Michael Dawson

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For the Lost character, see Michael Dawson (Lost).
Michael Dawson
Personal information
Full name Michael Richard Dawson
Date of birth November 18, 1983 (age 23)
Place of birth    Northallerton, England
Height 6 ft 2 in / 1.88 m
Playing position Centre-back
Club information
Current club Tottenham Hotspur
Number 20
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2001-2005
2005-		 Nottingham Forest
Tottenham Hotspur		 83 (7)
68 (1)   
National team2
2003-2005
 England U21
England		 13 (0)
00 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:18, 5 April 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 10, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Michael Richard Dawson (born November 18, 1983 in Northallerton, North Yorkshire) is an English professional football player who plays as a defender for Tottenham Hotspur and wears the number 20 shirt for the club.

Contents

[edit] Club career

Dawson grew up in Leyburn, North Yorkshire and attended the Wensleydale School and is the younger brother of Hull City defender Andy Dawson and Kevin Dawson (formerly of Chesterfield). He turned professional in November 2000 accumulating 91 appearances for Nottingham Forest including his début on April 1, 2002 against Walsall in a 3-2 home defeat.

The following season Dawson formed a solid partnership with veteran Des Walker as Forest unexpectedly finished 6th in the First Division and eventually lost 4-3 in the second leg of the Playoff final to Sheffield United, although Dawson missed that game having been sent off in the first leg.

In the close season Dawson contracted glandular fever whilst on duty with England Under 21's which caused him to miss the start of the following season and thus began a struggle against various injuries which marred the rest of his Forest career. Forest also struggled - winning only twice between the end of September and the beginning of February caused Paul Hart to be dismissed and replaced by Joe Kinnear. The season was transformed from one battling relegation to a confident mid-table finish with the return of Dawson and David Johnson) to the team being one of the reasons for this.

Forest again struggled the next season, with Kinnear leaving in December to be replaced by Gary Megson. Although the club were in the bottom three for the bulk of the season and ended up suffering relegation to the third tier for only the second time in their history, Dawson managed to escape their fate. He and one of his Forest team-mates, left-winger Andy Reid, signed for Spurs on January 31, 2005 from Forest for an undisclosed fee thought to be worth a combined £8m. His début came towards the end of that campaign in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool on April 16, 2005.

Michael enjoyed a good 2005-06 season, impressing many with his aerial ability and never-say-die attitude. On 28 March 2006 he signed a contract extension which will last until 2011.

He has formed a strong bond with Ledley King. In comparison to England's first-choice pairing of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, King plays like Ferdinand, composed and casual, whereas Dawson - similar to Chelsea's Terry - has great aerial ability and bravery.

He captained the team in the 2006-2007 FA Cup quarter-final tie away to London rivals Chelsea due to injuries to stand-in captains Robbie Keane, Paul Robinson and Jermaine Jenas, and regular captain Ledley King.

[edit] International career

Dawson's performances have been duly noted by the national team. Firstly, Sven-Göran Eriksson selected him as a stand-by for the 2006 World Cup a replacement to the injured Luke Young and he was retained by new coach Steve McClaren as a squad member, although Dawson has not played a full international yet.

Dawson has 13 England Under 21 international caps. He is now ineligible for future competitive games for the U-21s due to his age.

[edit] Trivia

  • Strangely, he was not included in Tottenham's squad on the football videogame franchise FIFA 06, although his team-mate, at the time Andy Reid was.

[edit] External links


Tottenham Hotspur F.C. - Current Squad

1 Robinson | 2 Chimbonda | 3 Lee Y.P. | 4 Zokora | 6 Tainio | 7 Stalteri | 8 Jenas | 9 Berbatov | 10 Keane | 11 Mido | 12 Černý | 13 Murphy | 14 Ghaly | 15 Malbranque | 17 Alnwick | 18 Defoe | 19 Taarabt | 20 Dawson | 22 Huddlestone | 24 O'Hara | 25 Lennon | 26 King | 28 Barnard | 29 Ifil | 30 Gardner | 32 Assou-Ekotto | 33 Rocha | 35 Dervite | 38 C. Lee | 39 Barcham | Manager: Jol
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