Claude Davis

Claude Davis (born 6 March 1979) is a Jamaican former footballer who played as a defender. He previously played for Portmore United (Jamaica), Preston North End, Sheffield United, Derby County, Crystal Palace, Crawley Town and Rotherham United. He has also played international football for Jamaica.

This article is about the Jamaican footballer. For the American football linebacker, see Claude Davis (American football).

Claude Davis
Davis playing for Sheffield United in 2006
Personal information
Full name Claude Davis[1]
Date of birth (1979-03-06) 6 March 1979
Place of birth Kingston, Jamaica
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Portmore United
2003–2006 Preston North End 94 (4)
2006–2007 Sheffield United 21 (0)
2007–2009 Derby County 27 (0)
2009 → Crystal Palace (loan) 7 (0)
2009–2011 Crystal Palace 45 (0)
2011–2013 Crawley Town 45 (3)
2013–2014 Rotherham United 31 (2)
Total 270 (9)
National team
2000–2012 Jamaica 69 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Club career

Hazard United

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Davis captained Hazard United, now known as Portmore United to the Jamaican National Premier League title in 2002–03.[2] He left Hazard on a year loan deal with Preston North End in the summer of 2003.[3]

Preston North End

He signed for Preston North End from Hazard United in July 2003, initially on loan for the 2003–04 season[4] before concluding a permanent deal at Deepdale in March 2004.[5] During the 2004–05 season he provided Chris Lucketti and Youl Mawene with real competition for centre half positions and made 38 appearances for Preston,[6] including the Championship play-off final where Preston lost to West Ham.[7] In the 2005–06 season, Davis established himself as the mainstay of the Preston defence, contributing to 24 clean sheets and swept the board at the club's Player of the Season awards, named both the Player's Player and fans Player of the Season, as Preston reached the play-offs again.[8]

Sheffield United

On 14 June 2006, he signed on a four-year deal with Sheffield United for a club record £3 million, with up to £500,000 to follow based on his appearances for the Blades.[9] However, he missed the start of the Premier League season after sustaining a knee cartilage injury in a friendly against Notts County in August 2006 at Meadow Lane.[10] In total he made 22 league and cup appearances for Sheffield United.[6]

Derby County

On 6 July 2007, newly promoted Derby County agreed a £3million transfer for Davis with Sheffield United, subject to a medical and work permit, signed a four-year contract on the same day.[11] Davis was not officially registered as a Derby County player until 25 July 2007, after a delay with his work permit.[11]

Crystal Palace

Davis reunited with former Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock, in 2009, by signing a loan deal to play for Crystal Palace. He played an instrumental part in helping the team avoid relegation.

Davis was expected to move to Palace on a permanent basis, but unfortunately for both him and the club, the Football League placed a transfer embargo onto the club due to unpaid bonuses to former players, and Davis remained a Derby player until the end of August (when the embargo was lifted), joining the Eagles on a two-year contract on the final day of the transfer window.[12] During this season he played a major part in helping the team to the fifth round of the FA cup.[13]

Crawley Town

After joining League Two side Crawley Town on 15 September 2011 he led the club on a 13-game unbeaten streak and played a major part in their promotional campaign. He was also the first international player to ever represent the club, captaining the Jamaican National team against New Zealand during the international break this same season.[14] He continued to show his leadership off the pitch with his community involvement by agreeing to be the teams ambassador to their junior program.[15]

Rotherham United

On Monday 21 January 2013, Davis signed for promotion chasing Rotherham United on an 18-month contract to link up with his former Crawley manager, Steve Evans and the chance to play at the New York Stadium. After a nightmare debut his place in the team was solidified and he helped the Millers to back to back promotion from League 2 to League 1 and then League 1 to Championship. At the end of the 2014 campaign Davis' contract with Rotherham was not renewed after they won the League One Play-Offs against Leyton Orient despite several meetings with manager and the board.[16]

International career

Davis has made 68 international appearances for Jamaica, scoring two goals and captaining the team on several occasions.

Media Personality

Davis was an analyst for Jamaican station CVM during the World Cup 2010 as well as World Cup 2014 alongside Michael Hall, Simon Preston, Andre Virtue and Roy Simpson

Honours

Hazard United
  • Captain 2001-02 & 2002-03
  • Jamaican National Premier League Champions

Preston North End
  • Play-Off Final Runner Up 2005
  • Players Player of the Season 2005-06
  • Fans Player of the Season 2005-06

Sheffield United
  • Club record signing
  • On the cover of the clubs decade book

Crawley Town
  • League Two: Promotion 2011-12 (Runners Up)

Rotherham United
  • League Two: Promotion 2012–13 (Runners Up)
  • League One: Promotion 2013-2014 (Play-Off Winners)

References and notes
  1. Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 161. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
  2. "Portmore United kick off against newcomers Cosmos" Archived 9 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Jamaica Gleaner, 14 September 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  3. "Boyz' duo off to trials" Archived 13 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Gleaner, 23 July 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  4. "Preston seek Davis permit", BBC Sport, 30 July 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  5. Barnes, Andrea (3 March 2004). "Davis Deal Permanent". Preston North End Mad. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  6. Soccerbase: Claude Davis, Racing Post. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  7. "West Ham 1–0 Preston". BBC Sport. 30 May 2005. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  8. Walker, Howard (6 October 2006). "It's all good now for Claude Davis in the EPL". Jamaica Gleaner. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. "Davis leaves Deepdale for Sheffield Utd", BBC Lancashire, 15 June 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2007.
  10. "Davis sidelined by knee injury" Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Jamaica Gleaner, 3 August 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  11. "Davis agrees £3m switch to Derby", BBC Sport, 6 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  12. "Davis secures Warnock reunion". Sky Sports. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  13. https://paimages.co.uk/preview?urn=2.8431664
  14. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Davis-delighted-with-Reggae-Boyz-reunion_11052732
  15. http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/Star-centre-help-junior-coaching/story-16988827-detail/story.html
  16. "BBC Sport – Rotherham 1–3 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
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