See also Steve Daley (journalist)

Steve Daley (born 15 April 1953 in Barnsley

Barnsley

Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...

) is a former English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

, who played as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. The most notorious incident in his career was his British record transfer to Manchester City in 1979, later described in a 2001 Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

 article as "the biggest waste of money in football history". The manager Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Alexander Allison was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and cigar, controversies off the pitch and outspoken nature.Allison's managerial potential become...

 and chairman Peter Swales subsequently accused each other of inflating the fee.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Daley began his football career as an apprentice at Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

, after arriving at the club via their feeder team Wath Wanderers based in Yorkshire. He signed professionally in 1971, and made his first-team debut later that year on 18 September, coming on as substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United.

He won a League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 winners medal with the club in 1974 and played in their run through to the 1972 UEFA Cup Final

UEFA Cup 1971-72

The UEFA Cup 1971–72 was the inaugural year of the competition. It was won by English side Tottenham Hotspur over their countrymen Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 on aggregate after a two-legged final....

, scoring a vital goal in the semi final against Ferencváros

Ferencvárosi Torna Club

Ferencvárosi TC or FTC , simply known as Ferencváros, nicknamed Fradi , is a sport club in Hungary, founded in 1899 by Ferenc Springer and a group of local residents of Budapest's ninth district, Ferencváros. Ferencváros is best known for winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1964-65 in 1965 by...

 inside the first minute. He was an ever-present in the 1976–77 season, scoring 13 goals, and a further eight the following season saw him receive an England 'B'

England B national football team

England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...

 call up. He played six times for the 'B' side during 1978, scoring twice (against Singapore and Czechoslovakia 'B').

Manchester City

In September 1979, he was transferred to Manchester City for a fee of £1,437,500 — a British record. Daley struggled at Maine Road

Maine Road

Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...

, and gained a reputation as a big-money misfit.

After Manchester City

Twenty months later he was transferred to the Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders (NASL)

The Seattle Sounders were a U.S. professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1974, the team belonged to the North American Soccer League where it played both indoor and outdoor soccer. The team folded after the 1983 NASL outdoor season.-Stadium:The Sounders played at Memorial...

 of the NASL

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 for £300,000 — little more than a fifth of his original transfer cost. He made the NASL All-Star second team in 1982 and 1983 before moving back to Britain.

Daley joined Burnley

Burnley F.C.

Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

, but soon returned to North America to play for the San Diego Sockers. His professional playing career ended at Walsall

Walsall F.C.

Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

 in 1986, although he continued to turn out for non-league sides such as Lye Town and Kettering Town.

After hanging up his boots, Daley briefly managed non-league Telford United and Bromsgrove Rovers

Bromsgrove Rovers F.C.

Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. were a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference...

, before quitting football to join the pub trade. He has since been working as a brewery sales manager, supplying catering equipment to the industry. Also an established after-dinner speaker, Daley recalls his career in football with honesty and humour.

External links

• Steve Daley's website SteveDaley.co.uk
• NASL/MISL stats