Michael Dawson

Michael Richard Dawson (born 18 November 1983) is an English former professional footballer and sports pundit.

As a player, he was a centre back.

Dawson started his career at Nottingham Forest playing alongside veteran defender Des Walker before moving to Tottenham Hotspur with teammate Andy Reid for a fee of £8 million.

He turned professional in November 2000 and made his first-team debut for Forest on 1 April 2002 against Walsall in a 3–2 home defeat.

During the 2002–03 season, Dawson established himself in the team alongside veteran defender Des Walker, as Forest finished sixth in the First Division to enter the play-offs.

Forest played Sheffield United, and Dawson was sent off late in the first leg, making it his final appearance that season.

Without Dawson, Forest lost 4–3 in the second leg of the semi-final, being eliminated 5–4 on aggregate.

In February 2003, Dawson signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Forest.

In the close season, Dawson contracted glandular fever whilst on duty with the England under-21s, causing him to miss the start of the 2003–04 season.

Forest also struggled – winning only twice between the end of September and the beginning of February caused Paul Hart to be 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.

Dawson and one of his Forest teammates, winger Andy Reid, signed for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on 31 January 2005 deadline day transfer for a fee thought to be worth a combined £8 million.

Dawson made his debut for Tottenham towards the end of the 2004–05 season in the 2–2 draw at Liverpool on 16 April 2005.

Dawson enjoyed a good 2005–06 season, impressing many with his aerial ability and attitude.

This was followed by a call-up to the England squad as a standby player for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On 5 November 2006, Dawson scored his first goal for Tottenham in their 2–1 win over Chelsea at White Hart Lane.

His goal levelled the score at 1–1 after Claude Makélélé's strike, with Aaron Lennon scoring the winner.

Dawson first captained the team in the 2006–07 FA Cup quarter-final match away to Chelsea, due to injuries to stand-in captains Robbie Keane and Paul Robinson and the club's regular captain Ledley King.

After a season in which he played all but one of Tottenham's 59 matches, he was rewarded with a new five-year contract on 11 May 2007 which would have kept him at the club until 2012.

In the 2007–08 season, Dawson scored his first goal in the UEFA Cup home match against the Cypriot team Anorthosis Famagusta where Tottenham won 6–1.

In November 2007, Tottenham went away to West Ham United in the Premier League and drew 1–1, Dawson scored the away goal.

While at Tottenham, Dawson won the League Cup in 2008.

During the course of the season, Tottenham reached the 2008 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, where they beat Chelsea 2–1 to earn Dawson his first ever silverware, though he missed the final through injury.

In October 2008, when Tottenham played away to Stoke, Vedran Ćorluka suffered an injury in the 77th minute.

Dawson replaced him only to be sent off in injury time.

His form in the 2009–10 season saw him included in England's preliminary 2010 FIFA World Cup squad.

Although he initially failed to make the final 23-man squad, an injury to captain Rio Ferdinand saw him drafted in as replacement.

In March 2009, Tottenham reached the League Cup final again and faced Manchester United.

Dawson was available and was selected for the final which ended 0–0 after 90 minutes.

However, Tottenham lost 4–1 on penalties.

In April 2009, Dawson sustained an injury against Newcastle United which left him out for the rest of the 2008–09 season.

The 2009–10 season was to be judged by many as Dawson's finest season in a Spurs shirt to date as he helped the club to a fourth-place finish, their highest league finish for 20 years and qualification for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League.

This in turn led to a contract extension until 2011.

In August 2014, Hull City signed Dawson from Tottenham for a fee believed to be £3.5 million.

Although relegated with Hull at the end of the 2014–15 season, he helped them return to the Premier League when they beat Sheffield Wednesday in the 2016 Championship play-off final.

He returned to former club Nottingham Forest in May 2018.

He is now a regular pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.

Born in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, Dawson grew up in Leyburn and attended Wensleydale school.

He is the younger brother of fellow footballers Andy Dawson and Kevin Dawson.

Dawson started his career playing for his local team, Northallerton Juniors, and also spent a year playing for Richmond before signing as a junior professional with Nottingham Forest at the age of 14.