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Daws
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26-08-2014 10:04pm#1
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KingdomYid wrote: »One of my favourite players of the last decade, great servant and a great lad aswell. Best of luck Daws.
Couldn;t agree more. Always gave his all and never hid when things went wrong. Good luck to him.
Topspurs piece on Daws that sums his time up very well.27th August 2014 - Farewell Michael Dawson
Most of the current Spurs squad are technically more gifted than the majority of their predecessors but few connect with the fans on an instinctive level like Michael Dawson who today left the club for Hull City after 9 years of excellent service during which the club returned to the upper echelons of English football. Better players have come and gone without a word let alone a eulogy on here, but Dawson was special in that in an era of charisma-less journeymen super athletes, he still seemed normal, one of the crowd made good as a footballer, and someone who enjoyed every minute of it.
Dawson signed in 2005, the second billing in a double deal from Forest with Andy Reid, but quickly emerged as the diamond. Spurs were starting to recover from a decade in the doldrums that season when Dawson made his debut in the 'Edman' 2-2 at Anfield in April 2005. He quickly became a fixture at the back with what was to be his long term centre back partner Ledley King (who'd also made his debut at Anfield some years before). Dawson was a key ingredient and one of the few constants of first the Jol and then Redknapp eras which featured Spurs best league finishes in a generation, the memorable Champions League run to the last 8 and a Wembley Final. Unfortunately it was the United game in 2009 where he helped keep a clean sheet for 120 minutes before succumbing on penalties and not the win over Chelsea the year before where he'd helped Spurs to final in the memorable 5-1 semi final win over the Goons.
Even in his early days, fans fretted about Dawson's apparent lack of pace and his old fashioned no-nonsense style in an era where continental sophistication is valued over traditional blood n guts, and where players are assessed by individual statistics and poxy heat maps rather than courage and team achievement. Fears about Dawson shortcomings were more apparent than real and even when he occasionally got done, the supreme class of Ledley was usually there to mop up. Ledley was great and the unquestionably the better player, but you'd probably pick Dawson for a more interesting chat over a pint - which is how they'll be remembered in the collective affections of the fans. In saying that, Dawson was still good enough in his own right to win 4 England caps, the same as fellow Yorkie Spurs defensive legend Cyril Knowles, and a total that would no doubt have been higher had his career not coincided with the similar playing style of John Terry.
Mention of Chelsea brings up the Chelsea 2-1 game in 2006 in which Dawson headed the equalizer which ended a 16 year league period without a win against them. That season was the making of both Dawson and the newly credible Spurs who returned a consecutive 5th place finish while battling on three cup fronts to the semi and quarter final stage, including on the return to Europe after a six year absense. In all that season, Dawson started 58 of the 59 games in all competitions - not quite the legendary 66 of 66 Perryman managed in 81/2 (4th place, semi-final, runners up and a FA Cup win) but nonetheless a fine achievement. Being part of Spurs greatest ever win in Europe, the 1-0 aggregate win over Milan where Dawson marshalled a 120 minute shut out of the Italian giants, was another fine achievement, as was being player of the year in 2010 as Spurs broke back into the top 4 for the first time in 20 years and being club captain in recent seasons.
The standards for the great club servants are set by the likes of Perryman and Mabbutt who graced the shirt for around 16 years but both came from an era where players stayed at clubs longer, and also had the opportunity to drop back through the team from midfield to defence to prolong their career. While not on a par with those two, Dawson still deserves to be added in somewhere in this group given his commitment in this more volatile era.
Dawson ended up with 304 (20) appearances and notched a respectable 10 goals (again pretty similar to his partner for so many of those games Ledley KIng 314 (6) 14 goals) and although now 30 with his powers starting to wane a little in terms of Spurs standards at the very top of the league, hopefully he can enjoy a few more seasons up at Hull in the EPL and we'll get to find out what its like trying to defend his long diagonal passes!
Spurs fans admire all the brilliant skillful players who have represented the club, but there is always a special often longer lasting affection for those who demonstrate courage and determination - Roberts, Mackay etc. There is also affection for Dawson's honesty - he never needed to kiss the badge or do one of these awful cliched gestures to know he was giving 100%. Also as one of the less naturally gifted players, fans knew he had to work that much harder to get and to stay at the top.
Daws we salute you and good luck in the future
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