Roger Davies

Roger Davies (born 25 October 1950) is an English retired football forward who played professionally in England, Belgium and the United States. He currently provides radio commentary for Derby County games. Early years Davies was born and grew up in Wolverhampton where he played football from a young age. When he was fifteen, he left school and became an apprentice in an engineering company. However, he continued to play during his free time, up to three or four games a week. Europe When he turned eighteen, he joined Bridgnorth Town which itself had just joined the amateur Midland Football Combination. Davies spent three seasons with Bridgnorth. In the summer of 1971, he signed with Worcester City of the Southern Football League. He performed well enough to come to the attention of Derby County's manager who purchased Davies' contract for £12,000 in September 1971. He spent the 1971–1972 season with the Derby County reserves in the Central League where he won the league championship. Derby then loaned Davies to Preston North End at the start of the 1972–1973 season. He made his league debut with Preston on 26 August 1972. After two appearances for Preston, he returned to Derby, where he began to see first team time. In 1973, he became a part of Derby County lore during a third round FA Cup replay at Tottenham Hotspur. At the eighty-minute mark, Tottenham held a 3–1 lead, all but assured of advancement to the next round when Davies scored twice in quick succession to tie the game. He rounded out a hat trick in extra time as Derby eliminated Tottenham 5–3. In 1975, Davies and his teammates, including Alan Hinton who would play a large part in his future career, took the First Division championship. During that season Davies scored all five goals in a 5–0 win over Luton Town. In August 1976, Davies moved to Jupiler League team Club Bruges for £135,000. He spent just over a season with Bruges, winning Belgium Player of the Year in 1977 and the Jupiler League championship. In December 1977, he returned to England when Leicester City purchased his contract.