Steve Daley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Daley | ||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wath Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 212 | (38) |
| 1979–1981 | Manchester City | 48 | (4) |
| 1981–1983 | Seattle Sounders | 87 | (23) |
| 1981–1982 | Seattle Sounders (indoor) | 18 | (13) |
| 1983–1984 | Burnley | 23 | (4) |
| 1984 | San Diego Sockers | 19 | (3) |
| 1984–1985 | San Diego Sockers (indoor) | 38 | (4) |
| 1985–1986 | Walsall | 28 | (1) |
| Total | 455 | (77) | |
| National team | |||
| 1978 | England B | 6 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| Telford United | |||
| – | Bromsgrove Rovers | ||
| Nov 2001– Feb 2002 | Bilston Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Steve Daley (born 15 April 1953) is an English former footballer, who played as a midfielder. The most notorious incident in his career was his English record transfer to Manchester City in 1979, later described in a 2001 Observer article as "the biggest waste of money in football history". The Manchester City manager Malcolm Allison and chairman Peter Swales subsequently accused each other of inflating the fee.
Daley began his football career as an apprentice at Wolverhampton Wanderers, after arriving at the club via their feeder team Wath Wanderers based in Yorkshire. He signed professionally in 1971, and made his first-team debut later that year on 18 September, coming on as substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
He won a League Cup winners medal with the club in 1974 and played in their run through to the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, scoring a vital goal in the semi final against Ferencváros inside the first minute. That goal still holds the record for being the fastest goal ever scored in European football cup competitions. He was an ever-present in the 1976–77 season, scoring 13 goals, and a further eight the following season saw him receive an England 'B' call up. He played six times for the 'B' side during 1978, scoring twice (against Singapore and Czechoslovakia 'B').
In September 1979, he was transferred to Manchester City for a fee of £1,437,500 — an English record. Daley struggled at Maine Road, and gained a reputation as a big-money misfit.
Twenty months later he was transferred to the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League for £300,000 — little more than a fifth of his original transfer cost. He made the NASL All-Star second team in 1982 and 1983 before moving back to Britain.
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