Alan Davies

Alan Davies was an English-born Welsh international footballer. Although born in Manchester on December 5th, 1961, Davies's Welsh parentage qualified him to play for Wales, for whom he won 13 international caps between 1983 and 1990, as well as playing six times for the Wales under-21 side.  Signing as a trainee for Manchester United as a 16-year-old in July of 1978, he put pen to paper on his first professional contract just five months later.  Davies made his first-team debut for United in a 1-0 home win against Southampton on May 1st, 1982.  He only played ten competitive games for The Red Devils, but did play both games in the 1983 F.A. Cup Final, when United beat Brighton and Hove Albion in a replay, resulting in him winning the only major medal of his career.  Unfortunately, after this success, Davies suffered a bad injury in a pre-season friendly, which resulted in him being out of first-team contention for six months during the 1983-84 season.  He returned to the team in memorable fashion, scoring his only goal for the side when coming on as substitute in a 1-1 draw with Juventus in a European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.  Sadly, he only played three more league games that season, and none the following season, and was sold to Newcastle United in 1985, also playing on loan for Charlton and Carlisle whilst with The Magpies.  He later had two spells at Swansea City, either side of a spell with Bradford City in 1989-90.  During his second spell at Swansea, he found himself a key player in a side that was struggling towards the bottom of the Third Division.  On February 4th, 1992, Davies dropped-off his daughter, Katie (aged 4), at school, before driving out to Horton on the Gower Peninsula, where he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.  Although no-one knows for certain what made him kill himself, it later transpired that Davies - like fellow Welsh international footballer, Gary Speed (who also committed suicide) - had been coached as a youngster by serial paedophile, Barry Bennell.  Six weeks after Davies died, his second daughter, Sophie, was born to his wife, Deborah.  Both his daughters have since competed in running events to raise money for a mental-health charity.  Alan Davies was 30 years old.