PLAYER PROFILE

Simon Davies

Position: Midfield

Height: 5'10

Weight: 11st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1979-10-23 Haverfordwest, Wales

Simon Davies

Simon Davies took giant leaps forward when he moved to Tottenham Hotspur from Peterborough United alongside Matthew Etherington in January 2000. Originally said to be the lesser of the two players who joined from the Posh, it was been Davies who made the quicker progress at Tottenham.

He was given chances to impress in games against Liverpool and Manchester United at the end of the 2000/01 season. He made such an impact on one fellow Welshman that the 2001/02 season saw him gain more than just club experience.

In the clash against Manchester United, he was so impressive against Ryan Giggs that it does not require a great deal of imagination to figure out whose glowing review contributed to the Spurs man making his full Wales debut for Mark Hughes' side in a friendly against the Ukraine shortly after.

The Welshman burst onto the club scene as a substitute for the injured Oyvind Leonhardsen in a home FA Cup tie against Stockport in February 2001 and he announced his arrival on the first team scene by scoring twice.

He was rarely out of the first team during his first two seasons and even when he was played as a right wing-back, he did not find it hard to take advantage of opportunities to get on the scoresheet. More often than not though, he was played on the right-wing, and he was the kind of player who is sorely missed when not in the side.

His international career also flourished and he was a key figure in the historic 2-1 Welsh victory over Italy at the Millennium Stadium in October. He was voted the fans' Player of the Season for 2002/03 and it was no surprise why. The midfielder looked like a huge talent and his performances have resulted in transfer speculation linking him to Manchester United.

His 2003/04 season was sadly blighted by a hip injury and then shin problems prevented him from starting the 2004/05 season with his team-mates. He made just 17 starts out of 20 appearances and scored two goals for Spurs, however, signed a four-year deal in April 2004.

The following campaign saw him more involved for Spurs, but at the end of 2004/05 he left the club to join Everton for £3.5m. Unfortunately, he was in and out of the Toffees side in his first year at the club, struggling to find his best form, although getting the backing of David Moyes.

That continued in 2005/06 and into 2006/07, with Davies rarely seeming more than a fringe player under Moyes. It was no surprise therefore that he left the club in January 2007 to sign for Fulham for an undisclosed fee.

His first half-season at Craven Cottage proved a huge success, and he continued to impress home fans with more fine displays in 2007/08.