| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Nicholas Davies[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-02-18)18 February 1988 (age 37)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Willenhall, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2009 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 27 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | →Leicester City (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2009–2017 | Bolton Wanderers | 184 | (14) |
| Total | 218 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | England U16 | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | England U17 | 12 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | England U19 | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mark Nicholas Davies (born 18 February 1988) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.
Born inWillenhall, West Midlands, Davies was a former student ofPool Hayes Community School inWillenhall. He joinedWolverhampton Wanderers Youth Academy at the age of nine. He signed his first professional contract at Wolves in February 2005, aged 17.
In the 2005–06 season, Davies broke into the Wolves first team under then managerGlenn Hoddle, making his league debut as a substitute againstLeeds United on 20 August 2005, losing the game 2–0 atElland Road. He made his first league start for Wolves againstWatford on 20 September 2005, losing the game 2–1. Davies scored his first professional league goal againstLuton Town on 13 January 2006, winning the game 2–1 atMolineux. He went on to frequently feature for Wolves throughout the season, and becoming a vital member of the team, making 20 appearances for Wolves in his first season. Former Wolves Academy managerChris Evans said Davies was the best prospect to come out the youth system since playersRobbie Keane andJoleon Lescott.[citation needed]
The start of the 2006–07 season was a blow to Davies as he suffered a cartilage problem in pre-season. However, he returned to fitness in January 2007, making 10 substitute appearances for Wolves, and also went on to feature for theEngland U-19s.
In the 2007–08 season, Davies picked up a shoulder injury and other niggling injuries which kept him out for the whole season, limiting him to only a few reserve outings.
The 2008–09 season started brightly for Davies as he had a successful pre-season for Wolves. His first and final game for Wolves ended with him coming off the bench to assist and score the winning goal againstAccrington Stanley in theLeague Cup, winning the game 3–2 at Molineux.[3] This was Davies last appearance for Wolves as on 27 November 2008 he joinedLeague One clubLeicester City on a one-monthloan deal.
In late January 2009, Davies handed in a transfer request at Wolves. Wolves did offer him a new three-and-a-half-year contract, but he declined the offer. Wolves went on to receive a bid from League One side Leicester City, for around £650,000, but this was declined by the club. Wolves then later received another bid fromPremier League sideBolton Wanderers, believed to be in the region of £1m, rising to £2m, and accepted the offer, with Wolves adding a hefty sell on clause in part of the deal. Davies went on to sign for Bolton Wanderers on 26 January 2009, ending his ten-year stay with the club.
On 27 November 2008, Davies joinedLeague One sideLeicester City on a one-month loan deal in order to gain full match fitness after almost two years on the sidelines.[4] He made his debut for Leicester as a substitute againstSouthend United on 6 December 2008, winning the game 3–0 at theWalkers Stadium. He made his first start for Leicester againstPeterborough United on 20 December 2008, thrashing them 4–0 at the Walkers Stadium. He scored his only goal for the club againstLeyton Orient on 10 January 2009, as Leicester won 3–0 at the Walkers Stadium. Davies impressed during his short loan spell, causing Leicester to extend it to 1 February 2009.[5]
On 26 January 2009, Davies joinedPremier League sideBolton Wanderers on a four-and-a-half-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.[6] He extended his contract by another year on 15 February 2011.[7] He made his debut two days after signing when he came on as a substitute in the 2–2 draw with local rivalsBlackburn Rovers atEwood Park. He made his first start for his new club three days later againstTottenham Hotspur on 31 January 2009, winning the game 3–2 at theReebok Stadium. He scored his first goal for Bolton at the start of the 2009–10 season, in theLeague Cup againstTranmere Rovers on 25 August 2009, winning the game 1–0.[8] He scored his second goal for the club in theFA Cup againstLincoln City on 2 January 2010, winning the game 4–0 at the Reebok Stadium. Davies scored his first league goal for Bolton againstBlackpool on 27 November 2010, earning his side a 2–2 draw at the Reebok Stadium.[9] This goal was voted the club's goal of the 2010–11 season at the official Player of the Year dinner, beatingJohan Elmander's individual effort against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Davies his first goal of the 2011–12 season atBlackburn Rovers on 20 December as Bolton won 2–1. His second came in a 3–1 home win againstLiverpool on 21 January 2012. He also scored on 11 February in the 2–1 loss toWigan Athletic with a half volley from twenty yards out. He scored on the final day of the 2011–12 season, 13 May, in a 2–2 draw againstStoke City but the result wasn't enough to keep Bolton in the Premier League as they needed a win to stay up.
On 23 October 2012, in aChampionship match againstWolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, Davies scored a 90th-minute equaliser against his former club with a left-foot volley from the edge of the box into the far top corner to earn Bolton a 2–2 draw.
On 27 February 2013, Davies signed a new contract with Bolton, keeping at the club until 2017.[10] Two days later Davies was ruled out with injury for up to ten months.[11] His return came as he came on as a late substitute againstWigan Athletic ten months later in December 2013.[12] He missed the final two months of that season with injury, as well as all of pre season and the first month of the following season. In November 2014, Davies was again injured, this time for up to four months.[13]
On 19 May 2017, the club confirmed that Davies would be leaving when his contract expired on 30 June.[14] According to former teammateRobbie Blake Davies had agreed a transfer toChelsea before his injury troubles. As of May 2020 Davies is working in property development in the Midlands.[15]
Davies representedEngland U17s in theUEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in 2004. He scored two goals for his country, his first againstPortugal U17s in the group stages, and his second against Portugal in the third-place play-off, drawing the game 4–4, but losing on penalties. Davies captained the England U17 team in the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Qualifier againstNorthern Ireland U17 atMolineux in March 2005. He also went on to represent the England U17s in theUEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in May 2005, but they did not make it out of the group stages.
Davies was called up to theEngland U21 squad to faceEcuador U21s on 16 February 2010,[16] but had to pull out due to the ankle injury he picked up againstArsenal.[citation needed] On 14 March 2011, Davies received his second call up to the England Under-21s,[17] but pulled out due to injury. He received a third call up, for the England Under-21 Championships provisional squad,[18] but once again pulled out due to the same injury from his second call up and was replaced byLiverpool'sJay Spearing.[19]
His younger brotherRichard Davies was also a professional footballer.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2005–06[20] | Championship | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| 2006–07[21] | Championship | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2008–09[22] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 35 | 2 | |||
| Leicester City (loan) | 2008–09[22] | League One | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2008–09[22] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009–10[23] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11[24] | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12[25] | Premier League | 35 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 43 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13[26] | Championship | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 6 | ||
| 2013–14[27] | Championship | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15[28] | Championship | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16[29] | Championship | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17[30] | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 184 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 1 | — | 208 | 16 | |||
| Career total | 218 | 16 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 259 | 19 | ||
