Jimmy Davis

James Roger William Davis (6 February 1982 – 9 August 2003) was an English footballer who played as a forward.

He signed for Manchester United as a youth trainee in July 1999 and the following month he signed professional terms with the club.

Davis signed as a youth trainee at Manchester United in July 1999.

He played in the Jersey Tournament in August that year, playing in the win over Rangers and the defeat against Benfica.

At the end of the month, he signed a professional contract with United.

On 25 September, Davis scored a hat-trick in the FA Premier Academy League under-19 match against Stoke City; United won the game 5−0.

He also played in the 2−1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Youth Cup third round at Gigg Lane.

He played numerous times for the youth and reserve sides at United and was part of the team that won the Manchester Senior Cup in May 2000.

He started to feature for the reserves more regularly at the beginning of 2000, and he scored in the Premier Reserve League match against Bradford City in February.

On 2 May, he played in the Manchester Senior Cup final at Boundary Park; he replaced Darren Fletcher as United won 2−0 against Oldham Athletic.

Davis featured in the Bayern Munich Centenary Youth Tournament in August 2000; he played in four games and scored against Bayern Munich and Spartak Moscow.

On 28 September, he scored as United beat Bury 8−1 in the Manchester Senior Cup.

His next goal came in the return game with Bury at the end of November.

He concluded his season by taking part in a second successive Manchester Senior Cup final.

He started the game against Manchester City, but United lost 4−1 at Old Trafford.

In late 2000, Davis joined Belgian Pro League club Royal Antwerp on loan until the end of the season.

United had a relationship with Antwerp at the time that would see young players being loaned to the Belgian club to gain first-team experience.

He had a short spell on loan at Belgian club Royal Antwerp in 2001 before returning to United and making his senior debut in a League Cup tie against Arsenal during the 2001–02 season.

He was an England youth international as he progressed from the under-16s to the under-20s during his time at Old Trafford.

On 11 January 2001, he made his first appearance for the club in the friendly against Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach; Davis replaced Sandro André da Silva at half-time in the 2−2 draw at Bosuilstadion.

Three days later, he scored in the 4−0 friendly win against Eerste Divisie side MVV Maastricht.

On 20 January, Davis made his competitive debut for Antwerp when he came on in the 76th minute of the league defeat at KSK Beveren.

He would make a further four appearances for the club, the last coming in the league win against KSC Lokeren on the 31 March, before his loan deal was ended a few days later due to adjustment difficulties.

Davis made a positive start to the 2001–02 season; he scored a hat-trick for the reserves against Newcastle Town at the end of September 2001, and then scored two more against Sheffield Wednesday on 1 November.

Four days later, he made his senior debut in the League Cup tie against Arsenal at Highbury.

He played the full game but United lost the third round match 4–0.

Davis spent three months on loan with Second Division club Swindon Town in 2002 and scored three goals in 15 appearances.

He was a mainstay in the reserves on his return to United; his only involvement with the first team after returning was as an unused substitute in a league game against West Ham United and a Champions League second group stage match against Deportivo La Coruña.

Back in the reserves, Davis continued to impress and scored four goals in six games between December and February 2002.

He scored another hat-trick in the friendly against Drumchapel Amateurs in March as United ran out 8−0 winners.

Overall, he made 18 league appearances and scored six goals as United won the Premier Reserve League North.

Davis joined Second Division club Swindon Town on a three-month loan deal in August 2002.

In July 2003, he joined First Division club Watford on season-long loan.

On 9 August 2003, Davis was travelling to Watford for their opening game of the season when he collided with a lorry on the M40 in Oxfordshire, and he was killed.

Davis was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

He lived in Redditch and attended Marlfield Farm First School and later Arrow Vale High School.

He played football from an early age, firstly with a Cubs team, and then with junior sides of local clubs Feckenham and Knowle.

He made his debut in the league game against Barnsley on 10 August, when he replaced Danny Invincibile in the 84th minute of a 3−1 win.

A week later, he made his full debut in the goalless draw with Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

He scored his first goal for Swindon in the defeat against Brentford at the end of August.