Steve Daley, center, congratulates Ian Bridge on a 1981 goal.
Steve Daley: A Sounder Spark and the Answer to a British Football Trivia Question
by Heather Johnson, WATN Editor
Until 1979, midfielder Steve Daley wasn’t controversial at all. Signed at 18 in 1971 by the Wolverhampton Wolves, Daley had a perfectly respectable career for eight years. He made appearances for England’s Youth and ‘B’ teams, and scored 43 goals in 244 games for the Wolves. And then came 1979, when Daley was transferred from the Wolves to Manchester City for a then-record 1,437,500 pounds (approximately 3 ½ million US dollars), which, somewhat inaccurately, earned him the “Six Million Dollar Man” nickname. The rumor at the time was that Daley was the unfortunate victim of Manchester City’s attempt to keep up with Manchester United, who had just signed Bryan Robson for a similar amount. Although Daley was an extremely competent player, there was no way that he could live up to the pressure. The deal was so bad, in fact, that in 2001 the [London] Observer listed Daley’s transfer as number one on their list of “The Ten Biggest Wastes of Money in Football History”. After two lackluster seasons with the Blues, Daley was sold to Seattle for the (relatively speaking) bargain-basement price of 300,000 pounds (approximately 720,00 US dollars).
Manchester’s loss was Seattle’s gain. Daley was still hyped as the “Six Million Dollar Man”, but he was burdened with none of the pressure he had faced in England. For three years he was the Sounders’ midfield general, displaying an intense work ethic and playmaking flair that earned him many lasting fans.
After the Sounders folded in 1983, Daley yo-yoed back and forth between the US and England, playing briefly for Burnley (England) and the San Diego Sockers of the MISL before ending his career with Walsall (England). Daley had a brief, but apparently unfortunate, foray into coaching with the Bromsgrove Rovers in 2000, and is now a beer distributor.
Steve Daley Links:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4247073-103977,00.html
http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=530
http://www.4thegame.com/news/story/132155/DALEY+HAS+FAITH+IN+JONES.html
http://www.thisisbrfc.co.uk/worcestershire/bromsgrove_rovers/sport/BROM_SPORT_ROVERS_NEWS_ARCH_A0.html
