Liam Daish

Football manager infobox
playername = Liam Daish


fullname = Liam Sean Daish
nickname = Dashy
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1968|9|23|mf=y
cityofbirth = Portsmouth, Hampshire
countryofbirth = England
height =
currentclub = Ebbsfleet United (Head Coach)
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears = 1984–1986
youthclubs = Portsmouth
years = 1986–1988
1988–1994
1988
1994–1996
1996–1999
1999–2003
clubs = Portsmouth
Cambridge United
→ Barnet (loan)
Birmingham City
Coventry City
Havant & Waterlooville
caps(goals) = 001 (0)
138 (1)
001 (0)
072 (1)
031 (0)
0120 (10)
nationalyears = 1992–1996
1994
nationalteam = Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland B
nationalcaps(goals) = 005 (0)
001 (0)
pcupdate = August 15, 2006
ntupdate = August 15, 2006
manageryears = 2000–2004
2004–2005
2005–"present"
managerclubs = Havant & Waterlooville
Welling United
Ebbsfleet United

Liam Sean Daish (born September 23 1968) is an Irish former football player, he is the Head Coach of Nationwide Conference team Ebbsfleet United (formerly Gravesend & Northfleet). Despite being born in England, Daish, like many others, played internationally for the Republic of Ireland due to his Irish ancestry. In all he earned a total of five caps for his adopted country.

Playing career

The early years

Daish, a centre-half, began his career with his hometown club: Portsmouth. However, he only made one appearance for the club before he was released in 1988. He went in search of first team football, which he found at Cambridge United. Whilst at Cambridge, Daish helped the club to successive promotions from the Fourth to the Second Division. He also made his international debut, on February 19, 1992 at home to Wales. [cite web
url=http://www.soccerscene.ie/sssenior/matchdetails.php?id=276 |title=Statistics Senior |work=SoccerScene.ie |accessdate=2007-09-14]

At Birmingham City

The quality of his performances for the club inspired Barry Fry to sign him for Birmingham City for a fee of £50,000 in January 1994. [cite book
author=Matthews, Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |year=1995 |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |pages=p. 81 |isbn=1-85983-010-2]

Daish spent just over two years at St. Andrews, making nearly 100 appearances in all competitions. He captained the side to the Second Division championship in 1994–95 and to victory in the Auto Windscreens Shield final at Wembley. Fry, who managed him throughout his spell at Birmingham, once said of Daish that if a squadron of F-111s attacked the Birmingham penalty area he would attempt to head them away.cite web
last = Kelly
first = Aidan
title = Fantasy futbol is a reality
publisher = Evening News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Indiana
date = 2007-11-20
url = http://www.news-tribune.net/cnhi/newstribune/localsports/local_story_324000626.html?start:int=15
accessdate = 2007-12-27 ] This comment accurately sums up Daish's reputation as a defender: very tough and good in the air, but lacking somewhat in subtlety.

To Coventry City

In February 1996, Daish joined Coventry City for a fee of £1.5m. He made an immediate impact, bolstering Coventrys shaky defence and improving their form overall. However, in the four seasons that he spent at Coventry, Daish was never a regular in the first team (he played in only 34 games for the Sky Blues). This was the result of a severe knee ligament injury which eventually forced his retirement from the professional game.

As a manager

He joined non-league Havant & Waterlooville in 1999, going on to make 157 appearances (1 as sub) in league and cup competitions, scoring 15 goals. After his first season he took on a joint-manager role alongside Mick Jenkins following the sacking of Billy Gilbert. He spent three and a half years in this role, during which time he took the club to the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 2003, before being sacked in January 2004 following a string of bad results. Following this, he joined Welling United F.C. as a coach. For a time, following the dismissal of Paul Parker, Daish served as caretaker-manager of Welling but did not get the job full time, despite leading the side to three wins and a draw in his four games in charge.

Daish left Welling in February 2005 to become manager of Gravesend & Northfleet F.C., which in May 2007 was renamed Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Daish led Ebbsfleet United to a 1-0 victory in the FA Trophy final on May 10th 2008. [Cite news
title = Ebbsfleet 1-0 Torquay
work = BBC
accessdate = 2008-05-16
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/7382167.stm]

Honours

* with Cambridge United
** Fourth Division promotion 1990.
** Third Division champions 1991.
* with Birmingham City
** Second Division champions 1995.
** Auto Windscreens Shield winners 1995.
* with Havant & Waterlooville
** FA Trophy semi-final 2003
* with Ebbsfleet United
** FA Trophy winners 2008.

Anecdotes

On December 10, 1994, Daish - then Birmingham City captain under Barry Fry - scored a goal against Chester to make it 0-4. In the ensuing celebrations, some Blues fan threw a toy trumpet onto the pitch, which Daish proceeded to play. Although he wasn't sent off, the referee booked him, taking his season's points tally to 41 and resulting in a three-match ban. Fry was not amused: "I know the referee has directives to adhere to, but to get banned through being booked for that seems a bit harsh."cite web
last = Ward
first = Rupert
title = World not so wonderful for City ace
publisher = ArseWEB
date = 2005
url = http://arseweb.com/other/funnies.html
accessdate = 2008-05-30 ]

References

External links

* [http://ebbsfleetunited.co.uk/eufc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=202 Profile at Ebbsfleet United site]
*
* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/liamdaish.htm Liam Daish] at [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/ Neil Brown's statistics site]
* [http://fleetwiki.bluebones.net/Liam_Daish| Article on Fleetwiki]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2008/01/08/ebbsfleet_audio_archive_0607.shtml BBC Radio Kent Radio Interviews]

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