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Simon’s a star performer on the Premier League stage
Simon Davies might be a high-flying footballer who has played for Tottenham, Everton and Fulham, as well as 57 times for Wales, but it is refreshing to report that he still has his feet firmly rooted on the ground in his home village of Solva in North Pembrokeshire.
He was recently back in the village for a football tournament held in his name to raise funds for the Solva Football Club, under the auspices of the local ‘Penknife Club’, Ronnie Beynon and Colin Reynolds – so pembrokeshiresport.co.uk took the chance to pop up for a chat with a top footballer in between his signing autographs on shirts, boots, shin pads – and even a coconut!
Simon, who is on the road to recovery after an ankle operation for a stress fracture, provided some superb memorabilia and tickets for a Fulham match in the post-tournament auction, watched the action in both senior and junior competitions with his girl-friend Carlie Warpole, who is equally as charming as he is, and generally enjoyed chatting with the local youngsters in between answering our questions about his football career.
What’s it like being back in Solva for a short while?
Great – we love coming home and it is a marvellous day out here at Maes y Mor before I begin rehab on my damaged ankle, which will involve lots of cycling and being in the swimming pool. I’ll be back again soon for my brother’s wedding as a nice break from all the work ahead because I am totally committed to being fully fit and ready for the new season at Fulham. I had suffered with pain in my ankle for some time and the scan revealed a stress fracture where I had the choice of the operation or a patient wait for it to recover naturally but that would have taken much longer and I’m glad now that I had it done.
You are clearly happy at Craven Cottage – can you tell us about life there?
Sure – I went there in January 2007 after a spell at Everton and it was like coming home when I returned to London in a side which has no big stars but everyone works for each other. In my first season we had to beat Liverpool to stay up and it was even tougher the next season as we had to win three late games and avoided relegation only when we beat Portsmouth on the final day. But this past season was brilliant because with Roy Hodgson guiding us so well we finished seventh and are hopeful of a place in Europe. We are not a big squad at Craven Cottage but we work for each other and it has paid off.
We work hard at our training ground at Motspur Park, where the facilities are outstanding, and we also have a brilliant back-up staff who monitor health, diet and many other things. The emphasis is on self-discipline and an example of this is that on a Sunday after a match were are expected to recover sensibly with a 20-minute jog where we have our own heart and pulse monitor to measure how things are. You might hear a lot about some footballers not looking after themselves but I have had one night out in the last six months because the game is so fast now that you have to be at your best or you’ll be caught out!
Could you tell us a little about your weekly schedule as a Fulham player?
If there has been a Saturday match and we have recharged our batteries on Sunday then on Monday we return to training at Motspur Park and have light training. Tuesday sees us having a video session where we look at the previous match to see the plusses and minuses, followed by a training session that focuses on skills and keeping a good defensive shape for matches. Wednesday is traditionally a day off and then Thursday we look at the attacking side of our game, followed by Friday where we have small games to help us shape up and then another video session where we look at the opposition for the next match. Then it’s on to the next game and the excitement of playing in what is regarded as the best league in the world at the moment.
You have played under quite a few managers – can you tell us about them and which was your favourite?
I started out under Barry Fry as boss at Peterborough and he was brilliant at spotting young footballing talent and looking after us. When I moved to Spurs I was signed by George Graham and general manager David Pleat, who had the faith to sign me, and carried on there with Glen Hoddle, when I had my best times at White Hart Lane. David Moyes at Everton is very serious about his football and a good manager and when I’ve played in the Wales set-up I’ve had Mark Hughes as a very good manager and John Toshack exerting a big influence on the young players now. But I have to say that Roy Hodgson, the current Fulham boss, is the top man because he is a great man manager as well as football manager, with the ability to bring the best out of us. He really is inspirational and I can’t speak highly enough of him.
You mentioned Wales there – you must regard it as a great honour to pull on the red shirt?
Absolutely. I’ve played 57 times now, with seven of them where I have been even more honoured with the captaincy. When we run out on the pitch there is a great pride in being Welsh – and when the national anthem starts up it is very emotional indeed. I made my debut when I came on for the second half against the Ukraine at the Millennium Stadium, where we drew 1-1 and scored my first goal against Croatia. But undoubtedly the best performance came when we beat Italy 2-1 and I will never forget the goal I scored in that game. I had already decided that if there was any early chance of a shot I was going to take it and I went down the right, smashed the ball low and hard and watched it fly into the bottom left corner – what a thrill!
I’m 29 now and with so many top Welsh players retiring I am one of the senior players in what is a transition period for us. But Tosh has brought in some very talented younger players and I hope I can be involved for a while yet because I still get a buzz out of playing for Wales.
Going back to your early days in football, what are your memories then?
I started out in Solva with Ronnie Beynon and played for the Pembrokeshire Schools’ under 11 team run by Pedr McMullen. We reached the final of the Welsh Schools’ Cup and played North Wales over two legs where I played at No 10 for Pembrokeshire and Michael Owen wore the same number in the North Wales team – and I still have the programme somewhere!
I trained at Wrexham for a while and then started travelling back and fore to Peterborough, which was a lot of hard work but it was worthwhile when I was signed on by Barry Fry. I had played 50 first team games by the time I was 20, had a trial with Manchester United in July 1999 and then George Graham signed me for Spurs on December 31st 1999 to end the millennium on an amazing note.
What about playing at Spurs and Everton?
I made my Spurs’ debut with the last 20 minutes against Liverpool at Anfield where we lost 2-0 and my first full game came at Old Trafford where we were drawing 1-all until the closing stages when a David Beckham free kick ‘special’ flew into the top corner of the net and we lost. I ended up playing over 120 games for Spurs and we reached the Carling Cup Final against Blackburn but lost 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium. It was disappointing after a great semi-final two-leg battle with Chelsea where we lost 2-1 in the away match but slammed them 5-1 at White Hart Lane – and I scored one of the goals!
I moved to Everton with the chance to play Champions’ League football under David Moyes and although it was an exciting time I have to say that I never really settled at Everton, although David Moyes and the players made me feel welcome. I missed London and had a spell of shin splints which didn’t help so I was delighted when Fulham came in with an offer that took me back there. I have really enjoyed myself at Craven Cottage, the supporters are great and it was definitely the right choice for me.
You’ve scored some cracking goals over your decade at the top – what are the memorable ones?
Obviously the Wales versus Italy one stands out but there have been others, like the two I scored for Spurs when I came on as a sub in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Stockport which more or less brought me to the public’s attention. At Spurs I had only been there a short while when I scored from a low shot into the far corner against Leicester which was also a great thrill.
I also remember finding the net with a free kick against Sunderland and a volley against Reading for Fulham, whilst my favourite for Fulham was a goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. It was the first season Arsenal played there and when I controlled the ball well and lobbed the keeper I was delighted because it is a special place to score goals.
Who are the players you have enjoyed playing with – and against?
I have been very lucky to have played for Wales alongside the great Ryan Giggs and I enjoyed it when Mark Delaney was there because we are both Pembrokeshire lads at heart. When I started out with Spurs there were top players like Teddy Sheringham, David Ginola, Darren Anderton, Robbie Keane and Ledley King, all of whom were real characters in their own right. At Fulham there are no big names but a great squad – and we really do work for each other.
When Wales played Argentina I marked Juan Sebastian Veron and although he didn’t settle at Manchester United he was immense that day and I thought he was brilliant. I also think that Paul Scholes (Manchester United) and Steve Gerrard (Liverpool) are superb players I have played against.
So what of the future for Simon Davies?
It is always very difficult to say in professional football but I am more than happy at Fulham, where I have two years of my current contract to run and the option of extending it. I have been very lucky to enjoy over ten years in the Premier League and at 29 I still have plenty of running left in me, hopefully with some more Welsh caps and a few goals.
Eventually we might return to Solva because, like me, Carla loves the area and it would be nice to play a few matches with my brothers in the Solva team before I finally hang up my boots!
Some Simon Davies statistics:
** As a youngster in Pembrokeshire he was nicknamed ‘Digger’ because there were two Simon Davies’s at under 11 level!
** His current manager, Roy Hodgson, said of Simon’s involvement at Craven Cottage,
“Simon Davies is a star because of the number of games he has played non-stop. What impresses me are good professionals who can do a good job, week in, week out.”
High praise indeed!
** His club profile on the Fulham FC website says of Simon,
“Davies’ wide range of abilities, combined with his whole-hearted approach and high energy levels, make him a valuable asset for Fulham.”
More high praise from the club!
**Simon has so far played 60 games for Peterborough before moving to Tottenham Hotspur (121 games), Everton (45 games) and Fulham (84 games), plus 57 times for Wales – making a total of 367 matches, 250 of them in the Premier League.
**He also played ten times for Wales at under 21 level.
**In all of those matches he has only been sent off on one occasion, in 2002, when he received the red card against Arsenal at the Emirates’ Stadium.
** He received 26 yellow cards in those games – and scored 41 goals!
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