 Watson as manager ofYork City in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Craig Watson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-04-01)1 April 1974 (age 51)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | North Shields, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back,midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Darlington (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wallsend Boys Club | |||
| –1990 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1998 | Newcastle United | 208 | (12) |
| 1998–2000 | Aston Villa | 41 | (0) |
| 2000–2005 | Everton | 126 | (14) |
| 2005–2007 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | (1) |
| 2007 | →Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Sheffield Wednesday | 45 | (5) |
| Total | 473 | (32) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1995 | England U21 | 12 | (1) |
| 1998 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2017–2019 | Gateshead | ||
| 2019–2021 | York City | ||
| 2021–2022 | Chester | ||
| 2023– | Darlington | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an Englishfootball manager and former professional player who is manager ofNational League North clubDarlington.
As a player, he was aright-back ormidfielder. He played in thePremier League andFootball League forNewcastle United,Aston Villa,Everton,West Bromwich Albion andSheffield Wednesday. He was capped once by theEngland national B team, having previously played twelve times and scored once for theunder-21s.
Watson moved into coaching after retiring from playing and was appointed as an academy coach atHuddersfield Town under former teammateLee Clark in 2010. He then followed Clark toBirmingham City before a spell as assistant manager ofMacclesfield Town. He was given his first managerial role in 2017 when he joinedGateshead, before becomingYork City manager in 2019. He left the club in 2021 and spent four months as manager ofChester before joining Darlington in December 2023.
Watson was born inNorth Shields, Tyne and Wear.[1] He began his career withNewcastle United, playing on a regular basis.[citation needed] At the time of his first-team debut, as asubstitute in a 2–1 defeat toWolverhampton Wanderers on 10 November 1990, he was the youngest person ever to play for Newcastle,[4] a record that still stands.[5] Watson appeared 24 times that season, firstly underJim Smith and then underOssie Ardiles as Newcastle struggled in theSecond Division.[citation needed]
Watson featured prominently during the1991–92 season asKevin Keegan returned to Newcastle and relegation to theThird Division was avoided.[citation needed] During his seven years at the club, he wore a jersey with every shirt number 2–11 at least once, earning a reputation as a key all round capable footballer integral toThe Entertainers style of play.[4] He came on as a 77th-minute substitute atWembley Stadium in the1998 FA Cup Final, in which Newcastle were beaten 2–0 by Arsenal.[6]
Watson was transferred toAston Villa for £4 million in October 1998.[7] He scored once for Villa, in a 4–0 home win overSouthampton on 1 December 1999 in theLeague Cup.[8]
He moved toEverton on 4 July 2000 on a five-year contract for a £2.5 million transfer fee.[9] When bossWalter Smith found his squad decimated by injury, Watson was used a striker alongsideTomasz Radzinski, a role he had started to play at the beginning of his career before transferring to the defence.[citation needed] His time with Everton was blighted with injury, although he did enjoy some time in the first team for the2003–04 season,[citation needed] which included three goals against Leeds United on 28 September 2003.[10][11] This made him the first Everton player to score a hat-trick in any competition sinceNick Barmby in February 2000.[12]
Watson signed forWest Bromwich Albion on 5 July 2005 on a three-year contract on afree transfer, after rejecting the offer of a new one-year contract with Everton.[13] He made his debut as an 80th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw away toManchester City on 13 August.[14] His only goal for the club came on 2 January 2006,[14] with a shot that came after receiving the ball fromJonathan Greening in the 77th minute of a 2–1 home defeat to Aston Villa.[15]
Watson joinedSheffield Wednesday on 9 February 2007 on loan until the end of the 2006–07 season, with opportunities at West Brom limited.[16] He made his debut the following day, starting in a 1–1 draw away toBurnley.[17] Before he joined them, Wednesday had lost five matches in a row.[citation needed] However, they won six, drew four and only lost once when Watson was in the team.[17] He was re-called by West Brom on 26 April with two matches remaining as cover for the injuredCurtis Davies and the suspendedNeil Clement.[18][19] Watson signed for Wednesday permanently on 10 July 2007 on a free transfer.[20] His first goal for the club came on 6 November with an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Wednesday drew 1–1 away to West Brom.[21][22]
Watson succeededLee Bullen as club captain for the2008–09 season, taking charge of off-the-field matters, withRichard Wood retaining his role as team captain and being responsible for on-the-field affairs.[23] Watson scored the winner in theSteel City derby againstSheffield United on 19 October; his volleyed lob overPaddy Kenny in the 35th minute gave Wednesday a 1–0 win.[24] Sheffield Wednesday decided to release Watson on 14 May 2009 due to long-term injury problems.[25] He subsequently retired from playing.[26]
Watson was appointed as development coach atLeague One clubHuddersfield Town on 13 November 2010, joining up with his former Newcastle teammateLee Clark.[27] Watson was appointed as a coach atBirmingham City of theChampionship on 24 August 2012.[28] He was dismissed along with Clark on 20 October 2014.[29] He was appointed as the assistant manager atNational League clubMacclesfield Town on 4 July 2016.[30]
Watson was appointed as the manager of National League clubGateshead on 10 October 2017.[31] He was appointed as the manager ofNational League North clubYork City on 10 January 2019,[32] succeeding Sam Collins who was dismissed with the team 15th in the table.[33] Watson was joined at the club byMicky Cummins, his assistant at Gateshead.[34] He was awarded the National League North Manager of the Month award for October 2021 after three wins from four in the league.[35] He left the club on 13 November.[36]
Watson was appointed manager of National League North clubChester on 23 December 2021, initially on a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.[37] On 28 April 2022, the club confirmed that Watson would leave his role as manager at the end of the season by mutual consent.[38]
Watson joined another National League club,Darlington, as manager on 31 December 2023. His contract initially ran until the end of the season.[39] After successfully steering them clear of the relegation positions, he and assistant manager Terry Mitchell signed two-year contract extensions.[40] For his impressive end to the season, Watson was named National League North Manager of the Month for April 2024.[41]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle United | 1990–91[42] | Second Division | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 1991–92[43] | Second Division | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| 1992–93[44] | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1993–94[45] | Premier League | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95[46] | Premier League | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3[c] | 1 | 35 | 5 | |
| 1995–96[47][48] | Premier League | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 29 | 4 | ||
| 1996–97[49] | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 1997–98[50] | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[e] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1998–99[51] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | — | — | 1[f] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 208 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 263 | 14 | ||
| Aston Villa | 1998–99[52] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000[8] | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| Total | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 1 | ||
| Everton | 2000–01[53] | Premier League | 34 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | |
| 2001–02[54] | Premier League | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03[55] | Premier League | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04[56] | Premier League | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 5 | ||
| 2004–05[57] | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Total | 126 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 16 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 2005–06[14] | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |
| 2006–07[17] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2006–07[17] | Championship | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2007–08[58] | Championship | 23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | |
| 2008–09[59] | Championship | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 3 | ||
| Total | 56 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 473 | 32 | 25 | 2 | 37 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 557 | 38 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Gateshead | 10 October 2017[31] | 10 January 2019[32] | 75 | 29 | 20 | 26 | 038.7 | [60] |
| York City | 10 January 2019[32] | 13 November 2021[36] | 91 | 47 | 19 | 25 | 051.6 | [61] |
| Chester | 23 December 2021[37] | 7 May 2022[38] | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 028.0 | [62] |
| Darlington | 31 December 2023[39] | present | 80 | 34 | 19 | 27 | 042.5 | [63] |
| Total | 271 | 117 | 65 | 89 | 043.2 | |||
Newcastle United
Individual
Individual
Infobox statistics
Specific
