Fred Davies Wiki – Fred Davies Biography

Frederick Davies, an English footballer who made nearly 400 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cardiff City, and Bournemouth has died. He later became a manager, taking charge of Shrewsbury Town and Weymouth.

Shrewsbury Town is deeply saddened to hear about the passing of former manager, Fred Davies.

— Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsburytown) September 3, 2020

Age

Fred Davies has died at the age of 81.

Earlier Life and Career

He was Born on 22 August 1939 in Liverpool. Davies began his football career when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1957 at the age of 17.

He went on to play for Cardiff and Bournemouth and later enjoyed great success as a manager with Shrewsbury Town.

Having guided them to Third Division glory in 1994, he is their last title-winning manager. He also led them to Wembley for the first time in their history in April 1996, where they lost 2-1 to Rotherham in the Auto Windscreens Shield final.

The League Managers Association (LMA) confirmed Davies’ passing, and chairman Howard Wilkinson said: “As a goalkeeper, a coach and a manager, Fred’s successes were all earned the hard way, as was the respect of his peers. He was a credit to the professional game.”

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan added: “Fred’s contribution, impact, and influence on English football was vast, most notably in his role as manager of Shrewsbury Town.”

Coaching career

Upon retiring from playing, he joined his former Bournemouth manager John Bond as a coach at Norwich City during the 1970s. Bond had been instrumental in Davies’ move into coaching having encouraged him to get his coaching badges during a lengthy injury spell during their time at Bournemouth together. He later had two spells on the coaching staff at Swansea City during the 1980s. He joined up again with John Bond in the early 1990s at Shrewsbury Town and stepped in as caretaker manager after Bond’s resignation in May 1993.

His first season as manager of Shrewsbury was a success as he guided the club to the Division Three championship, and he was officially appointed on a full-time basis in January 1994. He took the club to Wembley for the first time in their history in April 1996 when they reached the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield, only to lose 2–1 to Rotherham United.

Davies steered the club clear of the drop in the third tier for two seasons before relegation struck in 1996–97, which cost him his job at the end of a season where the club had looked set for mid-table security for most of the campaign before a late slump in form. He made a quick return to management with non-league Weymouth, managing the Dorset club for two seasons, winning promotion to the Southern Premier League in his first season there.

Death and Cause