Stuart Davidson (born 3 August 1979) is a Scottish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who is the manager of Largs Thistle in the

Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they decided to reform into three (Ea ...

. He has previously played in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

Career

A tough tackling midfielder nicknamed ''

Arnie Arnie is a masculine given name, frequently a shortened version of Arnold. It may refer to: People * Arnie Arenz (1911–1985), American National Football League quarterback in 1934 * Arnie Beyeler (born 1964), American minor league baseball p ...

'', Davidson began his professional career with

. Davidson was given his

debut by

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961) is a Scottish football player and manager. Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became manager of Kilmarnock, winning ...

in September 1999 versus

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, before going out on loan periods at several

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

clubs, including two spells at Queen of the South. Davidson joined the

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

club on a permanent deal in the 2001 close season and his sixteen league appearances the following season earned him a league winners medal as Queens won the

Scottish Football League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

title. After moving into

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

football with

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

, Davidson then joined Auchinleck Talbot and enjoyed a successful eight years with the club, winning the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

twice, including a man-of-the-match performance in the 2009 final when he scored the winning goal versus

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

. Davidson joined

Neilston Juniors Neilston Football Club are a Scottish association football, football club based in Neilston, East Renfrewshire who currently play in the . This is tier 7 of the Scottish Football Association, Scottish FA league pyramid system. History At the ...

in 2012, after a short period out of the game, before his appointment as player-coach at

Kilbirnie Ladeside Kilbirnie Ladeside Football Club are a Scottish football (soccer), football club, from Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire. Based at Valefield Park, they currently play in the West of Scotland Football League. Their main rivals are Beith Juniors F.C., Be ...

later that year. Former Talbot team-mate Bryan Slavin attracted him to Largs Thistle as his assistant manager in January 2015 and Davidson succeeded him in the role after Slavin's resignation in October 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Stuart Living people 1979 births Men's association football midfielders Scottish men's footballers Kilmarnock F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Troon F.C. players Auchinleck Talbot F.C. players Neilston F.C. players Kilbirnie Ladeside F.C. players Largs Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish football managers Scottish Junior Football Association managers