Murray Davidson
Murray Davidson is a Scottish former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is most associated with a 14-year spell at St Johnstone, for whom he played over 300 league games, having started his career at Livingston. Davidson also played on loan for Cowdenbeath. He once played for Scotland in 2012.
Early career
Born in Edinburgh, Davidson grew up in the small Borders town of Innerleithen to Ronnie and Liz Davidson. He attended Peebles High School.Davidson began playing football at the local sports club Leithen Vale, in the same team as Ross Campbell, who would go on to represent Hibernian and Dunfermline Athletic, and Steven Notman, who was to play for Hibernian and Berwick Rangers. The team was the most successful in the sports club's history, winning countless trophies both at home and abroad, and a number of the boys, including Davidson, went on to play at a higher level. After appearing for Leithen Vale, he joined Livingston at sixteen years old and started his senior career with the club. However, his start at Livingston suffered a setback when Davidson suffered "prolonged injuries", but he managed to overcome the injuries.
Club career
Livingston
Davidson made his Livingston debut, coming on as a substitute for Graham Dorrans in the 85th minute, in a 2–1 win against his future club, St Johnstone, on 25 November 2006. He made another appearance for the club, also as a substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Clyde on 9 December 2006. By the time Davidson was loaned out, he made only two appearances in the 2006–07 season. A month later, Davidson moved on loan to Scottish Third Division club Cowdenbeath. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Greenock Morton on 27 January 2007. Davidson made five appearances for The Blue Brazil. He later spoke about his time at Cowdenbeath, stating the loan move helped his career and development.In the 2007–08 season, Davidson made his first appearance of the season against Dundee on 11 March 2008, only for him to receive his first red card of his professional career for a second bookable offence, as Livingston loss 5–2. After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the first team, coming on as a second-half substitute, against Greenock Morton on 22 March 2008, only for him to receive a straight red card at the last minute of the game for a serious foul play, in a 1–1 draw. On the last game of the 2007–08 season, Davidson made six appearances and scored his first career goal – once more playing against St Johnstone– in the final game of the season, in a 5–2 loss. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he made six appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, Davidson signed a two-year deal with the club.
The 2008–09 season proved to be a breakout season for Davidson, as he began to receive first team football at Livingston and formed a central–midfield partnership with Liam Fox. In a match against Ross County on 9 August 2008, Davidson set up a goal for Leigh Griffiths, in a 2–0 win. In a follow–up match against Greenock Morton, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win. Davidson had to wait until on 27 September 2008 to score his second goal of the season, a 3–1 win against Partick Thistle. After missing one match due to an injury, he scored on his return, in a 4–1 win against Ross County on 13 December 2008. His return was short–lived when Davidson had a fitness concern that saw him out for one match. On 31 January 2009, he scored his fifth goal of the season, in a 4–2 win against Ross County. However, Davidson suffered an injury and was substituted in the 68th minute, during a 4–1 loss against Dundee on 21 February 2009. After returning to the first team from injury, he scored a brace against Dunfermline Athletic, in a 4–2 win on 10 March 2009. However, Davidson suffered a groin injury that saw him out for the rest of the 2008–09 season. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring six times in all competitions.
Shortly after the 2008–09 season was concluded, Davidson was linked a move away from Livingston, as he was subjected to a bid, alongside Dave Mackay from Scottish clubs like Dundee and Motherwell. Following the club's demotion to the Scottish Third Division, Davidson was critical of SFL's decision to punish Livingston, calling it "wrong" and believed that owner Angelo Massone was the one to blame. He also had a strained relationship with Massone, who at one point arranged for him to go on trial with Serie A side Parma, but turned down the chance.
St Johnstone
On 15 May 2009, Davidson transferred to St Johnstone and signed a three-year contract with the Saints, alongside Dave Mackay. He later revealed that they almost joined Dundee before the Saints won the race to sign the pair. Manager Steve Lomas, stated in the 2012 interview, praised his predecessor for his role of signing both players.Upon joining the club, Davidson acknowledged about Livingston's financial problems, saying: ''"I have some close friends there and I have great sympathy for them. It must be a difficult time for the staff behind the scenes and I am particularly sorry for the supporters of the club who were very good to me. For their sake, I hope a solution can be found."''
2009–10 season
Davidson made his St Johnstone debut, starting the whole game, in a 5–0 win over Stenhousemuir in the Scottish League Cup. In a follow–up match, he scored his first goal for the Saints in the opening game of the season, drawing 2–2 against Motherwell. Two weeks later on 30 August 2009, Davidson scored again, in a 2–2 draw against Hearts. Since joining the club, he quickly became a regular first team player and made a significant impact.His performance led to manager Derek McInnes successfully predicted that Davidson will be included in the Scotland squad one day. On 31 October 2009, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Falkirk. On 30 March 2010, Davidson scored his fourth goal of the season against Rangers in a 4–1 win. In the last game of the season, Davidson scored his fifth goal of the season, in a 3–2 loss against Hamilton Academical.
Despite suffering injuries throughout his first season at St Johnstone, he made thirty–nine appearances and scoring five times in all competitions. Following this, it was announced on 13 May 2010 that Davidson signed a one-year contract extension with the Saints, keeping him until 2013.
2010–11 season
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Davidson said his aim was to improve scoring more goals than he did in the previous season. Davidson scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over Greenock Morton in the second round of the Scottish League Cup. In a follow–up match against Rangers on 28 August 2010, he suffered a head injury after clashing with Marcus Haber and was substituted in the 18th-minute, as St Johnstone went on to lose 2–1. However, this cost him his place for the Scotland U21 squad. But Davidson recovered and started the match, in a 2–0 loss against Motherwell on 11 September 2010.Since the start of the 2010–11 season, he appeared in the first nine matches of the season until missing a match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, due to an injury that saw him out for one match. But Davidson made his return to the starting line–up, starting the match, in a 2–1 win against Hamilton Academical on 23 October 2010. In a follow–up match, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 loss against Celtic in the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup. However, by the end of the year, Davidson suffered three more injuries on two separate occasions.
Despite this, Davidson continued to remain in the first team, playing in the central midfield position. He then scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Partick Thistle in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he made forty-three appearances and scored three times in all competitions.
2011–12 season
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Davidson was at the centre of the transfer window when St Johnstone turned down a bid from Rangers for, which was believed to be in the region of £250,000. He was also linked with a move to English clubs, with from Wolves, Bolton and Everton.Amid the transfer speculation, Davidson remained in the first team for St Johnstone and helped the club collect four points, including a 1–0 win over Celtic, giving the club their first win at Celtic Park since 1998. He scored his first goal of the season, but suffered an injury after attempting to tackle Andrew McNeil backfired and was substituted at half time, as St Johnstone won 3–0 against Livingston in the second round of the Scottish League Cup. After the match, it was announced that Davidson would be out between six and eight weeks. After being out for two months, he made his return to the first team from injury, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 15 October 2011. However, his return was short–lived when he suffered a minor knee injury that saw him out for one match. But on 29 October 2011, Davidson made his return from injury, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against St Mirren.
Following his return from injury, he regained his first team place, playing in either central midfield or defensive midfield positions. When the January transfer window opened, Davidson continued to attract interest, mostly from Rangers and Bristol City. In response, manager Steve Lomas said he would sell him, but only for a valuation of £1 million. The transfer speculation caused a briefly strained relationship between him and the Saints supporters. Amid the transfer speculation, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Brechin City in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Rangers' interest in signing Davidson ended when the club entered administration the following month.
After missing one match due to ankle injury in mid–February, he scored on his return against Hearts in the last 16 replay of the Scottish Cup but St Johnstone lose 2–0 and was eliminated from the tournament. A week later on 25 February 2012, Davidson scored his first league goal in over two years in a 3–1 win over Dunfermline Athletic. In a match against Hearts on 24 March 2012, he scored an equalising goal before being substituted with a knee injury in the 81st minute, as the Saints got their revenge, in a 2–1 win. After missing three matches, Davidson made his return to the starting line–up, in a 2–0 loss against Dundee United on 21 April 2012. Although his playing time was reduced, due to recurring injuries unlike his first-two season at the club, his contributions for St Johnstone saw the Saints qualify for a place in Europe despite finishing sixth place. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Davidson went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.