Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player. He was formerly the manager of club

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday. He was capped once by the England national B team, having previously played twelve times and scored once for the under-21s. Watson moved into coaching after retiring from playing and was appointed as an academy coach at Huddersfield Town under former teammate Lee Clark in 2010. He then followed Clark to Birmingham City before a spell as assistant manager of Macclesfield Town. He was given his first managerial role in 2017 when he joined

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, before becoming York City manager in 2019. He left the club in 2021 before joining Chester the same year.

Playing career

Newcastle United

Watson was born in North Shields, Tyne and Wear. He began his career with

, playing on a regular basis. At the time of his first-team debut, as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 10 November 1990, he was the youngest person ever to play for Newcastle, a record that still stands. Watson appeared 24 times that season, firstly under Jim Smith and then under Ossie Ardiles as Newcastle struggled in the Second Division. Watson featured prominently during the 1991–92 season as

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

returned to Newcastle and relegation to the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

was avoided. During his seven years at the club, he wore a jersey with every shirt number 2–11 at least once, earning a reputation as a key all round capable footballer integral to ''The Entertainers'' style of play. He came on as a 77th-minute substitute at Wembley Stadium in the

1998 FA Cup Final The 1998 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United on 16 May 1998 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1997–98 FA Cup, the 117th season of the world's oldest football knockout compet ...

, in which Newcastle were beaten 2–0 by Arsenal.

Aston Villa, Everton and West Bromwich Albion

Watson was transferred to

for £4 million in October 1998. He scored once for Villa, in a 4–0 home win over Southampton on 1 December 1999 in the League Cup. He moved to Everton on 4 July 2000 on a five-year contract for a £2.5 million transfer fee. When boss Walter Smith found his squad decimated by injury, Watson was used a striker alongside Tomasz Radzinski, a role he had started to play at the beginning of his career before transferring to the defence. His time with Everton was blighted with injury, although he did enjoy some time in the first team for the 2003–04 season, which included three goals against Leeds United on 28 September 2003. This made him the first Everton player to score a hat-trick in any competition since

Nick Barmby Nicholas Jon Barmby (born 11 February 1974) is an English football coach and former professional player. As a player, he played as a midfielder spending nearly his entire career in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough, Everto ...

in February 2000. Watson signed for West Bromwich Albion on 5 July 2005 on a three-year contract on a free transfer, after rejecting the offer of a new one-year contract with Everton. He made his debut as an 80th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw away to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 13 August. His only goal for the club came on 2 January 2006, with a shot that came after receiving the ball from Jonathan Greening in the 77th minute of a 2–1 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Sheffield Wednesday

Watson joined Sheffield Wednesday on 9 February 2007 on loan until the end of the 2006–07 season, with opportunities at West Brom limited. He made his debut the following day, starting in a 1–1 draw away to Burnley. Before he joined them, Wednesday had lost five matches in a row. However, they won six, drew four and only lost once when Watson was in the team. He was re-called by West Brom on 26 April with two matches remaining as cover for the injured Curtis Davies and the suspended Neil Clement. Watson signed for Wednesday permanently on 10 July 2007 on a free transfer. His first goal for the club came on 6 November with an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Wednesday drew 1–1 away to West Brom. Watson succeeded Lee Bullen as club captain for the 2008–09 season, taking charge of off-the-field matters, with Richard Wood retaining his role as team captain and being responsible for on-the-field affairs. Watson scored the winner in the Steel City derby against Sheffield United on 19 October; his volleyed lob over

Paddy Kenny Patrick Joseph Kenny (born 17 May 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Kenny began his career with Bradford Park Avenue before turning professional in the summer of 1998 upon ...

in the 35th minute gave Wednesday a 1–0 win. Sheffield Wednesday decided to release Watson on 14 May 2009 due to long-term injury problems. He subsequently retired from playing.

Coaching and managerial career

Watson was appointed as the new Development Coach at League One club Huddersfield Town on 13 November 2010, joining up with his former Newcastle teammate Lee Clark. Watson was appointed as a coach at Birmingham City of the Championship on 24 August 2012. He was dismissed along with Clark on 20 October 2014. He was appointed as the assistant manager at National League club Macclesfield Town on 4 July 2016. Watson was appointed as the manager of National League club

on 10 October 2017. He was appointed as the manager of National League North club York City on 10 January 2019, succeeding Sam Collins who was dismissed with the team 15th in the table. Watson was joined at the club by Micky Cummins, his assistant at Gateshead. He was awarded the National League North Manager of the Month award for October 2021 after three wins from four in the league. He left the club on 13 November. Watson was appointed manager of National League North club

on 23 December 2021, initially on a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season. On 28 April 2022, the club confirmed that Watson would leave his role as manager at the end of the season by mutual consent.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Newcastle United * FA Cup runner-up: 1997–98

As a manager

Individual * National League North Manager of the Month:

October 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

Infobox statistics *England U21: *England B: Specific

External links

Profile
at the Chester F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Steve 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from North Shields Footballers from Tyne and Wear English footballers England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England B international footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Newcastle United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Everton F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players FA Cup Final players English football managers Gateshead F.C. managers York City F.C. managers Chester F.C. managers National League (English football) managers Association football coaches Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff Macclesfield Town F.C. non-playing staff