Steve Watson
Encyclopedia
Steven Craig "Steve" Watson (born 1 April 1974 in North Shields
, England
) is a former English footballer, who retired after being released by Sheffield Wednesday on 15 May 2009. As of November 13, 2010, he is the Development Coach at Football League One
side Huddersfield Town
.
, playing on a regular basis. At the time of his debut, as a substitute in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves on November 10, 1990 he was the youngest person ever to play for Newcastle, 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 prominently 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
Watson remained in the Newcastle first team picture under Kevin Keegan
and his successor Kenny Dalglish
, but was sold by Ruud Gullit
to the surprise of Newcastle fans in a desperate attempt to make funds available. Steve was hugely popular with the Newcastle faithful and years later the feeling amongst the Toon Army is that 'Watto' should never have left. Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1998 FA Cup Final
.
Steve Watson was transferred to Aston Villa
for £4m in October 1998. At Villa he scored once against Southampton in the League Cup.
He moved to Everton
in the summer of 2000 in a £2.5m deal. 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, the highlight of which was a hat-trick against Leeds United in September 2003.
Watson was signed by West Bromwich Albion
prior to the 2005–06 season. 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. He was released from sheffield Wednesday on may 14th 2009. He is currently assistant to caretaker manager Sean Mcauley at Sheffield Wednesday. Watson moved to Wednesday permanently in July 2007 on a free transfer. His first goal for the club came as a 90th minute equaliser against West Brom at The Hawthorns on 6 November.
On 2 July 2008 it was announced that Watson would succeed Lee Bullen
as club captain for the 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. 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 14 May 2009 Sheffield Wednesday decided to release Watson due to long term injury problems.
side Huddersfield Town
, joining up with his ex-Newcastle team-mate Lee Clark.
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
, England
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...
) is a former English footballer, who retired after being released by Sheffield Wednesday on 15 May 2009. As of November 13, 2010, he is the Development Coach at Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
.
Playing career
Watson began his career with Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, playing on a regular basis. At the time of his debut, as a substitute in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves on November 10, 1990 he was the youngest person ever to play for Newcastle, a record he holds to this day. Watson appeared 24 times that season firstly under Jim Smith
Jim Smith (footballer)
James Michael "Jim" Smith is a retired English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of The Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the...
and then under Ossie Ardiles as Newcastle struggled in the old Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
.
Watson featured prominently 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
Watson remained in the Newcastle first team picture under Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
and his successor Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
, but was sold by Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
to the surprise of Newcastle fans in a desperate attempt to make funds available. Steve was hugely popular with the Newcastle faithful and years later the feeling amongst the Toon Army is that 'Watto' should never have left. Whilst at Newcastle he played in the 1998 FA Cup Final
1998 FA Cup Final
The 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league and cup double....
.
Steve Watson was transferred to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
for £4m in October 1998. At Villa he scored once against Southampton in the League Cup.
He moved to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in the summer of 2000 in a £2.5m deal. When boss Walter Smith
Walter Smith
Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...
found his squad decimated by injury, Watson found himself a regular striker alongside Tomasz Radzinski
Tomasz Radzinski
Not to be confused with the Czech footballer Tomáš RosickýTomasz Radzinski is a Canadian association footballer who plays as a striker. He is currently unattached.-Club career:...
, 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, the highlight of which was a hat-trick against Leeds United in September 2003.
Watson was signed by West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
prior to the 2005–06 season. He made his Albion debut as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw away at Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
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
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
on loan until the end of the 2006–07 season and made his debut away at 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...
in a 1–1 draw on 10 February at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
. Before he joined them, the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
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
Brian Laws
Brian Laws is an English former footballer and manager, most recently of Burnley.Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of Grimsby Town before taking a similar position with Scunthorpe...
due to his versatility to play in central midfield alongside playmaker Glenn Whelan
Glenn Whelan
Glenn David Whelan is an Irish footballer who plays as a centre midfielder from Premier League club Stoke City and the Republic of Ireland national team....
, 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. He was released from sheffield Wednesday on may 14th 2009. He is currently assistant to caretaker manager Sean Mcauley at Sheffield Wednesday. Watson moved to Wednesday permanently in July 2007 on a free transfer. His first goal for the club came as a 90th minute equaliser against West Brom at The Hawthorns on 6 November.
On 2 July 2008 it was announced that Watson would succeed Lee Bullen
Lee Bullen
Lee Bullen is a Scottish football player and coach. In a career that has spanned more than 20 years, Bullen has played football professionally in Scotland, England, Australia, Greece and Hong Kong...
as club captain for the season, taking charge of off-the-field matters, with Richard Wood
Richard Wood (footballer)
Richard Mark Wood is an English footballer who plays for Coventry City as a defender.-Career:Born in Ossett, West Yorkshire, Wood was a Leeds United fan and had a season ticket at Leeds, however Wood came up through the ranks at Sheffield Wednesday and started to support The Owl's instead...
retaining his role as team captain and being responsible for on-the-field affairs. On 19 October Watson scored the winner in the Steel City Derby
Steel City derby
The Steel City Derby is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England...
against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
; his volleyed lob over Paddy Kenny
Paddy Kenny
Patrick Joseph "Paddy" Kenny is a footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers in the Barclays Premier League.-Early career:...
in the 35th minute gave Wednesday a 1–0 win. On 14 May 2009 Sheffield Wednesday decided to release Watson due to long term injury problems.
Coaching career
On November 13, he was appointed as the new Development Coach at Football League OneFootball League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
, joining up with his ex-Newcastle team-mate Lee Clark.
External links
- Steve Watson player profile at swfc.co.uk
- Steve Watson player profile at wbafc.co.uk