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Wyn Davies

Wyn Davies

Ronald Wyn Davies, born Caernarfon, Wales, March 20, 1942. Being something of a footballing nomad, Wyn Davies was always ready to answer the call of any club who had the need of a reliable marksman. A commanding central attacker with a powerful physical presence, the Welshman was a consistent and dependable performer for more than two decades and produced a creditable 179 goals in 607 Football League outings for his various clubs.

Wyn Davies kick-started his round ball career with his local club Caernarfon Town before he joined League Division Four team Wrexham, where he made his club debut in a 3-1 triumph against Worcester City in 1961. Following 21 goals in 55 Fourth Division matches for The Dragons, he was transferred to First Division outfit Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £20,000 in March 1962. After clocking up 66 goals in 155 Football League appearances for The Trotters, Newcastle United supremo Joe Harvey signed him for a club record transfer fee of £80,000 partly into the 1966-67 campaign, and he was given his first team debut for The Toon in a 3-0 League Division One loss against longtime adversaries Sunderland at St James´ Park on the 29th of October 1966. The tough target man went on to produce his first League goal for Newcastle in a 3-1 triumph against Sheffield Wednesday at St James´ Park on the 26th of the following month, and ended the season with six goals in 29 appearances for his new club. Davies was part of the Newcastle United team which won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968-69 after defeating Hungarian giants Ujpest Dozsa by 6-2 on aggregate in a two-legged final, and he proceeded to play 181 First Division games for The Magpies, contributing 40 goals in the process. With the arrival of Malcolm Macdonald from Second Division outfit Luton Town in the summer of 1971, however, he was transferred to fellow First Division club Manchester City for a fee of £50,000 at the start of the 1971-72 season, linking up with former Burnden Park teammate Francis Lee. The Welshman debuted for City in a 1-0 First Division defeat to Leeds United at Maine Road on the 14th of August 1971 and would go on to record eight goals in 45 appearances for The Citizens before he was brought to neighbouring rivals Manchester United by Frank O’Farrell for a fee of £60,000 at the front end of the 1972-73 campaign.

Davies marked his Manchester United debut by registering the second goal in a 3-0 Division One triumph against defending First Division Champions Derby County at Old Trafford on the 23rd of September 1972. After Ian Storey-Moore had given United the lead in the first half, Davies hammered an unstoppable shot past Derby goaltender Colin Boulton and into the net on 66 minutes, before Willie Morgan hit the third goal for the hosts with 15 minutes remaining. During his solitary season at Old Trafford, Wyn Davies added an extra punch to the team, and would form a striking partnership with former York City and Bournemouth frontman Ted MacDougall which helped the struggling team avoid relegation to the Second Division. After notching up four First Division goals in 16 appearances for Manchester United, he was sold to Second Division Blackpool for a fee of £14,000 in the summer of 1973, and made his first appearance for the club in a 3-2 loss against newly relegated West Bromwich Albion at Bloomfield Road on the opening day of the 1973-74 season.

As a Blackpool player, Wyn Davies also enjoyed a short loan spell with Malcolm Allison´s Crystal Palace side in 1975, making three Third Division appearances for the South Londoners. With The Seasiders, he accumulated five goals in 36 Second Division games for the Fylde Coast outfit before teaming up with Fourth Division Stockport County, for whom he hit seven strikes in 30 Football League outings during the 1975-76 campaign. In the summer of 1976, he signed with Crewe Alexandra where he clocked up 15 Division Four goals in 55 appearances for The Railwaymen, and then he moved to Northern Premier League Bangor City where he remained until he finished off his peripatetic football career with South African National Football League team Cape Town City in 1979. Internationally, Davies amassed a total of 34 full caps for the Wales national side after being handed his senior debut for his native country by Dave Bowen in a 2-1 friendly fixture defeat to England at Wembley Stadium on the 18th of November 1964. Wyn Davies Playing Career: Caernarfon Town, Wrexham, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Manchester United, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, Stockport County, Crewe Alexandra, Bangor City, Cape Town City. Managing Career: None.