Davidson, Victor

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Personal

Fullname: Victor Salvatore Ferla Davidson
aka: Vic Davidson, Victor Davidson
Born: 11 August 1950
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Signed: 20 July (groundstaff); 12 Dec 1967 (then farmed out); 18 May 1968 1970; 31 Mar 1979
Left: 1 May 1975 (free); 3 June 1975 (to Motherwell); 1981 (to Phoenix Inferno)
Position: Midfielder/striker
First game (first spell) : Saint Mirren away 3-2 18 April 1970 League
Last game (first spell) : Dundee United away 0-0 9 November 1974 League
First goal (first spell) : Saint Mirren away 3-2 18 April 1970 League
Last goal (first goal) : Clyde away 4-2 7 September 1974 League
First game (second spell) : Hibernian away 1-2 31 March 1979 League
Last game (second spell) : Dundalk away 0-0 7 November 1979 European Cup
First goal (second spell) : Motherwell away 4-3 4 April 1979 League
Last goal (second spell) : Partizani Tirana home 4-1 3 October 1979 European Cup
Internationals: None

Biog

Victor Davidson was brought up in the Calton/Bridgeton area of Glasgow and attended Sacred Heart R.C. school in Bridgeton. Vic had two spells at Celtic after initially signing for the club from Glasgow United in 1967.

Vic Davidson was part of the excellent crop of young players Jock Stein brought through in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s and much was expected of him. Impressive performances for the reserves with fellow strikers Dalglish and Macari saw the young goal-scoring midfielder earn a glowing reputation and he made a scoring debut when he netted in a 3-2 league win at St Mirren on April 18th 1970.

Stein threw him on against Ajax in the European Cup quarter final in March 24th 1971 and he played in the Scottish Cup semi final against Airdrie in a 3-3 draw, Dalglish replacing him in the replay.

Between March 25th and April 8th 1972 he scored four goals in three games and at last it looked as if he would fulfill his potential. However in 1972/73 his sole contribution was two goals against Stranraer in the League Cup.

With Lou Macari’s departure to Manchester United in 1973 it was felt that Vic Davidson would be an adequate replacement. This never materialised and by early in the 1974/75 season he now had a first team place but after a 2-1 defeat at Parkhead to Rangers on September 14th 1974 he fell out of favour again and was given a free transfer in May 1975.

He was grouped in with the great crop of youngsters at the time, dubbed the “Quality Street Gang” which included Danny McGrain and Kenny Dalglish, but sadly for him he never reached the same heights as they did. It was a lot to live up to, but to be associated and linked with them is still a bit of an honour any player from the time would have died for.

The truth is that, despite the great training he simply was below par compared to his contemporaries in the Celtic First XI. Many of those who trained with him, have spoken well of his talent, but on the pitch it was little well proven, which was not an easy take when taken in light of the high standard of player he was playing alongside (e.g. Dalglish). He did put in many good performances but wasn’t deemed to be consistent enough, although his scoring record does show a fair enough return ratio.

Vic moved to Motherwell and returned to haunt Celtic on several occasions. On August 27th 1977 he scored a glorious winning goal for the ‘Well at a sunny Parkhead with a dipping shot past Peter Latchford. Some would argue that his best form in his career was at Motherwell.

He moved on to Blackpool and it was a major shock when Billy McNeill brought him back to Celtic from England for a fee of £35,000 in March 1979. He made his second debut at Easter Road in a 2-1 reverse and he had signed so late the previous day that some of the newspapers weren’t able to report it in time. There were many Celtic fans in Edinburgh pointing at their new number nine in the hoops, saying that he was the spitting image of Vic Davidson, never realising for a minute that it was him. Some cynics even bemoaned the fact he had returned, which was unnecessary.

Anyhow, his experience was vital in the run in, in the spring of 1979, and he scored several important goals. He was a substitute on the dramatic night of May 21st 1979 when Celtic’s 10 men brought the title back to Parkhead. He’d proven his worth, and for that he should be respected.

The following season he had an impressive start and played a vital part in the European Cup wins against Partizan Tirana and Dundalk. However he fell out of favour after Dom Sullivan joined from Aberdeen in late October. On May 10th 1980 he was an unused sub in the Scottish Cup victory against Rangers at Hampden and won himself a winners medal (but note he didn’t play a game in the whole Scottish Cup run).

He left again in the summer of 1980 for the US and Phoenix Inferno and remains in America until this day.

During his two spells at Parkhead, Vic Davidson made 66 appearances in the major competitions and scored 24 goals. A fine return by a fine player.

Quotes

“After Pele, Vic [Davidson] was my favourite number ten.”
Gary McAllister (ex-Liverpool and Leeds)

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Pictures

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Links

• Quality Street Gang