Simon Dawkins

Simon Dawkins

Dawkins for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2011
Personal information
Full nameSimon Jonathan Dawkins[1]
Date of birth1 December 1987[1]
Place of birthEdgware, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing positionForward
Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Derby County
Number7
Youth career
2004–2005Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2005–2009Tottenham Hotspur0(0)
2008–2009→ Leyton Orient (loan)11(0)
2011–2014Tottenham Hotspur0(0)
2011–2012→ San Jose Earthquakes (loan)53(14)
2013→ Aston Villa (loan)4(0)
2013–2014→ Derby County (loan)13(3)
2014–Derby County21(2)
National team‡
2014–Jamaica8(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 May 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2014

Simon Jonathan Dawkins (born 1 December 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for English club Derby County and the Jamaica national team.

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Dawkins joined the Tottenham Hotspur academy in 2004 and featured regularly in the reserves but was unable to break through into the first team. He joined Leyton Orient on loan before the start of the 2008–09 season.[2]

His first team debut was delayed after picking up an ankle injury in a friendly match, coincidentally, against parent club Tottenham. He made his first league appearance on 16 August 2008, coming on as a substitute against Peterborough United,[3] and made his cup debut in the Football League Trophy on 2 September where they beat Southend United 4–2.[4] His loan period ended on 3 January 2009.

On 1 June 2009, Dawkins was released from his Tottenham Hotspur contract. He subsequently had a trial with French club RC Strasbourg,[5] but he later returned to Tottenham on a non-contract basis while recovering from injury. A contract was dependent upon his proven fitness at start of the 2010–11 season.[6]

In August 2010, Dawkins went on trial with Celtic[7] and subsequently had a trial with Bournemouth in early September 2010 due to a lack of fit strikers. On 14 September, he was injured in a Bournemouth reserve game against Plymouth Argyle.[8] He continued to train with Tottenham, scoring in a training friendly against Milton Keynes Dons on 8 December.[9]

Loan to San Jose Earthquakes (2011–2012)

On 14 March 2011, Dawkins was rewarded with a contract by Tottenham Hotspur after impressing back at the club on trial, with his contract set to run until June 2013.[10] He was then loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes the following day.[11] He made his debut for the Earthquakes on 19 March in their first game of the 2011 MLS season, a 1–0 loss to Real Salt Lake.[12] He scored his first goal for his new club on 2 April in a 2–2 draw with Seattle Sounders.[13] In January 2012 he went on trial at Dutch side FC Twente but was not offered a contract.[14]

Loan to Aston Villa (2013)

On the final day of the January 2013 transfer window, Dawkins signed on loan with Premier League club Aston Villa for the remainder of the 2012–13 season.[15] On 10 February 2013, at the age of 25, he made his Premier League debut in a match against West Ham United, which Villa won 2–1.

Derby County (2013–)

On 14 October 2013, Dawkins joined Championship side Derby County on a week-long trial.[16] After impressing in training during his trial, it was announced on 18 October 2013 that Dawkins would be extending his stay with the Rams by agreeing to a 93-day emergency loan.[17] Dawkins made his first appearance for Derby on 19 October 2013, coming on as a replacement for Mason Bennett at the beginning of the second half. After a series of impressive performances for Derby, Head Coach Steve McClaren expressed his interest in signing Dawkins permanently in the January transfer window. A deal was reached with Tottenham and they agreed a £500,000 fee on 3 January 2014, with Dawkins agreeing to a two-and-a-half year deal.[18] He thus became manager Steve McClaren's first permanent signing for Derby.

International career

Dawkins made his international debut for Jamaica on 26 May 2014 against Serbia at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.[19] He scored his first goal for Jamaica in a 2–2 draw with Egypt on 4 June 2014 at Leyton Orient.

Honours

San Jose Earthquakes
Jamaica

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
  2. ↑ "Orient complete triple capture". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). 2 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "Peterborough 3–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 16 August 2008.
  4. ↑ "Southend 2–4 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 2 September 2008.
  5. ↑ "Former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Everton players on trial in Europe". Les Rosbifs. 23 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "Player Update". Tottenham Hotspur. tottenhamhotspur.com. 1 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Celtic trial for former Spurs striker". STV. 10 August 2010.
  8. ↑ "AFC Bournemouth 2 Plymouth Argyle 1". AFC Bournemouth. 14 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Much Gained from Spurs Workout". MK Dons FC. 8 December 2010.
  10. ↑ "Nicholson extends deal". spurs.co.uk. 14 March 2011.
  11. ↑ Geoff Lepper (15 March 2011). "San Jose ink attacker from partner club Tottenham". San Jose Earthquakes. sjearthquakes.com. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "In downpour, Beckerman goal provides thunder for RSL". MLS Soccer. mlssoccer.com. 19 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Quakes rally twice to tie still-winless Sounders". MLS Soccer. mlssoccer.com. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Fabian Bijman (24 January 2012). "FC Twente niet in zee met landgenoot McClaren" (in Dutch). Voetbalprimeur.nl. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  15. ↑ Neil Moxley (31 January 2013). "Forgotten man Dawkins ready to repay Villa's faith after sealing loan from Spurs". Daily Mail. dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  16. ↑ Cisse And Dawkins Join On Trial, Derby County, 14 October 2013, retrieved 14 October 2013
  17. ↑ Derby Land Dawkins on Loan, Derby County, 18 October 2013, retrieved 18 October 2013
  18. ↑ http://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/article/dawkins-seals-derby-switch-1272846.aspx, accessed 3 Jan 2014
  19. ↑ "Serbia vs. Jamaica". Soccerway. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.

External links