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How Dave Watson cemented his place in City and England folklore
By Neil Leigh
October 5 saw former City and England central defender Dave Watson, one of the totems of City’s famous 1976 League Cup winning side, celebrate his landmark 80th birthday.
A veritable warrior and colossus on the field, Watson literally shed blood, sweat and tears across four special years at Maine Road – a period capped that by famous day at Wembley in February 1976 where his herculean efforts helped City beat Newcastle United 2-1.
However, his impact and influence went far, far beyond that.
Over the course of a hugely illustrious and successful playing career that spanned three decades in total, Watson – or The Rock as he was affectionately known - became synonymous for being one of the most talented and bravest English centre halves to play the game.
Before joining City in 1975, Watson had already helped Sunderland, then of the old second division, beat Leeds United to win the 1973 FA Cup final, a result that still reverberates today as arguably the biggest shock in the competition’s history.
That presaged a move to City where Big Dave was to arguably enjoy the greatest years of his career.
Along the way Watson also became the backbone of the England national side – going on to win 65 caps in total and featuring for his country at the 1980 European Championships as well captaining the Three Lions on a number of occasions.
In the wake of his landmark birthday, to mark Dave’s huge contribution to City, we gauged the thoughts and memories of Joe Corrigan, Peter Barnes, Dennis Tueart and Paul Power - four of his closest team-mates from both the Maine Road and England dressing rooms.
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.
Amongst them was iconic City and England goalkeeper Joe Corrigan who was to become a close colleague and friend of Dave’s for both club and country as well as away from the pitch.
Corrigan knows more than a thing or two about what makes a truly great defender.
Over the course of an illustrious City career that spanned three decades, Joe played behind a host of outstanding centre backs.
But for him Watson’s place in the City pantheon of elite centre backs is assured.
“For me, Dave Watson is one of the best central defenders I ever played behind, and he epitomised the old-fashioned type of centre half,” Joe says today.
“He was a fantastic player and a great header of the football. He scored one of the best headers I've ever seen against Ipswich in a league game in front of the North Stand at Maine Road.
“It was just a bullet header from a Peter Barnes corner, but Dave just rose and smashed it in and it didn't even loop. It just went like an arrow straight into the top corner, back across the goal. Such a great goal.
“He was always reliable, and such a great lad in the dressing room too and a wonderful professional. He may not have been the quickest, but he was such a great reader of the game.
“If you could read the game, you were always in a position where you could deal with speed. So, for me he stands as one of the best centre-halves I've ever played with.”
Though not the tallest by the traditional standards of English centre-halves at just around 6ft, Watson’s commanding presence, authority and no-nonsense attitude made him a force to be reckoned with.
And for a young Peter Barnes, Watson’s natural fitness and physique was quite the sight to behold.
“Dave was just a Colossus. I’d say he was like the Charles Bronson when he was getting changed into his City kit!,” Peter chuckles today.
“His body was unbelievable. And to be on the field with him, Dave was one of those rare players who was so strong and powerful and such a force in the air.
“I think if I had been an opposition player I’d have been terrified coming up against Dave.”
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.”
On the field, his bravery and warrior like sprit remain the stuff of legend with Watson always first to venture where others feared to tread.
For a generation of Blues of a certain vintage, the iconic and defining memory of The Rock is the famous TV interview he gave in the City dressing room immediately after that 1976 League Cup Wembley triumph.
In the course of helping inspire Tony Books’ side to a memorable 2-1 win against Newcastle United, Watson had sustained a nasty gash above his left eye that required immediate medical treatment and stitches.
For Dave though that was merely a minor irritant as he calmly carried out his interview whilst the stitches were being applied!
That courage and resilience came as little surprise to an admiring Corrigan.
Joe recalls: “I remember when he played against Middlesbrough in the semi-final of that 1976 League Cup tournament.
“Dave had badly hurt his back and had to travel back to Manchester lying down in the middle of the team coach.
“He got off and he was taken straight to hospital, and it was discovered he had a really serious back injury.
“But then he got himself fit and was able to play in the final just a few weeks afterwards. It's incredible.
“Obviously that then led to that famous video after the game where he's sat in the dressing room having his eye injury stitched all whilst conducting an interview live on TV!
“All the champagne bottles are going off as we celebrate, and Dave is sat there with the doctor and having his eyes all stitched up with blood all over his shirt.
“It was incredible but so typical!”
For Barnes that moment of laconic, laid-back calm amidst the frenzy of the situation was again the very essence of the man.
“That summed Dave up to a tee. He was like Braveheart, though obviously he's not Scottish! But nothing would hurt him.”
Few knew Watson the player better than Dennis Tueart.
Not only was the flamboyant winger a trusted colleague of his at both Sunderland and City, but the pair also dovetailed to great effect at international level with England too.
All told, Dennis and Dave were trusted teammates for the duration of the 1970s.
It was a fiercely competitive and feisty decade and no place for shrinking violets on and off the pitch.
And for Tueart there was no better and more trusted teammate than Watson whose quality, impact and legacy endures to this day.
“If you ask me to sum up what Dave brought to both City and England I would say total class,” Tueart says looking back on what was a golden era of the game.
“On the field he was a warrior.
“A total warrior and he had a fantastic ability in the air which was so crucial because in those days every team had big centre forwards so lots of long balls would come in.
“But Dave had this unique ability to sort of leap and hang in the air.
“He wasn't bad on the ground too and he certainly had a great ability with the ball.
“The other great thing was his timing of his tackles.
“His timing was just terrific. Dave had this tremendous ability to slide in and block balls and make tackles at precisely the right time.”
Long before his move to City, Watson’s quality and consistency with Sunderland had alerted the national side.
Though the Wearsiders were still plying their trade in the old Second Division, that didn’t prevent Watson from earning a maiden international call-up in the spring of 1974 for a friendly away to Portugal.
A debut England appearance in Lisbon, alongside a certain Stan Bowles and Trevor Brooking, in an otherwise uneventful goalless draw was also noticeable for signalling the final match at the helm for Sir Alf Ramsey – the man who had masterminded World Cup glory in 1966.
By the time Dave made the move to City in the summer of 1975 he had already accumulated 14 caps, largely under the new England stewardship of former City skipper and Leeds boss Don Revie.
“When we were at Sunderland together, we knew people from England were coming to watch games,” Tueart recalls.
“Even though we were still in the Second Division you could see people were watching and taking notice of Dave's ability even then.
“The fact he went on to win 65 caps is testament to his quality and consistency. You don't get to that figure unless you're a very, very good player.
“And the fact he captained the national team as well a few times meant to the world to him.”
Watson’s reassuring presence on the pitch and calm, measured demeanour off it, also proved priceless to a teenage Peter Barnes when he first embarked on his England career.
Watson was there alongside him when Barnes made a memorable bow for the Three Lions in a superb 2-0 World Cup qualifying win against Italy at Wembley in November 1977.
Looking back on those days, Barnes says he couldn’t have wished for a better sentinel.
“It was great for me being a kid to have someone like Dave to advise you and look out for you,” Peter says today
“I got into the England side at 19, at a time when Ron Greenwood had come in to manage the national team.
“For that Italy game he picked the likes of Trevor Brooking, Kevin Keegan and Bob Latchford with Steve Coppell on the right wing, me on the left wing with Dave there at the heart of things at centre back.
“And when we came out of the dressing room into the tunnel at Wembley and saw Dave there alongside you it was so reassuring. We’d got the England kit on and knew no-one was going to mess about with Dave.
“To me, Dave Watson was the best centre half going during that period.
“He was tall, commanding and powerful. He'd win the ball and give it to the midfield players. Nothing went past him.
“I never saw Dave Watson have a bad game for England and I was lucky enough to be with him for virtually every international I played.”
In total, Watson would go on to win 65 caps for the Three Lions, representing his country at the 1980 European Championships and also being afforded the huge honour of captaining England on three occasions.
However, for City and England colleague Joe Corrigan, the quiet, understated nature of Watson meant his true worth was at times under-appreciated.
“In the England set-up I think he was a little bit - I wouldn't say underrated - but because of his quietness and modesty Dave maybe didn’t get the credit he truly deserved,” says Joe today.
“It was just that Dave never wanted the limelight or to be the centre of attention. He just got on with the job for all the clubs he played for and for England.
“To have played so often as he did for England back when there was so much competition for places is a testament to just how good Dave was.”
However, whilst Watson was still a key cornerstone of the national side, his illustrious stay at Maine Road was to end in the autumn of 1979 after the return of Malcolm Allison as manager.
With Big Mal seeking to bring in fresh blood and funds to overhaul the City squad, Watson was made available for transfer and made the then brave and radical move by going abroad to join German side Werder Bremen – much to the regret of Barnes and many more.
“Dave went to Werder Bremen at a time when about six of us had also been sold to other clubs which was such a shame,” Barnes says today.
“Looking back, I think we were very unlucky because we had missed out on the league title in 1977 by a point to Liverpool and who knows what would have happened if we had won the title.
“I’m sure the Club would have given Tony Book a new long-term contract and Dave would have been a big part of that side.
“I think we were the most entertaining team in 1977 and we should have won the title that season.
“We were so unlucky because we were one of the best teams in Europe at the time. And Dave was such a big part of that.
“But for him to go to Werder Bremen. and play for them, it was magnificent to go and play in Europe as back then very few English players did that.”
Shortly after that move to Germany, Dave then returned back to England to resume his top-flight and international career at Southampton then going on to feature with Stoke City, Vancouver Whitecaps and Derby County before his playing days turned full circle with a return to Notts County at the close of a glittering three decades.
Sadly, in recent years, Dave’s health has suffered as he has been afflicted with dementia.
But together with the steadfast support of wife Penny and his family, Dave has faced the condition with the same courage and fortitude that was the hallmark of his career.
What’s more, together with Penny he still makes regular returns to Manchester to catch up with his former team-mates where he is a hugely popular figure.
And his bravery and dignity in the face of such obstacles have if anything only served to magnify the affection and adoration his friends and former City colleagues all feel for The Rock.
For Corrigan the unique qualities that marked out Big Dave remain crystal clear and enduring.
“Courage, talent and bravery. Dave epitomised all those aspects as a centre half, and as a person” Joe says looking back
“It was a tough, tough position to play in - especially in those days. He had a lot of tough competitors to play against, and Dave rose up to the lot of them.
“To have had the magnificent career he enjoyed sums up what Dave Watson was about.
“He was very quiet and unassuming. But the word we all had for him back then and still do is respect.
“You earn that respect through what you do on the pitch, what you do in the dressing room and what you do out in the public arena.
“The crowd loved him; we all loved him as a player and as a person and I count myself so lucky to have played alongside him.”
Barnes echoes those heartfelt sentiments to a tee.
“Courage and consistency were Dave’s absolute hallmarks,” Peter says in retrospect.
“I never saw him get licked in his career at Manchester City and England when I was playing with him.
“I never saw anybody give him a hard time. He always got the better of them – that was the measure of the man and the player.”
“If I was to sum Dave up it would be as the complete centre half,” adds Paul Power.
“If you were to list all the attributes needed in an elite centre back, Dave had them all.
“Physical elements, mental elements… he had all of them. He had strength, he had power, he had pace.
“And he also had the mental ability to, if there was someone quicker than him, he'd drop off maybe.
“He instinctively knew how to manage any situation.”
The final word goes to Dennis Tueart, who spent the best part of a decade at the coal face with Watson and shared in so many special moments with the great man.
“If you ask me a phrase or words to sum up Dave Watson, I would simply say he was total class,” says Dennis.
“He was a total class act, and I would use the word reliable as well. You could state your life on him.
“We were teammates from 1970 until I went to join New York Cosmos in 1979, so we nearly had 10 years together and he was just a pleasure to play with and be alongside.”
And so say all of us