How Dave Watson cemented his place in City and England folklore

For a man rightly revered as one of England’s great centre halves, the irony is that across the formative years of his career, Dave Watson was actually deployed as a centre forward!

Hailing from Stapleford in Nottinghamshire, Dave began his professional career as a striker with hometown club Notts County before then making the move to Rotherham United where he was to spend four seasons again playing upfront.

It wasn’t until he joined Sunderland at the end of 1970 that the career – and position - for which he was to become so revered properly took full flight.

For the first couple of years at Roker Park, Watson would again be largely deployed upfront – before the appointment of legendary manager Bob Stokoe revolutionised both his and Sunderland’s fortunes.

The canny Stokoe recognised that Dave possessed all the necessary attributes – both physical and mental - to be a top-class centre half. The tactical switch proved a masterstroke from the get-go.

Watson emerged as an inspirational figures, becoming joint top scorer across the Black Cats’ unforgettable passage to Wembley, as Sunderland entranced the nation by making their way to the 1973 FA Cup final.

There they were pitted against Don Revie’s mighty Leeds United, the then pre-eminent force in the English footballing firmament.

For many it looked a total mis-match.

Instead, Watson and Co conjured up one of the greatest shocks in FA Cup history, Ian Porterfield’s famous goal securing a 1-0 win with Watson imperious in keeping Leeds’ famed strike force at bay.

Not surprisingly those heroics helped bring his talent and temperament to the attention of a number of suitors, amongst them City – and so it was that Watson duly made the move to Maine Road in the summer of 1975 for a fee of £175,000.

It was to prove one of the shrewdest ever investments by the Blues.

His arrival into the big time had come relatively late. By then Watson was almost 29 – but like a fine wine, he was to prove one of those special and enduring vintages who simply got better and better with age, experience and maturity.

In terms of the exciting, emerging City team being assembled by Tony Book, Watson was one of the defining final pieces in the jigsaw and instantly commanded both the respect and enduring admiration of his new team-mates.

That observation is amplified by another of the key members of the City dressing room across that era – Paul Power, a man who went on to skipper the Blues with huge distinction later in his career.

“Dave was an unbelievable physical specimen,” Power declares.

“I think if he hadn't been a footballer, he'd have probably been cast in some Western film. His physique was unbelievable.

“In fact, I used to hide when we went in the shower. I let him go in one area then I'd get in another one round the corner!”

For a young Peter Barnes meanwhile, navigating his way through the testing waters of top-flight professional football in the mid-1970s, the guidance, care and oversight afforded him by Watson is something he has never forgotten to this day.

He credits Dave with being one of the key pillars of all that great City team assembled by Tony Book went on to achieve.

Barnes also got to know The Rock well not just on the club front – but as cherished England colleagues too.

And he says there was always much more to Watson the man than many would have suspected at first glance.

A case in point being the former City winger’s memorable introduction to another of Dave’s private passions – his love for British rock legends Status Quo – back during Quo’s 1970s heyday.

“Dave was and is such a lovely, lovely man and totally at odds off the field with how he was perceived as this tough defender,” Barnes says looking back.

“He was like a gentle giant and had a lovely way with him. When he was in your company, he had a little bit of wit and mischief about him, and you know he'd done it all.

“I remember one great occasion when I had an injury on my right knee just after I had broken into the team. Dave also had some trouble with his back at the time so it was arranged we would go to see a specialist in Slough.

“It was a crucial time for me because I was trying to break into the first team, so Dave said: ‘Come on we're going to get a flight to Heathrow, then we’re going to get picked up.’ I said, ‘Picked up by who, Dave?’

“It turned out we were to be picked up at Heathrow Airport by Status Quo’s official driver!

“I didn’t realise it at the time, but Dave was a massive fan of the band and became really good friends with them – and this was when they were one of the biggest groups going in Britain.

“Sure enough, we got off the plane, and I saw this big Bentley waiting for us with a driver dressed like Parker from Thunderbirds!

“Don’t forget, I was only a kid of 19, so it was pretty mind-blowing stuff. We got into this posh car and went up to see our respective specialists for an hour or so.

“Next thing, Dave says: ‘Come on, now we’re going to Pinewood Studios to see Status Quo!’ – as you do!

“So, we pulled up at Pinewood to be greeted by a fleet of incredibly expensive cars outside and I’m thinking ‘This is a different world to me!’

“I said: ‘What are we doing now Dave?’ ‘We're going to go see Status Quo rehearse Pete’!

“We trooped into the studio, and you could all the members of the band there all wearing trainers and jeans, saying: ‘All right, Dave?’ and ‘How are you Peter?,

“Next thing I knew they started to rehearse, playing ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’ and you've never heard so much noise in all your life. I'm thinking ‘Blimey, my ears are killing me!’

“I didn't realise that Dave was such a big fan of the band and, in turn, they were massive football fans and followed England whenever they could. So, Dave would help get tickets for Status Quo to watch internationals and vice-versa for them with concerts.

“It was amazing and I can still picture it like it was yesterday. That was typical Dave – so modest and yet he arranged something so incredible like that – it was so memorable.”

Paul Power also attests to how Watson’s hinterland stretched far beyond that of the majority of 1970s footballers.

Especially in an era when for most training and playing presaged the start and end of their daily routines.

“Dave always had an eye on the bigger outside world if you like,” Power recalls.

“Most footballers would come in the morning, train and then they would either go home, or some might go to the pub where they could be easily led astray.

“But Dave was so focused.

“In fact, I've still got a couple of pieces of furniture that I bought from him because he acted as a bit of a salesman in the City dressing room for a furniture company in the centre of Manchester.

“So, he didn't waste his time in the afternoon.

“He was quite cute and sharp in terms of things like that and incredibly hard working in whatever he did.”