Steven Davis

Steven Davis
Image from: zimbio.com

Steven Davis



Current Club: Southampton.

Previous Clubs: Rangers, Fulham, Aston Villa.

Loan Club: Rangers.



International: Northern Ireland 92 caps 9 goals.



Davis is a player that has filled a lot of roles and evolved his style of play as time has gone on. Initially he was mainly used in a wide midfield role, then an attacking midfield role, now he has become a central midfielder who sits and breaks up play, as well as launches the attacks. Gone are the days when he was looking to spend the game in and around the opposition penalty box, looking to create chances, now he is playing from a deeper position.



As a wide player and attacking player, he lacks pace, skill and the creativeness to provide opportunities for others, as well as not having much of an eye for goal. That made him a very average player in that position, despite having decent movement, to create himself space, and a decent range of passing. The lack of vision to spot players meant his passing was going to waste and the lack of an eye for goal meant his movement would usually just lead to him getting the ball but doing little with it.



Playing a little deeper has given him a new lease of life, as Davis has good positional sense, to close off passing lanes and ensure opponents struggle to break down the Saints defensive line. However, there is still the same lack of vision and creativity to launch attacks from deep, which saw Soton look toothless last season, as the ball had to be moved on to one of their more creative players to build attacks.



Hard work is its own reward they say, but Davis' hard work was given a genuine reward last season, as he inherited the captaincy when Jose Fonte left Soton to join West Ham United. Whether or not that captaincy will be his for the long term and what effect that will have on his game has yet to be seen, but, in the short term, it lifted his game and saw him work harder. Davis has a good head on his shoulders and he used that, rather than just ran around more.