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Fullname: Daniel Fox
aka: Danny Fox, Dan Fox
Born: 29 May 1986
Birthplace: Winsford, Cheshire
Signed: 24 July 2009 (£1.5m)
Left: 29 Jan 2010 (£1.8m est)
Position: Defender, Left-Back
Debut: […]
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 4
International Goals: 0
Biog
The highly-rated young full-back was signed from Coventry City for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £1.5 to £3 million. Danny Fox – who signed a four-year-deal – started his career as a trainee with Everton but after a loan spell with Stranraer he left Goodison for Walsall in 2005. After more than 100 games with the Saddlers left-back Fox was snapped up by their Midlands neighbours Coventry in January 2008.
Danny Fox quickly established himself as a firm favourite of the Sky Blue fans. An attack-minded full-back, his athleticism, pace and excellent distribution earned him a cap for Stuart Pearce’s England Under 21 international side against Poland in March 2007. A set-piece specialist he would also net five times for Coventry in season 2008/09. At the end of the same season Danny would be voted into the PFA’s Championship Team of the Year.
That would be Danny Fox’s last campaign at the Ricoh Arena and on July 24th 2009 he signed for the Hoops. He would make his Celtic debut that very same day – in a shirt with no name and number so swift was the move – when he came on as a substitute in the 5-0 victory over Al Ahly in the pre-season Wembley Cup.
Coventry’s manager, Chris Coleman:
“I was determined not to lose . . . Danny Fox and so were the club, but it is hard once players are offered a lot of money to go to big, big clubs.”
His competitive debut came on July 29th when he was a second half substitute in a Champions League Qualifier against Dynamo Moscow at Parkhead. Celtic would lose that game 1-0 but a week later Danny Fox would enjoy his first start for the Hoops in the second leg and he impressed as the Bhoys recorded an historic 2-0 victory in Moscow.
Danny Fox quickly established himself as first-choice left-back of Tony Mowbray’s new look Celtic before injury forced him to endure a spell on the sidelines. Undoubtedly athletic and energetic, since returning from injury Danny Fox struggled to maintain his impressive early showings in the Hoops and thus far in his fledgling Bhoys career failed to demonstrate his much vaunted ability with a dead ball (if that was ever true).
It was just his first year at Parkhead and as Celtic entered 2010 there were certainly signs that Danny Fox was beginning to return to the form he showed on those early outings with the Hoops.
However, to the surprise of many of the support, Danny Fox was sold on 29 January 2010, a mere six months at Celtic. For someone who had shown some promise it was a sad loss. He was moving to Burnley (then in the English Premiership relegation zone) for an undisclosed amount but estimated at £1.8m, far less than many would have expected to get for him. Disappointing and he was leaving Celtic at a time when the first team needed him.
Taking in the trouble the club had over the years in even getting competent left-backs, this transfer was a bit puzzling. Add in the collapse that was happening under Mowbray’s managerial career, it wasn’t helping matters.
The support never got to see the supposed great free-kicks he could take, and this writer can only remember him having ever got one on target on goal for Celtic (although annoyingly he scored a cracker on his debut for his next club), and his crossing could be poor.
In any case, he had moved on and we wished the heavily tattooed one all the best.
After Celtic, his career never hit any heights, and it is fair to argue that he should have likely stuck it out for longer at Celtic for his career. Regardless, he was to play for Burnley, Southampton, Notts Forrest and Wigan, before a swansong season in India at East Bengal, hanging up his playing boots in 2021.
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish/FA Cup | League cup | Other | ||||
| Burnley | 29/01/2010 | £1.8m | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Celtic | 24/07/2009 | 29/01/2010 | £ 1500000 | 15 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 |
| Coventry | 28/01/2008 | 24/07/2009 | Signed | 57 (0) | 6 | 3 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| Walsall | 03/06/2005 | 28/01/2008 | Free | 98 (1) | 6 | 11 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 |
| Everton | 01/07/2004 | 03/06/2005 | Trainee | No appearance data available | |||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Honours with Celtic
None
| KDS Honours |
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| MOTM Winners 2009-10 | ||
| 12-Sep-09 | Celtic 1-1 Dundee United |
SPL |
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Old Firm game is extra special, says Celtic defender Danny Fox
With a family whose loyalties are split between Everton and Liverpool, Danny Fox thought he was well acquainted with the divisions that split a city over football.
Telegraph
Until, that is, he was initiated into the singular atmosphere of an Old Firm derby, which he witnessed for the first time as a spectator at Celtic’s 2-1 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox in October. The Parkhead left-back, who moved to Glasgow from Coventry for a £1.5 million fee in the summer, was injured and took his place among the Celtic support for an occasion that left an indelible mark on his sensibilities.
“It’s the first fixture you look for when you sign for Celtic so to miss my first Old Firm game was disappointing,” said Fox.
“The atmosphere was brilliant. The Celtic fans didn’t sit down the whole game and didn’t stop singing. I didn’t know any of the songs but I know a few of them now. “I grew up going to watch Everton every week and a day like that makes you realise what this game means to the fans. It’s massive and to let them down was disappointing but everyone makes mistakes, like the two goals we conceded that day.
“I know what to expect now – I’ve been to a few derbies but the atmosphere doesn’t compare to the Old Firm, and that includes Everton versus Liverpool, and Manchester United against City. The Old Firm is extra special and I’m grateful to be playing in one.
“I was in the stand with the boys who weren’t in the squad; Chris Killen, Niall McGinn and Koki Mizuno as well. I was surrounded by familiar faces so it wasn’t too bad. I come from a mixed family where my uncles support Liverpool and my dad supports Everton.
It’s a bit of banter there but seeing the passion and hatred between the Old Firm fans first-hand at Ibrox was a bit of an eye-opener. “Even when you’re walking through the town you get a bit of abuse but you just have to laugh it off. I’ve also had Rangers fans speak to me who were absolutely fine so it’s just a certain percentage of fans who are quite bitter, but I’m paid to play football, not listen to people abusing me.”
The Scottish Premier League, meanwhile, presented Kris Boyd with a Golden Boot award to commemorate his feat in overtaking Henrik Larsson to set a new record of 160 goals, which he achieved with his five against Dundee United in midweek. The league, though, has also taken steps to dispel debate about future goalscoring achievements. Neil Doncaster, the SPL chief executive, said: “Kris’ goals on Wednesday night removed all doubt about him being the SPL’s all time top goalscorer.
“With the record now broken, we’re going to launch a Dubious Goals Panel to review and officially accredit any disputed goals in the future. In the past we have simply relied on the match official’s report but this way we can apply a second look if necessary.
“This in no way undermines the role of the referee but will mean that our record books are as accurate as possible.”