Ross Davidson (footballer, born 1989)

For other people named Ross Davidson, see Ross Davidson (disambiguation).

Ross Davidson

Personal information
Full name	Ross Davidson [1]
Date of birth	(1989-09-06) 6 September 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth	Burton upon Trent, England
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Leek Town
Youth career
	Port Vale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Port Vale	26	(0)
2009	→ Stafford Rangers (loan)
2009–2010	→ Nantwich Town (loan)
2010	→ Stafford Rangers (loan)
2010	Stafford Rangers
2011	Hednesford Town
2011–2012	Kidsgrove Athletic
2012	Leek Town	10	(0)
2012–2013	New Mills
2013	Nantwich Town
2013–2014	Witton Albion
2014–2018	Kidsgrove Athletic
2018–2022	Trafford	73	(5)
2022–	Leek Town	57	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:15, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Ross Davidson (born 6 September 1989) is an English footballer who play as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Premier Division side Leek Town.

A youth player at Port Vale, he was a professional at the club from 2008 to 2010. After two loan spells at Stafford Rangers and one at Nantwich Town, he signed permanently with Stafford in 2010. He soon switched clubs to Hednesford Town before joining Kidsgrove Athletic in 2011. He switched to Leek Town in July 2012 and joined New Mills in December 2012. He moved on to Nantwich Town the following year before playing for Witton Albion. He returned to Kidsgrove Athletic in November 2014. He spent four years with Kidsgrove before spending 2018 to 2022 with Trafford. He rejoined Leek Town in January 2022 and helped the club to win the Northern Premier League Division One West title in the 2023–24 campaign.

Career

Davidson, a product of the Port Vale youth team, was handed his professional contract at the end of the 2007–08 season. By his second season, he was a first-team regular; he received his first sending off against Brentford for a 34th-minute slide challenge on Karleigh Osborne. He received a three-match ban but was supported by his teammates, parents, and a Vale supporting Priest, who visited him in the locker room to give Davidson support. ^[3] Assistant manager Ian Brightwell believed the challenge did not warrant a sending off ^[4] and the club appealed the ban, to no avail. ^[5] Despite being a regular in the first half of the season, he played just four games of the 2009 end. He considered leaving the game, ^[6] but in June 2009 signed a new 12-month deal with the club. ^[7]

He joined Conference North side Stafford Rangers on loan in August 2009. ^[8] At the same time he was also transfer listed by Vale manager Micky Adams, along with five other youngsters. ^{[9] [10]} With his prospects at Vale Park limited, Rangers were keen to extend the loan deal, ^[11] after Davidson was impressive in his first six games for the club. However, he instead returned to Vale Park. In December that year he joined nearby Nantwich Town on loan, ^[12] a team mid-table in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. ^[13] In January the loan deal was extended by a further month. ^[14] In March 2010 he was informed that he would not be offered a new contract by the "Valiants" at the end of the season, ^[15] and immediately re-joined Stafford Rangers on loan until the expiry of their contracts. ^[16]

Expected to join Rangers permanently in summer 2010, ^[17] Davidson was hopeful of playing higher-level football, ^[18] but did however, sign with Rangers. Before the end of the season he switched clubs to Hednesford Town of the Southern League Premier Division. ^[19] Following defeat in the play-off final to Salisbury City and a second-place finish in the 2010–11 season, Hednesford were moved to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. In summer 2011, he joined Northern Premier League Division One South club Kidsgrove Athletic. The club finished in 13th place in 2011–12. He switched to Leek Town in July 2012, ^[20] before leaving Harrison Park and moving on to New Mills in December 2012. ^[21] He joined Nantwich Town of the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the 2013–14 season. ^[22] He later moved on to Witton Albion, making his debut on 25 March 2014. He played nine games in the 2013–14 season and scored two goals from sixteen in the 2014–15 campaign. ^{[23] [24]} He returned to Kidsgrove Athletic in November 2014. ^[25] The "Grove" finished 20th in the Northern Premier League Division One South in 2014–15, 15th in 2015–16, and 12th in 2016–17. He scored two goals in the 2016–17 season. ^[26] Athletic finished 18th in the 2017–18 season.

Davidson signed with Trafford in summer 2018. ^[27] He scored two goals in twenty games during the 2018–19 season and featured 33 times in the 2019–20 season, which was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. ^[28] He played nine games in the 2020–21 season, which was also abandoned. ^[28] He rejoined Leek Town in January 2022, making his second debut for the club almost ten years after his first spell had ended. ^[29] He featured 13 times in the second half of the 2021–22 season. ^[30] He made 38 appearances in the 2022–23 season, including in the play-off semi-final defeat to Runcorn Linnets. ^[30] Leek were crowned Northern Premier League Division One West champions at the end of the 2023–24 season. ^[31]

Personal life

Born in Burton upon Trent, Davidson attended Thomas Alleyne's High School. ^[32] He grew up an Arsenal fan. ^[32]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 November 2023

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	2007–08 [33]	League One	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2008–09 [34]	League Two	23	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
	2009–10 [35]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		26	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	28	0
Hednesford Town	2010–11 [36]	Southern League Premier Division									29	1
Leek Town	2013–14 [30]	Northern Premier League Division One South	10	0	4	1	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	17	1
Witton Albion	2013–14 [23]	Northern Premier League Premier Division									9	0
	2014–15 [24]	Northern Premier League Premier Division									16	2
	Total										25	2
Trafford	2018–19 [28]	Northern Premier League Division One West	18	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	20	2
	2019–20 [28]	Northern Premier League Division One West	26	1	3	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	33	1
	2020–21 [28]	Northern Premier League Division One West	6	0	2	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	9	0
	2021–22 [28]	Northern Premier League Division One West	23	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	25	2
	Total		73	5	7	0	4	0	3	0	87	5
Leek Town	2021–22 [30]	Northern Premier League Division One West	16	0	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	18	0
	2022–23 [30]	Northern Premier League Division One West	30	0	0	0	0	0	8 [lower-alpha 4]	0	38	0
	2023–24 [30]	Northern Premier League Division One West	11	0	4	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	16	0
	Total		57	0	4	0	0	0	11	0	72	0

1. Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.
2. 1 appearance in the FA Trophy and 1 appearance in the Manchester Senior Cup.
3. Appearance/s in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.
4. 3 appearances in the FA Trophy, 4 appearances in the Staffordshire Senior Cup and 1 appearance in the play-offs.

Honours

Leek Town

• Northern Premier League Division One West: 2023–24 ^[31]

References

1. "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
2. "FootballSquads – Port Vale – 2009/10". footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
3. Baggaley, Michael (12 December 2008). "Port Vale: Prayers coming true for Davidson". The Sentinel. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
4. "Brightwell laments Davidson red card". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
5. "Davidson fails in red card appeal". BBC Sport. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
6. "Davidson signs new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
7. Shaw, Steve (10 June 2009). "Port Vale: Davidson pens deal". The Sentinel. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
8. "Port Vale: Fraser delighted with captaincy honour". The Sentinel. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
9. Shaw, Steve (6 August 2009). "Port Vale: Valiants transfer list six players". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
10. "Port Vale looking to move on six". BBC Sport. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
11. Shaw, Steve (2 September 2009). "Breaking News: Davidson set to extend Stafford stay". The Sentinel. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
12. "Port Vale's Ross Davidson makes Nantwich Town loan move". BBC Sport. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
13. "Davidson Goes on Loan". port-vale.co.uk. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
14. Shaw, Steve (19 January 2010). "Port Vale: Davidson extends loan deal". The Sentinel. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
15. "Breaking News: Vale to release trio". The Sentinel. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
16. "Port Vale release Glover, Prosser and Davidson". BBC Sport. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
17. "Loan Duo Look for Permanent Deal". nonleaguedaily.com. 6 June 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
18. "Davidson Will Take Time to Decide his Future". nonleaguedaily.com. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
19. "Ex-Boro man back at Marston Road". Staffordshire Newsletter. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
20. "Blues Confirm Host of New Signings". pitchero.com. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
21. "Castle ambitions rise after Boxing Day defeat of Leek". The Sentinel. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
22. "Dabbers boss Johnson blames players for FA Cup exit to Rugby Town". The Sentinel. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
23. "2013-14 Players Records". wittonalbionfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
24. "2014-15 Players Records". wittonalbionfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
25. "Ross Davidson – First Team – Kidsgrove Athletic FC". pitchero.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
26. "Scorers 2016/17". KAFC ONLINE. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
27. "StackPath". traffordfc.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
28. "Trafford | Appearances | Ross Davidson | 2018-2019 | Football Web Pages". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
29. Travers, Chris (19 January 2022). "Blues get the man as Ross is back on board". Leek Post and Times. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
30. "PlayerStats – LeekTownSE". leektown.net. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
31. Youlton, Clive (2 April 2024). "Unstoppable Leek Town clinch promotion as rivals hammered into submission". Stoke on Trent Live. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
32. "12 – ROSS DAVIDSON". port-vale.co.uk. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
33. "Games played by Ross Davidson in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
34. "Games played by Ross Davidson in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
35. "Games played by Ross Davidson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
36. "Stats". hednesfordtown.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2021.