David Watson

Notts County

Watson was born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, and started his career in 1966 as a striker with hometown club Notts County making 26 appearances in two seasons, before moving to Second Division Rotherham United in 1968.

Rotherham United

Watson was signed by Tommy Docherty in a player exchange deal which involved Keith Pring going to Notts County and the Millers paying £1,000. He was thrust into a relegation battle with Rotherham in 1967–68 which was unsuccessful and led to Docherty's departure. After four seasons at Millmoor where he made 141 appearances and scored 21 goals, he caught the attention of Sunderland manager Alan Brown who paid £100,000 for his services in December 1970. In August 2025, Watson was voted Rotherham United's 'Player of the Century'.

Sunderland

At Roker Park, Watson began at centre forward, which many believed hindered their chances of gaining promotion. It was not until Bob Stokoe took over in November 1972 that Watson began to play at centre back. Sunderland reached the 1973 FA Cup final where they beat First Division Leeds United 1–0; he was able to keep Leeds's strike pairing of Allan Clarke and Mick Jones quiet and was praised by Stokoe. Following Sunderland's cup success the expectation was now for the club to gain promotion but they missed out by two points in both 1973–74 and 1974–75. Watson is regarded as one of Sunderland's greatest defenders of all time.

Manchester City

In the summer of…

Less than a year after the FA Cup victory and despite playing in the Second Division, he was given his debut for England in a friendly game against Portugal in Lisbon. Watson – quite advanced in years for a debutant at 27 – was one of six first-timers on show (among the others were Trevor Brooking) in what would prove to be 1966 World Cup-winning manager Alf Ramsey's last game in charge. Later in 1974, Watson won his second cap in a 2–0 defeat by Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow, coming on as a substitute for Norman Hunter. His first competitive game at international level was his seventh appearance in all as England defeated Czechoslovakia 3–0 at Wembley in a qualifier for the 1976 European Championships. Despite this scoreline, England would not ultimately qualify for the finals while the Czechoslovak team would go on to win it. Watson did not miss another England game until 1980. During the same year, Watson's establishment as England's first choice central defender was galvanised by a 4–3 victory over Denmark in Copenhagen which set the seal on a qualification for UEFA Euro 1980 – England's first major tournament qualification for a decade. Watson continued his England career, earning his 50th cap against Argentina in a warm-up game prior to the European Championships in Italy. Watson duly played in all three of England's group games – against Belgium, Italy and Spain – but a draw, defeat and victory respectively was not enough for England to progress. His final…

Club

International

Born in Stapleford, just west of Nottingham, he played youth football for Stapleford Old Boys and left school to work as a farm labourer and then as an electrician. His elder brother, Peter, was also a professional footballer. He has been married to Penelope Watson MBE since June 1969.