979 Curtis Davies

Biography

Centre back Davies joined Hull City from Birmingham City in June 2013 for a £2.2 million fee, in his first season he was a pivotal component in Steve Bruce’s squad rebuilding programme for the club’s second assault on the Premier League.  Davies was central to City’s successes that season, scoring goals that propelled the Tigers to an FA Cup Final and netting the ninth-minute lung-emptying second goal at Wembley that saw the Tigers take a 2-0 lead and made unlikely victory against Arsenal seem momentarily plausible.  At the end of the season Curtis was wearing the captain’s armband on a regular basis and lifting numerous player of the season trophies. 

His second season was interrupted by injury and it was perhaps his absence that contributed to City’s lacklustre efforts and eventual relegation.  Back in the Championship Davies shone once more where other Premier League stars might have shirked and he was a regular in Steve Bruce’s Championship play-off winning side.  Rteurning to the Premier League, Davies was central to City’s rampant start to the season with only twelve fit senior players and a caretaker manager, turning in man of the match performances against Leicester City and Swansea City.  But as the season progressed Harry Maguire emerged as a Premier League force and Marco Silva took the managerial helm, as a consequence Davies’ form and opportunities waned.  In the Summer of 2017 he activated a paltry £500k release clause and moved to Championship rivals Derby County, making noises as he left about his admiration of the City fans and relief in escaping the chaos inspired by the behaviour of club owners Assem and Ehab Allam.

Born in East London, Curtis Eugene Davies spent two teenage years at Wimbledon before joining League Division 2 side Luton Town as a 16 year old in 2001, within two years he had progressed to the Hatters’ first team.  His debut came in a November 2003 Football League Trophy tie against Rushden & Diamonds and he made his League Division 2 debut two months later against Stockport County. He became a first team regular centre back for Luton during the 2004/05 season as the Kenilworth Road side won promotion as League One champions, Curtis’s first senior goal in April 2005 against Wrexham was the decisive strike that secured the title. He began the 2005/06 Championship season on good form and scored again in his final Luton appearance in August 2005 against Millwall, taking his tally to two goals in 62 senior appearances.

On the final day of August 2005 Davies, still just 20 years old, joined newly-promoted Premier League side West Bromwich Albion in return for a £3 million fee. His top flight debut came three weeks later against Sunderland and his first Premier League goal came a week later against Charlton Athletic. The Baggies were relegated that season and Davies spent the subsequent 2006/07 season at the heart of West Brom’s defence, captaining the side until an injury in March 2007 ended his season and denied him the opportunity to play in the 2007 Championship play-off campaign that saw Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated in the semi-finals before defeat to Derby County in the Wembley final. Following this defeat Curtis vacated the captaincy role and requested a transfer, he was exiled from the first team at the start of the 2007/08 season until a loan move to Premier League side Aston Villa was brokered on the August 2007 transfer deadline day. His two seasons at The Hawthorns yielded two goals in 73 senior appearances.

Although used sparingly by Villa during the 2007/08 season, notably comparing himself to a pub team player after his September 2007 debut against Leicester City, Davies’ loan was converted to a permanent transfer in July 2008 for a fee allegedly in the region of £10 million. He opened his 2008/09 season in August 2008 with his first ever appearance in European competition, a UEFA Cup tie against Icelandic side Hafnarfjordur, and retained his first team place for the rest of the season as Villa enjoyed a top six finish. However poor early season form and a recurrent shoulder injury that required surgery conspired to limit Curtis’ appearances in the 2009/10 season and he remained a peripheral figure as the 2010/11 season began – his final appearance in the League Cup against Blackburn Rovers in September 2010 took him to 67 appearances and 3 goals in three years. Davies joined Championship side Leicester City for a two month loan in October 2010, making his Foxes debut against Hull City and compiling 12 appearances.

In January 2011 Davies transferred to Villa’s biggest rivals Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee. The Blues were struggling at the foot of the Premier League and Curtis didn’t make his first appearance until March 2011 against his former club West Bromwich Albion. Relegated to the Championship, Davies was once again a first team regular and scored against Derby County on the opening day of the season, he also started four Europa League ties as a consequence of the Blues lifting the League Cup the previous season (Curtis was cup-tied and unable to play in that Wembley success). Curtis missed just four league games as Birmingham reached the play-offs only to lose to Blackpool at the semi-final stage. Regrouping for the 2012/13 season, Davies was again a regular starter as the Blues finished in mid-table – at the end of that season his tally for Birmingham City was twelve goals in 106 appearances. He left the to join Hull City in June 2013.

Davies joined Derby County in June 2017 and immediately established himself in the Rams’ backline as they launched their umpteenth attempt to escape the clutches of the Championship.  He was ever-present in the 2017/18 season as Derby lost the play-off semi-final to Fulham, but during the 2018/19 season he was absent with hamstring and achilles injuries as the Rams beat Leeds United in the play-off semi-finals only to lose to Aston Villa in the final. This defeat initiated a slow financial meltdown at Pride Park and Davies remained with the club as the squad was stripped out and the Rams tumbled into League One in May 2022 thanks to a hefty points deduction. Indeed Davies himself briefly left Derby in July 2021 only to sign a new contract a few weeks later. Despite the relegation and interest from his former side Hull City, Davies signed a new one year contract for the Rams in July 2022. When he finally left Pride Park in May 2023 Davies had scored five goals in 175 appearances for Derby County.

In June 2023 Davies signed for League One rivals Cheltenham Town and began the 2023/24 season in the heart of the back four as the Robins battled against relegation. He scored one goal in 39 appearances as the Robins recovered from a dreadful start to the season and nearly survived, only to be relegated to League Two on the final day. Curtis left Cheltenham in June 2024 and two months later he announced his retiring from playing football after a fine 21 year senior career.

Alongside his playing duties at Derby and Cheltenham, Curtis also began a second career as commentary pundit for televised Championship fixtures, having been awarded a first class honours degree in Sports Writing and Broadcasting by Staffordshire University in June 2020. He was also patron for an AIDS charity and co-owned a clothing brand with former team-mates Gavin Rae and Chris Burke.

Curtis was selected for the England Under-21 squad in February 2006 and made his debut against Norway. He took his tally of Under-21 caps to three with Starts against Netherlands in November 2006 and Spain in February 2007. Curtis was named in new England senior boss Fabio Capello’s first squad in January 2008 and was selected again for a November 2008 friendly against Germany, but was an unused substitute and never received a senior cap.  Talk of a rejuvenation of his England career emerged during the early part of 2016/17, but never bore fruit. In October 2023 Davies, at the age of 38, was selected to represent the Sierra Leone international side, qualifying through his father’s birth heritage and making his senior international debut against Somalia. In June 2024 he won a second cap for the Leone Stars, scoring in an World Cup qualifier against Djibouti.

Details

Nationality: Sierra Leone
Date/Place of Birth: 15 March 1985, Leytonstone
Hull City First Game: 18 August 2013, Chelsea A (Premier League), 28 years, 156 days old
Hull City Final Game: 21 May 2017, Tottenham Hotspur H (Premier League), 32 years, 67 days old

Clubs

Luton Town (2001-2005), West Bromwich Albion (2005-2008), Aston Villa (2007-2008, loan), Aston Villa (2008-2011), Leicester City (2010-2011, loan), Birmingham City (2011-2013), Hull City (2013-2017), Derby County (2017-2023), Cheltenham Town (2023-2024)

Hull City Record

Career: 144 apps, 7 goals

Curtis Davies
SeasonLGE
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FLC
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2013/1437 (0)25 (0)31 (0)0
2014/1521 (0)01 (0)03 (0)0
2015/1637 (2)23 (0)02 (0)03 (0)0
2016/1725 (1)01 (0)02 (0)0

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