Toumani Diagouraga

Toumani Diagouraga (born 9 June 1987) is a French footballer of Malian descent who plays for Brentford as a central midfielder. He began his career at Watford and signed for Hereford United and Peterborough United before joining Brentford. He was known by the nickname "Dave" in the past,^[1] but prefers to be known as "Toums".^[2]

Career

Watford

Diagouraga was born in Paris to Malian parents and was spotted by a Watford scout, subsequently joining the Hornets' Academy. He signed professional terms in November 2004 at age 16^[3] and starred in the youth team's run to the quarter finals of the 2004/05 FA Youth Cup.^[4] Diagouraga's performances in the run attracted transfer interest from Premier League side Chelsea.^[5] Diagouraga received his maiden call up to the first team for the first game of the 2005/06 season, when he was an unused substitute for a 2-1 Championship defeat at home to Preston North End.^[6] Diagouraga made his first team debut with a start in Watford's 2-1 League Cup second round victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20 September 2005. He was substituted after 75 minutes by Junior Osborne. Diagouraga again started in the third round against Wigan Athletic, but was brought off for Ben Gill after 85 minutes of a 3-0 extra time defeat. Diagouraga had to wait until 3 December 2005 for his next call up, when he was an unused substitute for a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.^[7] He made his league debut two games later, receiving a start and being substituted for Jay DeMerit at half time of a 4-1 defeat to Burnley.^[8] His next call up came for Watford's FA Cup third round tie versus Premier League side Bolton Wanderers and he completed his first 90 minutes for the club in a 3-0 defeat. Diagouraga featured twice more as an unused substitute during the season.^[9] He made four appearances during the 2005/06 season and scored no goals.^[10] Following Watford's promotion to the Premier League, Diagouraga failed to be called into a league squad during the 2006/07 season and instead featured in cup ties. He made his first appearance of the season in a League Cup second round shootout win over Accrington Stanley on 19 September.^[11] His second and final appearance of the season came in a 4-1 FA Cup third round win over Stockport County on 6 January, when he came on as a 62nd minute substitute for Damien Francis.^[12] Diagouraga spent the entire 2007/08 season out on loan and departed the club at the end of the season after his contract expired.^[13] He made only six appearances for the Hornets and scored no goals during his four years as a professional.^[14]

Swindon Town (loan)

Diagouraga signed on loan for League One side Swindon Town on 23 March 2006 until the end of the 2005/06 season.^[15] He made his debut in a 2-0 win over Chesterfield on 25 March, replacing Michael Pook at half time and putting in a performance which drew comparisons to Patrick Vieira.^[15] He made eight appearances for the club and returned to Watford at the end of the season.

Rotherham United (loan)

Diagouraga joined League One club Rotherham United on loan on 12 January 2007, on a deal running until the end of the 2006/07 season. The terms of the deal saw him arrive at Millmoor as a makeweight in a £1000000 deal that took Millers players Will Hoskins and Lee Williamson to Watford.^[16] Diagouraga made only seven appearances for the club.^[17]

Hereford United (loan and permanent transfer)

While still a Watford player, Diagouraga joined League Two side Hereford United on loan on 8 August 2007, initially until December. He scored his first senior goal in a 4-2 win over Bradford City on 22 September^[18] and scored again in a 1-1 draw at Chester City on 12 October.^[19] He made 50 appearances during the 2007/08 season, scored two goals^[20] and celebrated promotion to League One at the end of the season, after the Bulls secured a third-place finish in League Two. Diagouraga indicated after the season that he would be interested in joining Hereford permanently, telling the Hereford Times, "all I wanted to do was play football and I have very much enjoyed it. I am not sure what is happening for next season. I might be back at Hereford. There are a few discussions going on at the moment".^[13]

Diagouraga signed for Hereford permanently on 7 July 2008, signing a three-year contract.^[21] He was a regular starter and scored his first goal of the season in a 2-2 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers on 26 December 2006.^[22] He levelled the score at 1-1 in a league match with Crewe Alexandra on 7 March 2009, but his strike was cancelled out by Billy Jones' winner.^[23] He was again a virtual-ever present for Hereford during the 2008/09 season, making 48 appearances and scoring two goals as the Bulls were relegated straight back to League Two after a bottom-place finish. Across his two spells at the club, Diagouraga made 98 appearances and scored four goals.^[14]

Peterborough United

Diagouraga signed for Championship side Peterborough United on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee (believed to be in the region of £200,000) on 17 June 2009.^[24] He was an ever-present through the first half of the 2009/10 season and featured in Posh's run to the League Cup fourth round, where they were knocked out by Premier League side Blackburn Rovers.^[25] Diagouraga made what would be his last Peterborough appearance in a 0-0 draw with Ipswich Town on 8 December. Following that appearance, he fell behind new signings Jake Livermore and Josh Simpson in the pecking order^[26] and found found himself relegated to the bench, which led to his departure on loan for the rest of the season in January 2010.^[25] He departed the club on 17 July 2010, having made 23 appearances and scored no goals.^[14]

Brentford (loan and permanent transfer)

Having failed to make an appearance for Peterborough for six weeks, on 21 January 2010 Diagouraga joined League One side Brentford on loan for a month^[27] and the deal was later extended to the end of the season.^[26] He was awarded the no. 20 shirt and went straight into the starting lineup for Brentford's league match at Norwich City two days later. He was brought off for Carl Cort after 59 minutes of the 1-0 defeat.^[28] Diagouraga quickly established himself as a regular starter and laid on goals for Charlie MacDonald and Myles Weston in a 4-0 drubbing of Gillingham on 6 February.^[29] He made 20 appearances during the second half of the 2009/10 season^[14] as Brentford consolidated their position in League One.

Diagouraga signed for Brentford on a three year contract in July 2010,^[30] with the Bees beating off Shrewsbury Town and former club Hereford United for his signature.^[1] Manager Andy Scott said, "It is no secret that Toumani has been a long-term target of mine. I feel at his age and level of experience he will be a very important player for us now and in the future".^[31] He began the 2010/11 season as a starting central midfielder alongside Marcus Bean and featured in Brentford's run to the fourth round of the League Cup, starting in victories over Championship side Hull City and Premier League Everton in the second and third rounds.^[32] Diagouraga scored his first Brentford goal in a 2-1 home win over Charlton Athletic on 2 October.^[33] Two games later, he found himself dropped to the bench and did not return to a regular starting role until teammate Nicky Forster replaced Andy Scott as manager in February 2011.^[34][32] With the Bees, Diagouraga reached the first cup final of his career, but ended up on the losing side and was sent off for two bookable offences in a 1-0 defeat to Carlisle United in the 2011 Football League Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium. Diagouraga made 43 appearances during the 2010/11 season and scored one goal.^[35] Diagouraga suffered a knee injury in a pre-season friendly versus Hampton & Richmond Borough in July 2011, which ruled him out until late-September.^[36] He returned to first team action with a fifteen minute cameo at the end of a 2-0 away victory over Oldham Athletic on 24 September.^[37] He made his first start of the season in a Football League Trophy second round tie away to Charlton Athletic on 5 October.^[38] He scored his first goal of the season in the 3-0 victory and twice assisted four-goal hero Mike Grella in a 6-0 win over Bournemouth in the following round.^[39] Diagouraga made it two goals in two games with a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Carlisle United on 8 October.^[40] He scored his third goal of the season in a 5-2 win over Wycombe Wanderers on 28 January 2012.^[41] Diagouraga enjoyed a successful 2011/12 season, making 40 appearances and scoring a seasonal-best five goals.^[42] Diagouraga was again a virtual ever-present during the 2012/13 season, making 49 appearances and scoring one goal,^[43] which came in a 2-1 win over Notts County on 29 March 2013.^[44] He signed a new two-year contract in February 2013.^[45] He was denied promotion to the Championship due to a missed penalty versus Doncaster Rovers in the final game of the season^[46] and defeat to Yeovil Town in the 2013 League One Playoff Final. Diagouraga featured mostly from the bench during the early stages of the 2013/14 season, before making a run of starts in late September and early October, after which he returned to the bench.^[47] He received an assurance over his future from new manager Mark Warburton in January 2014,^[48] but was made available for loan the following month.^[49]

References

• Toumani Diagouraga career stats at Soccerbase