Dave WATSON

 By the time Dave Watson signed for City on June 13th 1975 he was already an FA Cup winner and had been capped 14 times by England. City boss Tony Book spent £275,000 for Watson's services at the heart of the Blues' defence, a deal that also saw City's reserve centre-half Jeff Clarke heading towards the north-east. Watson's early playing career saw him leading the attack for Notts County as a 20 year-old. In 1968 he joined Rotherham where he stayed for nearly two years before a £100, 000 move to Sunderland. It was at Roker Park that he began to establish himself as one of the top central defenders in the country and was a key player (along with another future Blue, Dennis Tueart) in the Second Division side that surprisingly conquered Don Revie's powerful Leeds United to win the 1973 FA Cup Final.

He was one of six new internationals in the goalless friendly in Lisbon in April the following year, the first of his 65 England caps. Whilst with City he would win 30 of those caps, a figure at Maine Road bettered only by Colin Bell with 48. Under Book, City were developing as one of the top teams in the country in the mid 1970s and Watson's arrival meant they could now field eight fully-fledged internationals in their side. Playing alongside Mike Doyle and Alan Oakes in defence (Tommy Booth had now moved into midfield) Watson's abilities were plain to see from the outset. In fact, so sure was he both in the air and on the ground that many fans think no centre-half has bettered him in a City shirt since. Following his debut in the opening game against Norwich, Watson embarked on an unbeaten run of League games lasting until the middle of January and taking in 25 consecutive matches.

For the second successive season City finished 8th in Division One. They conceded just 46 goals in 42 games, a figure due in no small way to Watson's arrival in defence and one beaten only by the top three sides. By the end of his debut season he'd played in 39 League and Cup games and scored twice, in the League at Tottenham and the other in the League Cup at Norwich. It was the League Cup that provided silverware for City that season and another Wembley winners' medal for Watson. Thanks to Dennis Tueart's spectacular overhead kick, City beat Newcastle 2-1 and Watson finished the game with blood pouring onto his shirt from a cut just above his left eye. The sight of him having it stitched in the dressing room after the game certainly caused concern for the television watching public but this most rugged of players seemed determined to let nothing get in the way of his celebrations as he happily chatted away to the interviewer.

Next time out, 1976/77, was the season when City came within the proverbial whisker of lifting the Championship. They finished second and just one point behind eventual Champions Liverpool. Again, thanks largely due to Watson at the heart of things, City were meanness personified at the back, conceding just 34 goals in 42 League games. Only Liverpool conceded less and that by just one. Watson played 48 games in total that season, missing out on a complete 100% record by just one game, ironically against his former side Sunderland in March. With two more goals (against Aston Villa and Ipswich in the League) Watson had by now become hugely popular with the City fans who loved the way he always played his heart out for the side. Because of this he was voted City's Player of the Year for 1976/77, an award also presented to him by the club's Junior Blues supporters. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)

 City began the 1977/78 campaign with a goalless draw against Leicester in front of almost 46, 000. It was also the first game under a new captain, one Dave Watson, and began an unbeaten run of eight games ending in a 4-2 defeat at Coventry in October. With Mike Doyle playing fewer games in the first team, Watson now formed a defensive partnership with another more than capable of playing there, the returning Tommy Booth. Yet again City were one of the country's top sides, finishing in fourth place behind Champions Nottingham Forest with only Everton and Coventry scoring more than the Blues' 74 goals. At the back, though, they conceded 51, a figure that was the highest since Watson's arrival, with the four conceded at Anfield in the penultimate game (with no reply) being the biggest loss of the season.

Once again Watson proved what a consistently high performer he was at the top level and missed just two of City's combined total of 53 games. The one League game he missed was a 2-1 defeat at the eventual Champions in October, the result of an injury sustained whilst playing for England in a World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg on the previous Wednesday. Despite playing all these games he was unable to find the net on one single occasion. At the start of August 1978, it seemed that Dave Watson would be City's centre-half and captain for a good few years to come. No-one could have predicted that it would be his last season in City's colours. It was a season of mixed fortunes at Maine Road with a final position of 15th in the League in addition to an embarrassing defeat at Shrewsbury in the FA Cup. They faired slightly better in the League Cup (going out to Southampton in Round 6) and managed Round 4 of the UEFA Cup, being beaten by Borussia Monchengladbach, this was after a convincing 3-0 defeat of AC Milan in the earlier round. Watson scored twice in the season, both goals coming in the space of four days in September.

His first was in a 3-0 home win against Leeds whilst his second came in the UEFA Cup first leg tie in a 1-1 draw in Belgium against FC Twente Enschede. Having scored for the Blues he now scored his first goal for his country. Along with Kevin Keegan and two from Bob Latchford, Watson helped England to a 4-0 win at Wembley against Northern Ireland in a European Championship qualifier. Perhaps not too surprisingly City's fortunes mirrored those of their captain. Watson played in 33 League games missing the rest by a combination of injuries that saw him sidelined on five different occasions.

However, such was his determination to play that he still took part in a combined total of 47 games. By the time of the aforementioned defeat by Monchengladbach, Malcolm Allison had returned to Maine Road and was in the early stages of instigating his sweeping changes at the club. Remarkably one player to leave was the first-choice England centre-half Dave Watson, a man whose career as a City player spanned 188 appearances and 6 goals. On June 26th 1979 he was transferred to German side Werder Bremen, staying for a little over a year before returning to England to join Southampton. He later had spells with Stoke City, Derby County, Notts County and Kettering Town as well as Vancouver Whitecaps and Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL. As a Stoke player in 1982 he became the first man ever to be capped for England whilst with five different clubs. Statistics and fans' opinions clearly indicate he left Maine Road far too early. (Ian Penney - author of The Legends of Manchester City)