Southampton and Wales legend Ron Davies is the latest guest on the EPL Talk Podcast, the daily Premier League interview and analysis show.
To say that Davies is a legend to Southampton supporters is an understatement. In his first season with the Saints, Davies scored an incredible 43 goals. Heralded as “the best centre forward in Europe” by Matt Busby and the “best header of the ball” by teammate Mick Channon, Davies was a one-of-a-kind goalscorer whose feats included scoring four goals against Manchester United at Old Trafford, four goals against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and four goals against Aston Villa. Between 1966-69, he scored 90 times in 123 league games. It’s no wonder that football commentator Martin Tyler names Davies as his hero.
In addition to playing for Southampton, Davies also played for Manchester United, Norwich City, Luton Town, Chester City, LA Aztecs, Seattle Sounders and other teams, as well as for his country, Wales.
In this exclusive interview, Davies discusses:
- his memories of that day in 1969 when he scored four against Man United at Old Trafford,
- what it was like to play alongside George Best in the NASL and what Harry Redknapp was like at Seattle Sounders,
- the story of how he got discovered as a young footballing talent,
- what it was like playing for Wales against England and Brazil, and playing alongside John Toshack, Wyn Davies and other Welsh legends, and
- the secret to his success of how he was able to jump so much higher than his opponents during football matches.
This is a must-listen interview with a legend of football who is definitely a gentle giant of this beautiful game.
Don’t forget that the EPL Talk Podcast is the only Premier League interview and analysis podcast available for free. In the past few weeks, we’ve interviewed legends of the game such as Steve McManaman, Efan Ekoku, Martin Chivers and Robbie Earle as well as experts such as Declan Hill, Simon Kuper, Misha Sher, Matt Dickinson and many others. Why pay $40 a year to rival podcasts when you can subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast for FREE featuring interviews with the biggest names in football?
Plus stayed tuned for upcoming interviews coming this week including John Harkes (of Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County fame) and more. Plus you can hear interviews on our sister podcast MLS Talk with Thomas Dooley, Jaime Moreno, Jimmy Conrad, Sacha Kljestan and Stuart Holden.
Who wears short shorts?
Is there any video of him jumping? I’m intrigued.
Hi Darren, I’ve spent a few hours searching over the past few weeks but haven’t been able to find any with him heading the ball. If anyone comes across video, please post a link to it.
No headers are shown in these two games, but here are highlights of Ron Davies in action:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=43680
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJe0Vd1iarE
Cheers,
The Gaffer
In answer to The Gaffer’s above request:
Saturday, 16th August 1969 … Man Utd 1 v Southampton 4
Part 1: Edited highlights of the game @ …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFaZeeaQOM&NR=1
Part 2: After match analysis and interview with Ron Davies @ …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAkDQ6xwSQM&feature=related
And in particular, watch the slow motion reply of the Davies third goal. Now, Ron Davies was exactly 6 feet tall and the regulation height of a cross-bar is 8 feet from the ground to its underside. Therefore, at the point he heads the ball for it to directly enter the Man Utd net he has to be near 2 feet off the ground. And what is more, in his prime these are the kinds of far post leaps that Ron Davies could regularly do with only the seemingly minimal of run-ups to get airborne. Mind you, having quality crosses of a ball from either flank in the shape John Sydenham and Terry Paine very much played to Davies’s strengths.