Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Davis survives the cruel school

The patient Englishman: Young midfielder is rewarded for graft amid the imported craft and relishes Keane duel

Nick Townsend
Sunday 30 December 2001 01:00 GMT
Comments

Amid the French arrivals at the Mohamed Al Fayed Palace of Fantasies, the tenacious figure of Sean Davis is a reminder of Fulham's pauper past and the club's progress over a remarkably short period. He is also testament to the fact that rejection should be regarded as just a temporary inconvenience and not result in the surrender of all hope.

The England Under-21 performer can attest to the many benefits of slogging his way through the school of cruel setbacks rather than graduating effortlessly from the college of fine arts. Released by Wimbledon after a year and spurned by West Ham after a week, he finally secured his chance as a trainee at then Third Division Fulham. The 22-year-old "holding" midfielder saw four managers depart before the arrival of Jean Tigana – the Frenchman's 17 months have become almost a model of permanence – during six years in which Craven Cottage has undergone a radical overhaul of playing personnel and style.

Many would have perished in the process. Though he can scarcely be said to have gone up in the world as smoothly and swiftly as a Harrods lift, Davis has proved himself at every level. He played one Third Division game under Micky Adams, a few for Kevin Keegan in the Second, and many for Paul Bracewell and then Tigana's soft-shoe shufflers in the First.

He is undaunted by the quality of opposition that confronts him in the Premiership. This afternoon, it is Manchester United and Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and maybe David Beckham. Davis's attitude of admiration but not apprehension is partly the result of Tigana's policy of collective responsibility, but is also founded on a mental toughness wrought from harsh experience.

Davis seemingly thrives on rebuffs. Even this season, having signed a four-year contract in the summer and apparently established himself in Tigana's first team in the Cottagers' first season back in the top flight, he was suddenly left out of the starting line-up and replaced by Sylvain Legwinski, but has since forced his way back into the side.

Yet you detect from the Clapham-born player, who hails from a staunch Chelsea-supporting family, none of the petulant swagger displayed by some when they discover that the Premiership can be the most bruising testing-ground of young ambition. "The manager's always on my back," Davis says, though he uses the phrase in the most respectful way. "He wants me to improve and progress as a player. If he didn't feel that, I don't think he would bother with me. That gives you confidence, knowing that the manager cares about you."

Davis is aware of his deficiencies. "The manager has improved me 100 per cent, but there's still more I need to learn. I'd like to be a bit sharper, my defending could be better, I'd like to get the ball and move it on quicker. Maybe sometimes I'm too slow on the ball. But it's all down to hard work. You're never the finished article. John Collins [Fulham's player-coach] still trains as hard as anyone, and he's near the end of his playing career."

Last season, Davis contributed to the championship effort with crucial goals, and also scored for England Under-21s in the qualifier against Holland. Though Fulham are suffering a dearth of that particular commodity against the Premiership's disciplined defences, Tigana has not encouraged him to drive forward. Neither is he urged to become a Johnny Haynes with the ball at his feet. "No chance," he says, laughing. "If I go past the halfway line the gaffer jumps off the bench and tells me to get back. He wants me to sit there and defend, and when I get hold of the ball give it simple to the creative players like Steed Malbranque and Lee Clark. Basically, I'm a stopper in front of the back four. It's more important I concentrate on breaking up attacks and helping us keep a clean sheet."

Sir Alex Ferguson's team will present the most potent threat to Fulham's admirable defensive home record as they begin a series of games which will examine the theory that four consecutive victories represent a "recovery". Perturbingly for their manager, three of those wins have been against bottom-five sides.

More tellingly, United have failed to defeat any of their main rivals, and have lost to Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle, whom they meet again on Wednesday at Old Trafford, conceding 13 goals in the process. They also face Liverpool at home at the end of January. Until conclusive testimony is offered to the contrary, Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool still offer more persuasive title arguments.

Despite the re-emergence of Ryan Giggs after injury and the reappearance of Ruud van Nistelrooy's prolific scoring prowess, defensively United remain anything but convincing. It is significant Ferguson is reported to be attempting to bolster his rearguard with the acquisition of the Juventus centre-back Igor Tudor. Would that United possessed the defiance of Tigana's defence. But then again, would that Tigana could call on United's attackers. Fulham had hoped to woo United's Andy Cole from the advances of Blackburn Rovers until Rovers agreed a deal with United yesterday.

It promises to be a fascinating encounter today, with Ferguson an admirer of his French counterpart, an outsider to succeed him in the summer. Fulham were a trifle unfortunate to lose 3-2 at Old Trafford in their first game of the season. "It was a great experience for me and we did ourselves proud," says Davis. "We were bitterly disappointed to come away with nothing." Did that suggest to him that United were susceptible to an assault on their championship status even then? "Not really," he recalls. "When they had the ball it was hard to get it off them, so I didn't think they looked vulnerable. I thought it was a case of our strikers playing really well that day. People knocked their defence but Louis Saha is a quality striker, so is Barry Hayles."

Keane was suspended for that opening game, and Davis relishes the opportunity to do battle with the United captain today. "He plays well week in, week out, which most professionals would love to do. He can do just about everything: score goals, defend and tackle. Is he an inspiration? I'd say definitely. He's got so much passion about him. He wants to win. That's something I've got as well. Hopefully I can keep improving." Today, Davis should put in place a significant marker buoy on that voyage of discovery.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in