bolton, scoring 85 goals, then played two seasons at Preston North End before retiring.
He made three appearances for the England under-21 team between 1997 and 2000. At the age of 33, Davies made his international debut, and only appearance, for England against Montenegro in a 0–0 draw on 12 October 2010, coming on as a second-half substitute.
Club career
Chesterfield
Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Davies played as a schoolboy with his boyhood club Sheffield United, but was released at the age of 15. He was taken on trial at Chesterfield and served his traineeship with the club. Davies broke into the club's first team after several months. He became Chesterfield's second youngest ever first-team player when he appeared against West Ham United in a League Cup tie, aged only 16, on 22 September 1993. He signed his first professional contract with the club in April 1994.
Generally, Davies' goalscoring form at Chesterfield was unspectacular, playing mostly wide in midfield and scoring his best total of 11 goals in the 1994–95 promotion season from the Third Division via the play-offs. In his final season at Saltergate he managed a mere three goals from 34 Second Division matches but made a major contribution to the Spireites' best-ever FA Cup run, including a hat-trick at Burnden Park in a fourth round tie against Bolton Wanderers and an earlier strike against Scarborough in the 2nd round. Despite his relative lack of goals, his skilful play was still attracting attention from Premier League and First Division clubs during his contribution to Chesterfield's FA Cup exploits, which culminated in a semi-final replay defeat against Middlesbrough.
As a youngster, Davies was far from the aggressive centre-forward he subsequently became at Bolton. At Chesterfield, although very well-built and strong for a teenager, he was known for his skill and intelligence, and it was these qualities that attracted the attention of Southampton manager Graeme Souness.
Southampton
Davies moved to Southampton in May 1997 and, in his first spell with them, scored nine league goals, one of which was a notable solo goal in a 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park. He also scored the lone goals in historic 1–0 wins against Manchester United and Chelsea, and the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Liverpool.
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers signed him for £7.5 million in July 1998, ten times what Southampton had paid for him a year earlier and also a club record. Chesterfield received no more money from the switch, having failed to negotiate a sell-on clause. As part of the deal, James Beattie went the other way. However, Davies scored just one league goal, the winner in a victory over Charlton Athletic, in 21 appearances for the club. He scored a further goal in the FA Cup, also against Charlton Athletic, and played a UEFA Cup match that season. At the end of the campaign, Blackburn were relegated a year after finishing sixth in the league and a mere four years after winning the league.