Craig Dawson

Craig Dawson

Personal information
Full name	Craig Dawson[1]
Date of birth	6 May 1990 (1990-05-06) (age 21)
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	West Bromwich Albion
Number	25
Youth career
2006–2007	Rochdale St. Clements
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2009	Radcliffe Borough	75	(15)
2009–2010	Rochdale	46	(10)
2010–	West Bromwich Albion	1	(0)
2010–2011	→ Rochdale (loan)	41	(9)
National team‡
2011–	England U21	6	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:35, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Craig Dawson (born 6 May 1990) is an English footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion as a Centre Back. He previously played for Radcliffe Borough and Rochdale.

Club career

Radcliffe Borough

Dawson started his career at Northern League side Radcliffe Borough in the middle of the 2007–08 season, and became a first team regular after just a few games. In the two seasons he was at the club, he became a favourite of the fans and other team members. During this time, he caught the attention of a few scouts from league clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough sending scouts to Radcliffe games on regular basis.^{[citation needed]} Dawson received offers from Rochdale, Port Vale and Northwich Victoria.^{[citation needed]} He finally signed for his local club Rochdale in February 2009 on a two-year contract.^[2] Although a Rochdale player, Dawson stayed at the club until April 2009 as a loan. In the season he left, he was voted the Player of the season by Radcliffe.

Rochdale

Dawson made his debut for Rochdale reserves, scoring a header from a corner against Manchester City. Dawson was set to make his debut in the second half of the 2008–09 season; however, was set back by injury. Dawson finally got his Rochdale debut on 8 August 2009 by starting in the League Two clash with Port Vale at Vale Park. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Dawson's second game was at Hillsborough Stadium in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday. Despite conceding three goals, Rochdale fans gave Dawson rave reviews and named him man of the match.

He scored 10 goals in all competitions during the 2009–10 season and won a place in the League Two 'Team of the Year'. He also won the League Two 'Player of the Year' award.

West Bromwich Albion

On 31 August 2010, Dawson signed for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, plus a year's option in the club's favour. Rochdale played West Bromwich Albion in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday 26th July 2011. Dawson featured in West Brom's opening squad but West Brom suffered a shock 3-0 defeat from Rochdale, in which he was substituted in the 54th minute. ^[3] Dawson made his first Premier League start on Saturday 17th September 2011, away from home against Swansea City A.F.C. as a fill-in central defender for the suspended Gabriel Tamaş.

Loan to Rochdale

Immediately after signing for West Brom, he was loaned back to Rochdale for the remainder of the 2010–11 season.^[3]

International career

Dawson scored two goals on his England under-21 debut against Azerbaijan on 1 September 2011.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
2. ^ "Rochdale capture defender Dawson". BBC Sport. 2009-02-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rochdale/7906385.stm. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "West Brom snap up defender Craig Dawson". BBC Sport. 2010-08-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/8958563.stm. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
4. ^ Bradbury, Jamie (2011-09-01). "England hit Azeris for six". The Football Association. http://thefa.com/England/mens-under-21s/News/match-centre/2011/England-v-Azerbaijan/MatchReport?p=mr&mid=173508. Retrieved 2011-09-01. 

External links

• Craig Dawson profile at the West Bromwich Albion website
• Craig Dawson career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Dawson, Craig
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	6 May 1990
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Date of death
Place of death