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Kevin Davies played more than 700 matches for Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn and Bolton Wanderers, scoring more than 100 Premier League goals in the process, and earning a cap for England. After a decade at Bolton where he was captain, he left the club at the end of last season. Here he reveals the truth about what it's like when you are no longer wanted by your club.
The morning of my 36th birthday felt just like any other day, except I was a year older.
I was looking forward to some celebrations but as it turned out, the day was not a happy one, as it was the day I was told it would be my last season playing and captaining Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
I have since heard a few statements referring to the fact that I could not be guaranteed first team football.
Up until that day I had made 38 appearances and had more starts than any of the other strikers who were all ten years younger than me, but nonetheless I had to respect that somehow it was a ‘football decision’.
Things in football can change very quickly. I was told during my Uefa A Licence course that the average tenure for a football manager these days is as little as fourteen months.
When a new boss takes over he will look at the squad of players he has inherited and make decisions as to who he wants to keep and work with, and those he would like to move on.
There can be a number of reasons for this, although I was never given an explanation as to why I was not being offered a new contract.
The club publicised the fact that they would not be offering me a new contract within an hour of telling me - and two days before the loan deadline.
I felt it was strange timing to make this public knowledge as it meant my phone was to be inundated with calls from clubs wanting me on loan.
That afternoon we had a scheduled club appearance at The Bolton Royal Hospital. We missed our Christmas visit to hand out gifts due to a bug spreading around the wards at the time and had rescheduled it for Easter instead.
Having spent a few days on the wards myself with my children it is something I always enjoy doing - it's great to be able to put a smile on those brave little children's faces even if a few of them had Manchester United shirts on!
On this occasion though, it was me who was putting on a brave face for them. I am so glad that the hospital visit was scheduled for that day. I entered the hospital feeling that my world was caving in around me but left thinking how lucky I was to have a healthy and supportive family around me.
Football is only a game of course, but when you think of loved ones' health it always puts things into perspective for me.
But it still hurt, I always thought my career would end at Bolton and had always stressed that to the chairman.
Looking back that was very naive of me. As I said, things can change very quickly and football has a nasty habit of kicking you where it hurts when you least expect it.
After Bolton had made my contract situation public, loan deadline day was horrific.
I had agents ringing up who I had never spoken to before. As many as ten managers and their coaching staff were calling from all over the country.
It was a bit too much for me to take at the time as it hadn’t really sunk in that I was being let go by Bolton. I was still coming to terms with the news that I was being released from a club I had sweated blood for and loved for ten years. As they say though, all good things must come to an end.
The upheaval of it all and seeing my kids get upset was too much and so I was quite happy when the 5pm deadline passed and the madness was over.
After speaking to friends in the game I decided to stay and see out my Bolton contract and help them push for promotion. I did not see the need to go out on loan and prove myself to other clubs - I would speak to them once the season was over.
Maybe I am a little old fashioned but actually spending ten years and only missing a few games for such a great club meant something to me, if not to others.
Now I am a free agent negotiations are ongoing with various clubs and I am hopeful some sort of decision will be made in the next few days.
As a family we are very settled in Bolton but we are looking at all options both in the UK and overseas. I feel that this decision is as big as all the other choices I have made regarding my career.
I have met up with some great managers since coming back from my holiday and I know whichever club I decide to join I will be well motivated and managed in the right way. In return they will get 100 per cent from me on and off the pitch, as always.
It is hard right now knowing most players are back in doing pre-season training and enjoying some good banter, but I have been doing my own training at home.
Running alone on the streets of Bolton and up in the hills of Rivington you have plenty of thinking time but I don't want to leave it too long. Playing catch up in pre-season training is no fun.
I am desperate to get back into the day to day life of being a professional footballer and I still have the drive to be part of a successful team.
Having been a pro for twenty years I am as excited about the new season as I was my very first.
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The morning of my 36th birthday felt just like any other day, except I was a year older.
I was looking forward to some celebrations but as it turned out, the day was not a happy one, as it was the day I was told it would be my last season playing and captaining Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
I have since heard a few statements referring to the fact that I could not be guaranteed first team football.
Up until that day I had made 38 appearances and had more starts than any of the other strikers who were all ten years younger than me, but nonetheless I had to respect that somehow it was a ‘football decision’.
Things in football can change very quickly. I was told during my Uefa A Licence course that the average tenure for a football manager these days is as little as fourteen months.
When a new boss takes over he will look at the squad of players he has inherited and make decisions as to who he wants to keep and work with, and those he would like to move on.
There can be a number of reasons for this, although I was never given an explanation as to why I was not being offered a new contract.
The club publicised the fact that they would not be offering me a new contract within an hour of telling me - and two days before the loan deadline.
I felt it was strange timing to make this public knowledge as it meant my phone was to be inundated with calls from clubs wanting me on loan.
That afternoon we had a scheduled club appearance at The Bolton Royal Hospital. We missed our Christmas visit to hand out gifts due to a bug spreading around the wards at the time and had rescheduled it for Easter instead.
Having spent a few days on the wards myself with my children it is something I always enjoy doing - it's great to be able to put a smile on those brave little children's faces even if a few of them had Manchester United shirts on!
On this occasion though, it was me who was putting on a brave face for them. I am so glad that the hospital visit was scheduled for that day. I entered the hospital feeling that my world was caving in around me but left thinking how lucky I was to have a healthy and supportive family around me.
Football is only a game of course, but when you think of loved ones' health it always puts things into perspective for me.
But it still hurt, I always thought my career would end at Bolton and had always stressed that to the chairman.
Looking back that was very naive of me. As I said, things can change very quickly and football has a nasty habit of kicking you where it hurts when you least expect it.
After Bolton had made my contract situation public, loan deadline day was horrific.
I had agents ringing up who I had never spoken to before. As many as ten managers and their coaching staff were calling from all over the country.
It was a bit too much for me to take at the time as it hadn’t really sunk in that I was being let go by Bolton. I was still coming to terms with the news that I was being released from a club I had sweated blood for and loved for ten years. As they say though, all good things must come to an end.
The upheaval of it all and seeing my kids get upset was too much and so I was quite happy when the 5pm deadline passed and the madness was over.
After speaking to friends in the game I decided to stay and see out my Bolton contract and help them push for promotion. I did not see the need to go out on loan and prove myself to other clubs - I would speak to them once the season was over.
Maybe I am a little old fashioned but actually spending ten years and only missing a few games for such a great club meant something to me, if not to others.
Now I am a free agent negotiations are ongoing with various clubs and I am hopeful some sort of decision will be made in the next few days.
As a family we are very settled in Bolton but we are looking at all options both in the UK and overseas. I feel that this decision is as big as all the other choices I have made regarding my career.
I have met up with some great managers since coming back from my holiday and I know whichever club I decide to join I will be well motivated and managed in the right way. In return they will get 100 per cent from me on and off the pitch, as always.
It is hard right now knowing most players are back in doing pre-season training and enjoying some good banter, but I have been doing my own training at home.
Running alone on the streets of Bolton and up in the hills of Rivington you have plenty of thinking time but I don't want to leave it too long. Playing catch up in pre-season training is no fun.
I am desperate to get back into the day to day life of being a professional footballer and I still have the drive to be part of a successful team.
Having been a pro for twenty years I am as excited about the new season as I was my very first.
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Last edited by Sluffy on Mon Jul 08 2013, 15:50; edited 1 time in total
