Paul Davis (footballer, born 1961)

Paul Davis
Personal information
Full namePaul Vincent Davis
Date of birth9 December 1961
Place of birthDulwich, London, England
Playing positionMidfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1978–1995Arsenal447(37)
1995Stabæk1(0)
1995–1996Brentford5(0)
Total453(37)
National team
1982–1988England U2111(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Paul Vincent Davis (born 9 December 1961) is an English former footballer.

Born in Dulwich, London, Davis signed for Arsenal as an apprentice in 1977 and turned professional the following year. A talented left-footed midfielder, he made his debut in 1980 in a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, and within a year he was a regular in the Arsenal side, as well as a member of the England U21 team.

Davis was an integral part of the successful Arsenal side of the late 1980s, winning the League Cup in 1987 and the First Division in 1989 and 1991. Davis will arguably be best remembered for an incident in 1988 when, during a match, he punched Southampton player Glenn Cockerill in the jaw. Cockerill's jaw was broken and following the FA's analysis of TV footage Davis was given a then unprecedented 9-match ban and £3,000 fine.

Despite being left out of the team for a disagreement with Manager George Graham he still appeared 447 times for Arsenal, scoring 37 goals during his career there.

Davis played in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals wins in 1993 as Arsenal chalked up their Cup Double. He also featured in Arsenal's Cup Winners' Cup win against Parma F.C the following year. Although selected for the England senior squad on several occasions, he never made an appearance for the senior team, despite 12-appearances for the Under-21 team, where he captained the side. He also played for the England 'B' team.

Davis was released by Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 1995.

After leaving Arsenal, he briefly joined Norwegian side Stabæk Fotball in 1995. After his spell at Stabæk, appearing in one game as a substitute, he returned to London to join Brentford. He signed on a free transfer in September 1995, but he retired within a year after just five appearances for the Griffin Park side.

Davis returned to Arsenal to become a youth coach in 1996, before leaving the club in 2003. In September 2003 Davis joined The Professional Footballers' Association coaching department. On 27 October 2005, Davis was invited to become assistant manager of Kettering Town F.C. by new manager Paul Gascoigne, he left Kettering at the same time as Gascoigne's departure from the club on 5 December 2005, but continues to work for the Professional Footballer's Association coaching department. Davis has studied and gained the FA and Pro UEFA Coaching awards, the highest coaching award in the U.K. along with his UEFA 'A' Licence and the FA Diploma in Football Management from Warwick University, as well as his coach educators awards. Davis is now a senior coach/coach educator for the organisation and he is also an ambassador for the 'Kick It Out' and 'Show Racism the Red Card organisations'.

Honours

Arsenal

External links