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Gordon Davies had a relatively late entrance into professional
football, having given up his job as a PE teacher in March 1978 to join
Fulham from his local club Merthyr Tydfil at the age of 23. After
spending six years at Craven Cottage, where he was a prolific scorer
with 114 goals in 247 games, he had a season with Chelsea before
Manchester City manager Billy McNeill was persuaded to part with
£300,000 for his signature in October 1985.
On his arrival at
Maine Road his newly-promoted club was already in the First Division
relegation zone only two months into the new season, with Davies'
firepower up front seen as crucial if City were to avoid the drop back
into the Second Division at the first time of asking. He was given his
league debut in a 3-2 away defeat at Watford on October 12th 1985 and
scored his first goals for the club two days later, getting a hat-trick
in a 6-1 defeat of Leeds United in the Full Members Cup. He was on
target again at the end of the month in a 2-1 home loss to Arsenal in
the third round of the League Cup, but had to wait until early-December
to get his first league goal when he got the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at
Leicester City. This was followed up seven days later with a double in a
5-1 home win over Coventry City, and with results continuing to improve
both the team and Gordon hit a purple patch after Christmas. With a
goal in a 3-1 win at Walsall in the FA Cup third round Davies was again
on the scoresheet in the next round in a 1-1 home draw with Watford,
before the Blues eventually exited the competition when they went down
3-1 after a second replay. He was also in fine form in the league where
he had been on the mark in three consecutive games against Tottenham
Hotspur (2-0), West Bromwich Albion (2-1) and QPR (2-0) as the team
climbed to eleventh in the table with six wins out of seven games.
The
club had also got through to the final of the inaugural Full Members
Cup at Wembley in March, going down 5-4 to Chelsea, but Gordon was
forced to miss the occasion through injury and the league campaign then
went rapidly downhill. Despite him scoring in three of the last four
games of the season not a single league victory was achieved in the
final thirteen games, the Blues eventually finishing in fifteenth place
in the table with Gordon's 9 goals from his 26 appearances two behind
top-scorer Mark Lillis.
With only one win in the first seven
games of the following season manager Billy McNeill decided he had had
enough and left the club to join Aston Villa. Although Davies had been
in the side for the opening matches it was clear when Jimmy Frizzell
took over that his days at the club were numbered, and after playing in a
2-1 win over Southend United in the League Cup it was decided he was
surplus to requirements and he was allowed to return to Fulham in
October 1986. In his twelve months at Maine Road he had scored 15 goals
in 42 league and cup games, and had also earned 2 of his 16 Welsh caps
while with the club.
He stayed another five years at Fulham,
becoming their record scorer with a total of 159 league goals in 394
games, before having a short spell at Wrexham then moving on to Vauxhall
Conference side Northwich Victoria, where he finally hung up his boots
in 1993 aged 37. He later formed his own pest control company and
combined this with working in corporate hospitality at his old club
Fulham. (David Redshaw)
1978–1984 Fulham 247 (114)
1984–1985 Chelsea 13 (6)
1985–1986 Manchester City 31 (9)
1986–1991 Fulham 147 (45)
1991–1992 Wrexham 22 (4)
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