An Interview with… Gordon Davies
You started your career in the Welsh league for Merythr Tydfil before Fulham came in for you. Were there any other clubs that were interested in you before you moved to Craven Cottage?
Yes there were about 10 in all at the end but they were the likes of Swansea, Cardiff, Notts County, Lincoln, Torquay, Brighton, Can’t remember them all at present but also linked with Spurs and Liverpool.
In your first spell at Fulham you notched up an impressive tally of 114 goals in 247 games; did you ever set goalscoring targets at the start of every season?
I always set myself a target of 20 only because that was approx 1 in every 2 games which I thought was a good average to aim for. Obviously baring injury so at the end of my career possibly scored 200 plus goals in 500 games. So a goal every 2.5 games wasn’t bad considering some of the teams I played in.
Malcolm MacDonald was your manager at Fulham for 4 years. As he was a prolific goalscorer during his career, did he give you any useful tips and pointers that improved your game?
No Malcolm never gave me any tips I think he thought if it’s not broken don’t fix it. But he was very supportive of me and what I was trying to do in that final third of the pitch.
Towards the end of your first time at Fulham, there was a very real chance of the team getting promoted up to the First Division. Then on the final day of the season at Derby County the game had to be abandoned before it could finish because their fans kept running on the pitch. Are you bitter about the fact that because of a few fans, Fulham never got the chance to play in the top flight? Do you think that the game should have been re-played?
The Derby game was frustrating in that one it was never completed and two the officials were not strong enough to take us off the pitch with maybe 20 mins to go and clear the pitch. But although everyone talks about that 1 game because we were still in the promotion hunt there were more important games we lost in those last 8 games of the season. The obvious one was Leicester at home. If we had have won or drawn that it would have been a completely different ending. It was difficult to accept that the great team we had never had the chance to go head to head with the top guns week in week out. Because we held our own with Liverpool over 3 games and only ever lost narrowly to the likes of Spurs, Man Utd and West Brom. So yes disappointed both for us and the fans who I think would have loved it.
A replay was never on because the Leicester game would also have to have been played and by the time the FA discussed it leicester were already on a jolly. So although everyone thought there was a possibility there really was no chance.
You then made the very short trip across to Stamford Bridge to play join Chelsea. Could you please tell me of your time there?
Yes I enjoyed my time there only because I had to prove to myself that I could score goals and that level and things were going down hill at Fulham under Ernie Clay. I know it hurt many Fulham fans but I never had another option. Cannot elaborate more on that as the full story may be in my book if i can get it off the ground.
After only a year at Chelsea you joined Manchester City, the club who let you go at youth level. It must have been great to go back and have a second opportunity at Maine Road to prove yourself?
It was fantastic to sign and play for City, the team I supported as a kid and yes to prove them wrong was a good feeling. It’s a dream you have ad a child to play for your boyhood team. Again didn’t see eye to eye with Billy McNeil so the love affair was shorter than expected.
Things didn’t last too long there either though and you came back down south to rejoin your old club Fulham. During your second spell at the club you equalled then surpassed the club legend Johnny Haynes’s goalscoring record. How did it feel to become the top goalscorer of a football club, especially one as illustrious as Fulham?
I had the chance to go to Leeds but after 2 political years thought Fulham was the best option. I knew I could still score goals and just wanted to try to get the club back to the old second division which I failed to do. But goal scouring records were never on my mind. Even when I got one of the records I didn’t even know I had broken it till after the game when Robert Wilson congratulated me. So they weren’t on my mind. Its fantastic to be recognized as the clubs all time record goal scorer and I am honoured to hold the record at present but one day for sure if will be broken. You never know in a few years Mitrovic may well hold it. We will have to wait and see.
You then moved back to your native Wales to play for Wrexham and played in their famous win over Arsenal. Please can you tell me of your memories of that game?
After being kicked out of Fulham I had to first of all get fit as j was unsure if I could play again. Brian Flynn offered me a chance to train with Wrexham and fortunately I got a contract there which culminated with tbsp fantastic result against the league champions. They were obviously the better side throughout but good luck shone on us when we found out the Ian Wright was injured. So we gave if our best worked our socks of and just kept plugging away. David O’Leary fouled me for Thomo’s freekivk and then I crossed the ball for Steve Watkin to get the winner. So a fantastic result and obviously a lovely pay day for the club as we then had 2 games against West Ham in the next round.
How did the move to Norway come about?
The Norway move came via Brian at Wrexham and a previous manage Eddie May which had been out there. Appearances and goals no idea. Loved it but it just didn’t work out with the vice chairman. The players were fantastic as well as the chairman but the finance came from the vice chairman and basically he made a poor call. Things got worse after I left.
You then ended your career in non-league with Northwich Victoria. Do you feel like you had accomplished everything in your career or was there something that you wish you could have done?
Yes went back to my roots of non league. We won the Bob Lord Trophy non leagues “league cup” do that was nice for the club but just enjoyed playing. Probably only one regret never played my normal league games at International level. Never quite thought I belonged but even if I had just got 1 cap for Wales that was the ultimate pinnacle for a bit from Merthyr.
You made 16 appearances for Wales, that must have made you so proud. Tell me about your debut in the red shirt?
My debut was away in Izmir Turkey I got kicked off the park for maybe 65 mins and was then substituted due to lack of legs but thoroughly loved the experience and just to be there on the pitch signing the National anthem was a feeling that you cannot put into words.
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