Steve Watson
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| Steve Watson | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Craig Watson | |
| Date of birth | April 1, 1974 | |
| Place of birth | North Shields, England | |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
| Playing position | Defender, Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Free Agent | |
| Number | 6 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1989–1991 | Newcastle United | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1991–1998 1998–2000 2000–2005 2005–2007 2007 2007–2009 |
Newcastle United Aston Villa Everton West Bromwich Albion → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) Sheffield Wednesday |
208 (12) 41 (0) 125 (14) 42 (1) 11 (0) 44 (5) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1992–1995 1998 |
England U21 England B |
12 (1) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Stephen Craig "Steve" Watson (born 1 April 1974 in North Shields) is an English footballer, currently is a free agent after being released by Sheffield Wednesday on 15 may 2009
[edit] Playing career
Watson began his career with Newcastle United, playing on a regular basis. At the time of his debut, as a substitue in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves on November 10th 1990 he was the youngest person ever to play for Newcastle,[1] a record he holds to this day. Watson appeared 24 times that season firstly under Jim Smith and then under Ossie Ardiles as Newcastle struggled in the old Second Division.
Watson featured prominantly during 1991 / 1992 season as Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle and relegation to the old Third Division was famously avoided. During his seven years at the club, he wore a jersey with every shirt number 2–11 at least once, earning a reputation as a key all round capable footballer integral to The Entertainers style of play[1]
Watson remained in the Newcastle first team picture under Kevin Keegan and his successor Kenny Dalglish, but was sold by Ruud Gullit in a desperate attempt to make funds available.
Steve Watson was transferred to Aston Villa for £4m in October 1998 to the surprise of Newcastle fans. Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1998 FA Cup Final. Steve was hugely popular with the Newcastle faithful and years later the feeling amongst the Toon Army is that 'Watto' should never have left.
He moved to Everton in the summer of 2000 in a £2.5m deal.[2] When boss Walter Smith found his squad decimated by injury, Watson found himself a regular striker alongside Tomasz Radzinski, a role he had started to play at the beginning of his career before transferring to the defence. His time with Everton was blighted with injury, although he did enjoy some time in the first team for the 2003–2004 season.
Watson was signed by West Bromwich Albion prior to the 2005–06 season.[3] He made his Albion debut as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw away at Manchester City on 13 August 2005. His only goal for the club was scored on 2 January 2006, in a 2–1 home defeat against his former club Aston Villa.
On 9 February 2007, he joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the 2006–07 season and made his debut away at Burnley in a 1–1 draw on 10 February at Turf Moor. Before he joined them, the Yorkshire side had lost five matches in a row. However, they won six, drew four and only lost once when Watson was in the side. He was primarily signed by Brian Laws due to his versatility to play in central midfield alongside playmaker Glenn Whelan, but also excelled when called upon at centre-back. Due to a clause in his contract, he missed Wednesday's 1–0 victory over his parent club West Brom and was then re-called with only two games remaining to avoid him helping Wednesday into the play-offs at the expense of West Brom.[4] Watson moved to Wednesday permanently in July 2007 on a free transfer.[5] His first goal for the club came as a 90th minute equaliser against West Brom at The Hawthorns on 6 November.[6]
On 2 July 2008 it was announced that Watson would succeed Lee Bullen as club captain for the 2008–09 season, taking charge of off-the-field matters, with Richard Wood retaining his role as team captain and being responsible for on-the-field affairs.[7]. On 19 October Watson scored the winner in the Steel City Derby against Sheffield United; his volleyed lob over Paddy Kenny in the 35th minute gave Wednesday a 1–0 win. On the 14th May 2009 Sheffield Wednesday decided to release Watson due to long term injury problems.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Steve Watson Soccernet profile". ESPN. 2002-07-16. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/archive/england/players/WatsonSteve.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ "Everton sign Watson". BBC Sport. 2000-07-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/818680.stm. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ "Watson makes switch to West Brom". BBC Sport. 2005-07-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/4651985.stm. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ "McShane boost for Baggies". home.skysports.com. http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=463548&CPID=10&clid=19&lid=&title=McShane+boost+for+Baggies. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ {{cite news he was released from sheffield united on may 14th 2009 |date=2007-07-10 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_wed/6278548.stm |title=Owls complete signing of Watson |publisher=BBC Sport |accessdate=2007-10-01}}
- ^ "WBA vs Sheffield Wed". Sheffield Wednesday F.C.. 2007-11-06. http://www.swfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10304~37791,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
- ^ Paul Thomspon (2008-07-02). "New Owls club captain revealed". Sheffield Star. http://www.thestar.co.uk/owls/New-Owls-club-captain-revealed.4248145.jp. Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
- ^ "Sheff Wed 1-0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 2008-10-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7665095.stm. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
[edit] External links
- Steve Watson player profile at swfc.co.uk
- Steve Watson player profile at wbafc.co.uk
- Steve Watson career stats at Soccerbase
- Steve Watson playing stats at ESPNsoccernet
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