Born on this day is Sunderland hero Dave Watson. The ex-England international is a legend on Wearside because of his involvement in the 1973 FA Cup run.
Watson began his career at Notts County as a defender in 1966, playing 25 times over two seasons. He then moved to Second Division side Rotherham where he was relegated in his first season. The relegation led to manager Tommy Docherty losing his job. In came Jimmy McAneary, who played Watson both as a striker and centre-half. After four years at the Millers, Alan Brown paid £100,000 for Watson to come to Roker Park in December 1970.
However, Brown saw Watson as a striker and played him up front, much to the dismay of Sunderland fans who believed it hindered their chances of promotion. In 1972, after several years in the Second Division, future Sunderland legend Bob Stokoe took over on Wearside. One of Stokoe and Billy Elliot's first changes was to implement Watson in defence, which turned out to be a masterstroke.
With Watson at the heart of defence, Sunderland of course reached the FA Cup final in 1973. Despite being underdogs going into the game, we beat Leeds 1-0 and lifted the trophy. After the match, Stokoe singled out Watson’s performance as a big reason for winning the game. He single-handedly kept United’s strike force of Allan Clarke and Mick Jones quiet.
Watson’s exploits on Wearside caught international attention, and was given his debut in a friendly against Portugal. The match turned out to be 1966 World Cup winner Alf Ramsey’s final game in charge of England, and Watson became a familiar face in the England set-up under Don Revie and then Ron Greenwood, even captaining his country!
In 1975, with Sunderland still in the Second Division after missing out on promotion twice in a row, Watson moved to top-flight side Manchester City. After impressing in red and white, he also became a fan favourite at Maine Road, over a four-year spell. One of Watson’s most famous goals is a bullet header from a corner, leaping like a salmon to help City beat league leaders Ipswich Town. A comedian at the time said “I wish I could kick the ball as hard as Dave Watson heads it”.
Sadly, that goal has had serious health implications for Dave in later life. He suffers with a neurodegenerative disease that is highly likely to have been caused by the repeated heading of a ball throughout his career.
