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Dave Watson (born November 20, 1961) is a former professional footballer who made 12 appearances for England.

He was born in Liverpool and played for Liverpool F.C. Reserves before joining the Norwich City first team for £50,000 on the 29th of November 1980. He made his league debut in the local derby against Ipswich Town on Boxing Day that year. He eventually made 256 appearances for Norwich, and as club captain lifted the Milk Cup in 1985 and the Division Two title the following year.

He made his first 6 appearances for England whilst at Carrow Road, making his debut in a 2-0 victory against Brazil at the Maracana Stadium in June 1984, before moving onto play for Everton for £1.23 million in August 1986. Watson became a defensive stalwart for the Toffees throughout the 1980s and 1990s, captaining them to FA Cup success in 1995 and being a member of their 1987 league championship winning side. Dave had made 369 league appearances for Everton scoring 23 goals and was honoured with a testimonial match against Rangers later that year, which Everton won 3-2.

Watson was appointed caretaker manager in March 1997 following the resignation of Joe Royle, but reverted to his playing duties in June 1997 when Howard Kendall was appointed manager for the third and final time. Watson's first-team opportunities gradually faded, but he made one appearance for Everton during the 2000-01 before finally announcing his retirement as a player at the age of 39 and moving into management with Tranmere Rovers. His key objective at Tranmere was to regain their Division One status which had just been lost, but he failed to achieve that goal and was sacked after just one season at the helm. he later became a scout for Birmingham City.

Watson will be appearing as a guest speaker Egremont Market Hall on Friday 2nd March 2007

• Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk

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