Murray Davidson

Murray Davidson (born 7 March 1988) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is most associated with a 14-year spell at St Johnstone, having started his career at Livingston and also played on loan for Cowdenbeath. Davidson played once for Scotland, in 2012.

Early career

Born in Edinburgh, Davidson grew up in the small Borders town of Innerleithen where he played for 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.

Club career

Livingston

After appearing for Leithen Vale, Davidson started his senior career with Livingston. In the 2006–07 season, he made his debut against his future club, St Johnstone, coming on as a substitute for Graham Dorrans in the 85th minute, in a 2–1 win and would make one more appearance that season. Shortly after making his Livingston debut, in January 2007, Davidson moved on loan to Scottish Third Division club Cowdenbeath. He later spoke about how the move had helped him in his career.

The following season, Davidson made six appearances, and scored his first career goal – again against St Johnstone– in the final game of the season, in a 5–2 loss. However, during the season, Davidson was sent off twice; first was in a game against Dundee for receiving a second yellow card on 11 March 2008 and the second came in his next match, against Greenock Morton for serious foul play in the last minutes. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Davidson signed a two-year deal with the club.

The 2008–09 season proved to be a breakout season for Davidson, as he scored six goals this season, including a brace against Dunfermline Athletic in a 4–2 win on 10 March 2009. However at the end of the season, the club faced further financial problems and were on the verge of being liquidated before a deal was struck to save the club, but they were subsequently demoted to the Scottish Third Division. Shortly after the end of the season, Davidson was the subject of transfer speculation, alongside Dave Mackay, the two being linked with Dundee and Motherwell. Following the club's demotion to the Scottish Third Division, Davidson said he believed the SFL were wrong to punish Livingston, believing Angelo Massone was the one to blame. Davidson also stated that he had a strained relationship with Massone, who at one point arranged for him to go on trial with Parma, but Davidson turned down the chance.

St Johnstone

2009–10 season

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Davidson transferred to St Johnstone and signed a three-year contract with the club. He made his debut in a St Johnstone shirt in a 5–0 win over Stenhousemuir in the Scottish League Cup. Davidson scored his first goal on his league debut, a 2–2 draw against Motherwell. He scored again two weeks later, in a 2–2 draw against Hearts. Davidson quickly became a regular first team player and made a significant impact. On 30 March 2010, Davidson scored against Rangers in a 4–1 win. In his first season, Davidson made 39 appearances in all competitions and scored five times.

On 13 May 2010, Davidson signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2013.

2010–11 season

In the 2010–11 season, Davidson retained his first team status. He scored his first goal of the season, in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, in a 2–1 win over Morton. However, in a match against Rangers, on 28 August 2010, Davidson got injured and was stretchered off in the first half after clashing with team-mate Marcus Haber although he managed to recover from the injury ahead of the next match. Davidson scored in the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup, in a 3–2 loss against Celtic.

Davidson made forty-three appearances and scored three times in all competitions, failing to fulfill a promise to score more goals than the last season.

2011–12 season

Early in the 2011–12 season, Rangers had a bid for Davidson turned down by St Johnstone. The offer was believed to be in the region of £250,000. Davidson also attracted interest from Wolves, Bolton and Everton.

Davidson scored his first goal of the season, in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, in a 3–0 win over Livingston. In a match against Dundee United on 27 August 2011, Davidson suffered a knee injury and was stretchered off in the first half. After a three-month lay-off, due to injury, Davidson made his return on 15 October 2011, in a 2–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Despite the injury, Davidson continued to attracted interest, mostly from Rangers. Manager Steve Lomas said he would sell Davidson, but only for a valuation of £1m. Rangers' interest in signing Davidson ended when they entered administration in February 2012.

On 25 February 2012, Davidson scored his first league goal in over two years, in a 3–1 win over Dunfermline Athletic. He soon scored his second in a 2–1 win over Hearts on 24 March. Unlike the first-two season, Davidson playing time was reduced to twenty-seven league appearances, due to recurring injuries.

2012–13 season

In the 2012–13 season, Davidson was appointed as a vice-captain at St Johnstone. Having qualified for the Europa League the previous season, in the second qualifying round, St Johnstone played Turkish side Eskişehirspor, but they proved to be too strong, as Saints lost 2–0 away and drew 1–1 at home. Davidson said captaining the team against a European side was a 'massive honour'.

Davidson scored his first league goal of the season on 12 August, in a 1–1 draw against Motherwell. Then in early-October, Davidson scored two goals in two consecutive games, against St Mirren and Kilmarnock respectively. Later in the 2012–13 season, Davidson went on to score league goals against Kilmarnock (and another on 9 March 2013), St Mirren and Ross County. Davidson made thirty-eight appearances, scoring eight times in all competitions.

As his contract was set to expire at the end of the 2012–13 season, talks over a new contract started in mid-December by offering him a two-year deal. Davidson turned down a new deal and also rejected a pre-contract offer from Rangers, announcing his intention to move to England. Later in the season Davidson said he wanted to lead the club to third place and refused to rule out staying for another season. In the last game of the season, Davidson played his last match, in a 2–0 win over Motherwell and after the match, he expressed his "sadness" at leaving the club.

2013–14 season

As his contract ended, Davidson was told by the club he could return in the future if his search for a new club in England was unsuccessful. Following St Johnstone's win over Rosenberg in the Europa League, Davidson rejoined the club on a one-year contract after failing to secure a move south. Afterwards Davidson said that he had re-signed for St Johnstone as they made him feel wanted.

Davidson's first game after rejoining the club came in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 win over Belarusian side Minsk. However, Davidson didn't play in the next leg, as St Johnstone were eliminated by Minsk after a penalty shootout. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 win over St Mirren on 11 January 2014. In his next game against Hearts, he came off in the 37th minute after he tore his patellar tendon; the game was a 3–3 draw.

After having knee surgery, Manager Tommy Wright announced that Davidson was unlikely to play for the rest of the season. After a season that ended with the club winning the Scottish Cup