Aidan Davison

Aidan John Davison (born 11 May 1968) is a football coach and former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach of League 2 side Wrexham.

As a player, he played as a goalkeeper from 1987 until 2008.

Having started his career with non-league side Billingham Synthonia, he moved on to Notts County and subsequently spent loan spells with Leyton Orient and Bury before joining the latter on a permanent deal.

He was later released and in 1987 he signed terms with Non-League side Billingham Synthonia where he played 33 times and scored once.

It did not take too long for the professional scouts to pick him up and he departed the club midway through the 1987–88 season

In March 1988 Davison moved to Nottingham signing with Notts County who at the time were under the stewardship of John Barnwell and were competing in the Football League Third Division.

While at County he made one league appearance and was loaned out too Leyton Orient and then Bury.

The Shakers re-signed Davison for a fee of £6,000 in November 1989 following his loan spell in the previous month.

Whilst at Gigg Lane, Davison played under Martin Dobson, Sam Ellis and Mike Walsh.

Whilst with the club he also spent time out on loan, having spells with both Chester City and Blackpool.

Walsh released Davison to Millwall in the summer of 1991, and he became one of Bruce Rioch's new signings at Millwall ahead of the 1991–92 season.

Davison played two seasons with Millwall, making 42 appearances in all competitions.

He was named as player of the year.

He also sustained a collapsed lung during a home game against Derby County which kept him out of action for 12 weeks.

In August 1993 Davison followed Bruce Rioch and signed with Bolton Wanderers for £125,000 where he would fight for the number one spot with Keith Branagan.

In his second season for The Trotters they earned promotion to the Premier League.

He went on to play for Chester City, Blackpool and Millwall before earning his biggest break yet by signing for Bolton Wanderers and in 1995 gaining promotion to the Premier League.

Loan spells with Ipswich Town and Hull City followed before joining Bradford City permanently.

Davison made his Premiership debut on 22 November 1995 in a 3–2 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

He also played in the home matches against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday.

Wanderers however finished 20th in the league and were relegated.

During the 1996–97 season Davison spent time on loan with Hull City and Ipswich Town before departing in March 1997.

Davison played in 10 matches for the West Yorkshire side but departed Valley Parade at the end 1996–97 season after successfully helping the club retain its championship status.

In 1997, he signed for Grimsby Town where he arguably played some of his best football having won promotion and a domestic cup in his two years at the club.

In March 1997 he joined fellow Football League First Division Bradford City on a free transfer.

In the summer of 1997 Davison joined Grimsby Town on a free transfer.

The club had recently slipped into the Football League Second Division and manager Alan Buckley had sought after a new number 1 keeper following the departure of Paul Crichton a year before, his replacement Jason Pearcey had failed to live up to expectations and would start the 1997–98 season as Davison's understudy.

He made his Town debut on 9 August 1997 in a 1–1 draw with Bristol City.

His period at Blundell Park would see him play a part in one of the most successful seasons with Grimsby defeating AFC Bournemouth in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium and a few weeks later defeating Northampton Town in the Play-Off final also at Wembley.

During the 1998–99 season, Steve Croudson became his new understudy as Grimsby cemented themselves 11th spot in the First Division.

During his two-year stay he helped the club set a new clean sheet record of 50 in 100 games.

Davison departed Blundell Park in the summer of 1999 under the new Bosman ruling signing with Neil Warnock's fellow Championship Division side Sheffield United.

He went on to Sheffield United and then returned to Premier League football when he re-joined Bradford City in 2000.

In 2003, he returned to Grimsby Town for a year before finishing his career with a four-year spell at Colchester United.

In his career, he was capped three times by Northern Ireland.

In 2009 following his retirement he joined the coaching staff of Premier League Hull City and became the club's reserve team manager.

In 2010, he briefly came out of retirement and signed as a player to add to the club's goalkeeping cover, however he only made the substitute bench for the reserve team he managed.

In 2011, he became head coach of American side FC Jax Destroyers.

Davison was brought up in the North East of England.

He played for Newcastle United in their youth team during their successful FA Youth Cup period.