Rangers legend Steven Davis has announced his retirement as the Northern Ireland and Ibrox hero officially hangs up his boots at the age of 39.
Had it not been for a devastating cruciate ligament injury sustained in December 2022, we might well be talking about Davo leading our hunt for the title.
But that injury has called time on an exceptional career which has elevated the status of Steven Davis to not only one of the greatest Rangers of the modern era, but also to one of the best British players of his generation.
Indeed Rangers were lucky to have the boyhood Bluenose adorn their colours for such a huge portion of his career and the Hall of Famer will go down in Ibrox history.
Also captaining Southampton during a seven year stint on the south coast, Davis had spent four-and-a-half years in Glasgow after coming through at Aston Villa and a brief stint at Fulham.
Returning to Glasgow in January 2019, five years on the midfielder has announced his retirement at the club he loves and there will barely be a dry eye in the house whenever an official send-off is organised.
The record British men’s football international appearance holder (140) the Northern Ireland icon has left an indelible mark on the game on these isles and here’s our top five moments of his in an Ibrox jersey.
Steven Davis first Rangers goal v Werder Bremen (07/03/08)
Steven Davis made his dream a reality when he scored his first goal in that beloved Rangers jersey in a famous 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen at Ibrox.
The midfielder had made an initial loan switch to Rangers in the January of 2008 before making the deal permanent with a £3m transfer six months later.
But this moment against the Germans will always stand out to the Ulsterman, who opened his Rangers account on UEFA Cup duties and really kickstarted the belief that we might actually do something in the competition that season.
After rolling the ball out to Daniel Cousin – who would coincidentally score the second goal in the match – Steven Davis was quickest to react and roll the ball into the net after the Gabonese forward’s initial strike was palmed out.
Cue delirium in the Ibrox stands and a run all the way to the UEFA Cup Final – a match which Davo played every minute – and the subsequent heartbreak of defeat to Zenit in Manchester.
Steven Davis first Rangers goal v Celtic (09/05/2009)
The best Rangers players have always – categorically – managed to turn it on against our Old Firm rivals and Steven Davis was no different.
Rangers really secured a bargain when they signed Davo from Fulham and in his first full season at the club we were treated to one of the British game’s brightest midfield talents turning out in Royal Blue.
Davis scored six league goals and laid on 12 assists under Walter Smith in the 08/09 season but of all of his almighty contributions the midfielder’s crucial winner in a title-defining Old Firm derby was the most important.
With Rangers one point behind Celtic heading into the final furlong of a tight title race, you’d have always banked on the wily Walter Smith turning the situation on its head with the final Old Firm of the season at Ibrox.
But in order to do that the legendary Rangers boss needed his trusted lieutenants and up stepped Davo to put Rangers two points ahead in the title race and set them up for the club’s first league triumph of three in a row.
After Kenny Miller had darted into the Celtic box, he slipped a tidy ball into the opposition six yard box for the on-rushing Davis to score a tap in and like that, a legend was born.
Steven Davis League Cup Final goal v Celtic (20/03/2011)
Whilst we feel like we’re missing a lot by skipping to this League Cup Final goal v Celtic – and trust me we are – there are only five moments and we’re trying to sum up an entire career.
In the two years between that goal v Celtic at Ibrox which put us in the ascendency in the title race, Steven Davis had picked up a Scottish Cup winner’s medal on top of the title winning one from 08/09.
In 09/10, the midfielder‘s development continued as Davis emerged as one of the best, if not the best, player in the country.
Named the PFA Scotland Player’s Player of the Year in 2010, another League and Cup double came after 50 appearances, three goals and a stunning 16 assists for the club.
The following season, Davis started exactly how he meant to go on, picking the ball up 30-yards from goal before a Durrant-esque rasper turned a crucial match v Motherwell in October.
But it was the opening strike against Old Firm rivals Celtic three months later in the club’s League Cup win of 2011 which will stand out most in the memories of Rangers supporters.
Picking the ball up from a slack headed clearance, Steven Davis drove at the Celtic defence before slotting a stunning effort past a hapless Fraser Forster at Hampden.
Rangers would go on to win the League Cup in extra time, Nikica Jelavic scoring the winner after Joe Ledley had equalised.
Remarkably, Rangers have only just once again lifted the trophy by defeating Aberdeen in the Final this season, the best part of 13 years later.
Steven Davis first goal since Rangers return v Porto (07/11/19)
Despite signing a five-year contract to stay with Rangers in 2011 – a club clearly meaning everything to Steven Davis – the financial implosion of 2012 forced the midfielder into making a tough decision.
Rangers are Davo’s club and despite that commitment, years of toiling in the Scottish lower leagues were really not befitting of a player of such immense talent.
After the Premier League and Southampton came calling – with Davis leaving out the front door by insisting the Saints paid Rangers a fee of around £800k – seven classy years south of the border ended when the prodigal son returned in January 2019.
Steven Gerrard had begun to rebuild a Rangers in disarray and the return of the midfielder, now a more patient playmaker type as his career evolved, was a hugely symbolic one.
Alongside Premier League veteran Jermain Defoe, the two players were to be instrumental in completing Rangers’ journey back to the top of the European and Scottish games.
Netting in a famous 2-0 Europa League victory over FC Porto in 2019 – his first since returning to the club – this was symbolic of Rangers’ resurgence on the continent and at home.
Steven Davis completed the scoring after Alfredo Morelos had netted a stunner, sending a message everywhere that Rangers were back.
The Colombian rolled the ball back to Davo at the edge of the box with the midfielder rolling back the years to net via a deflection and send Ibrox delirious once again.
This era of Europa League progress would of course culminate in the Final v Frankfurt in Sevilla in 2022, but Davis, who came off the bench in the match, suffered heartbreak at this stage for a second time.
Steven Davis overhead kick v Celtic (18/04/21)
When Steven Davis rejoined Rangers, he did so with one aim in mind. To return the club to the pinnacle of Scottish football.
As we’ve explained, Celtic were never a foe that were feared by the midfield maestro and in the title-winning season of 21/22 Steven Davis was – simply put – magnificent.
Despite being on the wrong side of 35, Steven Davis played an astonishing 49 times for the club that season and was instrumental in delivering 55 and halting 10IAR.
In a legendary campaign, where Rangers went unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership, the club enjoyed total domination over a capitulating Celtic side.
Going unbeaten against their famous adversaries, Steven Davis wound up wining the Scottish Football Writers Footballer of the Year award for his contributions.
But if ever there was a moment to sum up Davis’ age-defying antics with Rangers that season, it came against Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish Cup.
In one of the most important seasons in Scottish domestic footballing history, Steven Davis found himself in the Celtic six-yard box and poked home an acrobatic overhead kick.
It was a moment to savour for the Rangers legend and one which added insult to injury in a season of Ibrox domination over the club’s rivals.
In total Steven Davis made 359 appearances for Rangers, scoring 27 goals across two spells and over nine years at the club he loves.
Winning four Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups, three League Cups, and reaching two European Finals, Hall of Famer Davo bows out an Ibrox legend and one of the club’s greatest ever players.
With the door still open for Davis to return in a coaching capacity, the midfielder will take the next few months to reflect on a career very well played indeed.
Cruelly cut short by injury we’d like take this moment to say to Steven Davis, thank you for the memories!
