Finally our midfielder in our back yard and we did not know. Tappa may not know about him, and he's one of the strongest player on the San Jose team...
The game is on right now...
J'Youth you know what to do, inform the authorities pleae...
GORDON WILLIAMS, STAR Writer
San Jose Earthquakes' Simon Dawkins (left).
TORONTO, Canada:
Simon Dawkins believes he has enough "street cred" to fit the Reggae Boyz profile.
Despite being born in London and representing England at the youth level, the 23-year-old hopes his football talent, strong connections with Jamaica and interest in playing for the country make him warrant serious consideration, especially as Jamaica is actively seeking to boost the Reggae Boyz squad ahead of World Cup qualifiers next year.
"My background is Jamaica," said the attacking midfielder/forward, who currently plays for Major League Soccer (MLS) team San José Earthquakes (SJE), after being signed to a two-year contract in March by English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and sent on loan to the United States.
"Maybe one day I would play for Jamaica. I'd love to."
According to him, his family would relish that opportunity as well.
"(It would) make my grandparents really happy," said Dawkins.
So too mother Lorna and father David, who Dawkins claim are from Clarendon. Born in the Edgware community, Dawkins said he is tightly connected to his parents' home culture.
"You could call me raised Jamaican in London," he explained with a broad smile after playing for SJE against Toronto FC late last month.
INTEREST
That includes his affection for the island's food and music. His roots also sparked his interest in Jamaica's football.
"I follow Jamaica's team and the Jamaican players," said Dawkins. "I saw them at the Gold Cup this year."
He claimed he has met several current and former Reggae Boyz, including Ricardo Gardner, Ricardo Fuller, Omar Daley and Deon Burton. Reggae Boy Khari Stephenson is Dawkins's teammate at SJE.
Dawkins also said - only half-jokingly - he's related to "almost every Dawkins" in Jamaica. He even makes a connection with current head coach Theodore Whitmore, who he has never met.
"I went to school with Alex Whitmore (the coach's nephew) at Underhill Primary and Ravenscroft High School," Dawkins explained.
However, the 5' 10" 160-pounder knows it's his football ability that will count most towards any consideration for Jamaica's national team.
FACTOR
So far, Dawkins is still trying to find his way in MLS, North America's premier professional league. On August 27, he started and played just over an hour against host Toronto FC and failed to score in the 1-1 draw.
However, Dawkins did show why he could be a factor down the road. He has quick, nimble feet. Early in the second half, SJE's number 10 picked up a ball in the attacking third and used close kills to elude defenders.
But Dawkins's career has been up and down. He started out at Tottenham's youth academy in 2004 and played in the reserves. He never got a game at the senior level, although he was among the Spurs substitutes for a UEFA Cup first-round game.
Dawkins had been on loan to lower English league club Leyton Orient, but was released by Tottenham in June 2009. He has also been on trial with clubs in France and Scotland.
Still, Dawkins impressed Spurs enough at a trial stint this year and was re-signed. The club's technical coordinator, Tim Sherwood, recently told SJE's website that Dawkins has a good chance to shine in MLS.
"Simon is gifted, he holds the ball up well, sees his teammates and has a good appreciation of the game," said Sherwood. "I think he will do well."
Dawkins has had a fair start to his MLS stint. The TFC game was his 18th appearance for SJE, starting 11 games and scoring four times while recording an assist. His second strike of the season, against TFC on April 9, earned Dawkins a nomination for MLS Goal of the Week.
Maybe Dawkins's desire to break into Jamaica's national programme is gaining momentum. He promises to grab the chance if it finally comes.
"Of course, I would consider it at this stage of my career," Dawkins said.
Me wa see Lion'P, M'fire, Carver, Javinchy, PerryBoy come in pon deh one ya. NO almshouse business star, mek we all jump pon dis and shout to the JFF fi give this yute a run out in a the midfield....
Registered: 09/12/02
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big woman ting, i've stated before, i have no problem with ub40s wanting to play for the team and expressing such. my problem is with the ub40s who have never showed interest in ja and don't even give a crap who unnuh a pressure jff fi go approach like is a football club. i've never seen this dude play and i'm sure u haven't seen enough of him either HI so I don't think him must waltz into the side. he can be invited to a training camp though.
big woman ting, i've stated before, i have no problem with ub40s wanting to play for the team and expressing such. my problem is with the ub40s who have never showed interest in ja and don't even give a crap who unnuh a pressure jff fi go approach like is a football club. i've never seen this dude play and i'm sure u haven't seen enough of him either HI so I don't think him must waltz into the side. he can be invited to a training camp though.
I understand your UB49 view and I partially agree.
I've seen Dawkins on a number of occasions and never paid attention to who he is. He's as strong a midfielder as Sharif Joseph from New England Revolution trust me on that, and he 's only 23.
Talking about a gem for us, it couldn't come at a better time; hopefully Tappa gets the word....
Actually, Dawkins is my cousin. His grandfather and my grandfather are brothers.
FYI HL, I want to see the best possible Jamaican team on the field of play at all time... I am not on this stupid "only players born in Jamaica should be on the national team crap". I have more sense than that. At the same time I am not for those opportunistic band-wagoners. You get me mate?
_________________________ It takes sadness to know happiness, noise to appreciate silence & absence to value presence
Registered: 02/13/04
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Brethren, the man hasn't proved anything yet. But we should keep a close eye on him...if he has the ability and is in form then maybe give him a shot in a friendly.
Registered: 04/18/01
Posts: 3787
Loc: just roun'd di cahna
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Originally Posted By: Javincy
Actually, Dawkins is my cousin. His grandfather and my grandfather are brothers.
FYI HL, I want to see the best possible Jamaican team on the field of play at all time... I am not on this stupid "only players born in Jamaica should be on the national team crap". I have more sense than that. At the same time I am not for those opportunistic band-wagoners. You get me mate?
In all fairness no one as far as I know is advocating that you must be born a yard to play for JA. Re-read Lionpaw post again...the issue and annoyance is with the mindset that if you play a farrin you good and by extension better than anything we have locally. If this yute really want to play for JA he plays with Kari so right there is his contacts - no excuses.
_________________________
Man with money meets a man with experience, man with experience ends up with more money.
Dawkins has been brought up on this very forum quite some time ago. He plays just like a yard baller. Creative player, but he has been very inconsistent in the league.
Actually, Dawkins is my cousin. His grandfather and my grandfather are brothers.
FYI HL, I want to see the best possible Jamaican team on the field of play at all time... I am not on this stupid "only players born in Jamaica should be on the national team crap". I have more sense than that. At the same time I am not for those opportunistic band-wagoners. You get me mate?
In all fairness no one as far as I know is advocating that you must be born a yard to play for JA. Re-read Lionpaw post again...the issue and annoyance is with the mindset that if you play a farrin you good and by extension better than anything we have locally. If this yute really want to play for JA he plays with Kari so right there is his contacts - no excuses.
In the same breath Jray, no one on here have trumpeted that as a UK player you're automatically better than all local born ballaz.
In my case I'm looking at our team, how we've being playing and the weaknesses shown. We all agree that our midfield is inept with Jason & Austin together in it.
Tappa has searched the RSPL top to bottom looking for midfielders and came up with Gradison & Reid and we all know the story there. They are talented but too green for qualifiers.
So we are left with looking overseas to fill our void, or Tappa will have to get creative and switch roles of certain players, and he hasn't done that yet.
My advocating time and again the 3 British players is a fair assessment of our needs and the players to fill it, or for Tappa switch up some roles....
I'm speaking in general J'ray, man and man will criticize those who try to come up with ideas to fix our weaknesses because of the love of our team and not wanting us to fail in another WCQ, but the critics are just taking shots and have not suggested how we can better our midfield play.
I'd say criticize as you wish but present a better idea in place of. Criticizing for the sake of it is self serving and a know-it-all attitude.
Dawkinsis it, he's as good as the others from England we've advocated, so mek we all get the word out to our coaches.
Registered: 04/18/01
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I have never seen Dawkins play so I cant comment, however, based on the press above I say he wants to play for us and it would be foolish not to give me a look.
_________________________
Man with money meets a man with experience, man with experience ends up with more money.
Dawkins has been brought up on this very forum quite some time ago. He plays just like a yard baller. Creative player, but he has been very inconsistent in the league.
Not the player I have being seeing this season, so watch again...
San Jose has some very strong on the ball players and Dawkins is still able to show himself well capable as a creative passer of the ball, and cover a fair amount of ground.
he has been inconsistent in his time in the league. A run of good games doesn't change that. Hopefully he continues playing well.
I can't speak for the inconsistencies you refer to, but that game yesterday alone was charged with pressure and high tempo and Dawkinswearing the no. 10 shirt was strong on the ball, doesn't lose his ball and skilled. A very good passer of the ball into the attacking third.
Tek you time my yute and watch; my judgement of him is sound. I would be quite shock if Tappa had heard about dis yute and not done anything about it.
Like I said he reminded me of Shalrie Joseph of the New England Revolution, but Dawkins more skilled; and we all know how strong Shalrie is on the ball.
he has been inconsistent in his time in the league. A run of good games doesn't change that. Hopefully he continues playing well.
Shavar you really think seh Tottenham Hotspur would give him a two year contract if he wasn't worth his salt:
Quote:
"On 14 March 2011 Dawkins was rewarded with a contract by Tottenham Hotspur after impressing back at the club on trial. His contract will run to June 2013.[9] He was then loaned to the San Jose Earthquakes the following day."
Do we have a midfielder currently on our R'Boyz squad that can even get a trial with Tottenham Hotspur, a top 5 club? Nada...
Tottenham offering him a two year contract has nothing to do with how he has played during his MLS career. He has been inconsistent and as a result he has found him self coming off the bench many times in the MLS.
Tottenham offering him a two year contract has nothing to do with how he has played during his MLS career. He has been inconsistent and as a result he has found him self coming off the bench many times in the MLS.
Shavar you need to get your fact together. He has had no inconsistencies you referred to, he was plagued with injuries. His shoulder and then his calves... He's a much heralded player according to his coaches and peeps.
Simon Dawkins Marks His Return from Injury in a Big Way Against Real Salt Lake
By Matthew Snyder
Meeting reporters in front of a makeshift backdrop at halfcourt of Santa Clara University's Leavey Center just minutes after watching his San Jose Earthquakes mount a thrilling 5-0 victory over Real Salt Lake--its closest competitors for the Western Conference lead--manager Frank Yallop made it perfectly clear that he expects his side to continue pressing for goals throughout the entirety of a match.
"I'm not going to tell our guys to hold back and not score as many goals as they can," Yallop told that small band of collected media. "We didn’t sit back, we didn't try to pad and see the game out, we went at it and we tried to play in the right manner. We had some great finishes tonight."
Yallop had every reason to beam about the game he'd just seen. Real Salt Lake had come to the Bay Area just one point behind San Jose in the Western standings and brimming with confidence after waxing Portland Timbers 3-0 the previous weekend.
Considering San Jose had fought tooth and nail for a 0-0 draw in their own road encounter against FC Dallas, the final game in a debilitating run of six games in 18 days, it would have seemed Salt Lake had momentum on their side.
But thanks to a superb performance from his 'Quakes, Yallop could rest a bit easier knowing he'd hit the pillow that night holding a four-point advantage over his nearest rivals.
Taking a minute to run through each of his five goal scorers against Salt Lake (well, given as indomitable forward Chris Wondolowski accounted for three of those goals, only three players needed mentioning) Yallop praised the quality he'd witnessed that night.
He noted Wondolowski's hat-trick, then Alan Gordon's opportunistic strike, which had pushed the 'Quakes' lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute.
Then, after a pause, he remembered Simon Dawkins, the midfielder who had grabbed San Jose's fourth goal of the night when he had smashed home from point-blank range after Wondolowski had done well to deftly touch the ball into the goal-mouth area.
Dawkins's strike was quickly outshone by Wondolowski, who completed his hat-trick less than a minute later, but that fourth goal bodes very well for the Earthquakes going forward.
Twenty weeks into the season, San Jose boast the best record in all of MLS. They are four points clear of East-leaders Sporting Kansas City, albeit with a game in hand, but, given their form for the better part of two months now, they don't look ready to give up that advantage.
San Jose's players are in fine form, and the ranks received a crucial boost from Dawkins's return from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out for two-and-a-half weeks--or the better part of that brutal stretch of games in the past month.
Against Salt Lake, Dawkins came on for winger Marvin Chavez in the 69th minute, slotting into a more advanced central midfield role.
He helped bolster San Jose's dominance in that area of the pitch, which had risen exponentially after influential Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman had been sent off in the 57th minute for a rash challenge on Sam Cronin.
Under contract until 2013 with English Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur, the 24-year-old has now spent the past two seasons on loan with the Earthquakes.
He's been a key contributor to San Jose's cause, playing in 42 games during his tenure while providing the sort of dynamic option in midfield that can turn a game on its head.
Despite having last featured for the Earthquakes on June 23 against that same Salt Lake side, Dawkins said he did not lose any fitness during his convalescence period.
Coming on against Salt Lake on Saturday with the game well in hand at 2-0, the midfielder was able to enjoy a bit more freedom to roam, pushing forward while Cronin and Rafael Baca manned holding roles.
"The guys did really well to build a lead," Dawkins said after the game. "It was an easy game for me to come into, so I was pretty happy.
"I’m more of a tucked in type of player, and that allowed us to keep possession and get a couple more goals, so that was good."
While San Jose still managed to exploit Salt Lake on the wings—Shea Salinas provided the assist for Wondolowski's second goal on the night after blazing past Abdoulie Mansally in the 72nd minute—Dawkins's arrival onto the pitch, coupled with that of Khari Stephenson minutes later, saw the 'Quakes change their mode of attack.
Whereas they'd wanted to use width for most of the match, the fifth and final goal on the night came from a deft pass in central midfield by Stephenson for Wondolowski.
While his statistical contribution ended with the goal, Dawkins contributed mostly in the way he held the ball and pushed forward in attack.
Blessed with pace and a preternatural ability to ward off defenders even amidst the most blinding bouts of pressure, Dawkins provides something extra when he is included in the midfield unit.
While he might cringe at the comparison, Dawkins has a style of play—not to mention his rugged approach to potential challenges—that hearkens to mind Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, who has earned the nickname "L'Araignee" (The Spider) among his French national team colleagues for his uncanny ability to keep possession.
His three goals for San Jose this season have been an added boon, and, as the Earthquakes head into Wednesday night's home match against FC Dallas, Dawkins's ability to launch forward could be a vital asset.
Wondolowski told the San Jose Mercury News after Saturday's game that "the midfield won the game for us."
The star striker, who has 17 goals in 18 league games this season, also said that from his perspective, Cronin and Baca had been the best players for the 'Quakes since June 30's thrilling 4-3 win over LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium.
"They cover so much ground, and it makes other players’ jobs so much easier, especially mine," Wondolowski said. "I appreciate what they do out there."
Now with Dawkins back in that flourishing midfield fold, San Jose have yet one more option to dominate that realm. Expect the first-place 'Quakes to take full advantage against Dallas on Wednesday night.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes used in this article were recorded at the Earthquakes-Salt Lake game on Saturday, July 14.
San Jose Earthquakes Sign Tottenham's Simon Dawkins On Loan The Earthquakes will sign the attacking midfielder from Spurs on a temporary basis after a good showing in San Jose's pre-season England tour.
Much has been made of the San Jose Earthquakes' need for a creative attacking midfielder in the off-season. Four days before opening day, they have their man. The club announced Wednesday the loan signing of 23-year-old attacking midfielder Simon Dawkins from the Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur, San Jose's partner club.
“Simon is an intelligent player and does a great job of finding the ball in the midfield and forward areas,” said Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop. “He adds a different dimension to our midfield and we look forward to his contributions. He’s still young and has plenty of potential.”
Dawkins suited up for San Jose during the team's pre-season trip to England. He started and played 90 minutes in San Jose's 4-0 win over a Birmingham City reserve side.
“We were very impressed with Simon’s play against Birmingham City and I thought he fit in perfectly with our lineup,” said Earthquakes General Manager John Doyle. “This signing further exemplifies the positive relationship we have with our club partner, Tottenham Hotspur.”
Dawkins joined the Spurs youth sides in 2004 and has been capped once for the England U-17 national team. After signing a professional contract, he split his time between Spurs' U-18 team and the reserves and was a regular for the reserves in 2006-2007.
Dawkins spent the 2008-2009 season on loan at League One side Leyton Orient, where he featured 11 times, but saw his time there punctuated by injuries. He was released by Spurs in 2009 but continued to train with the team on a non-contract basis. He signed a new contract with Spurs prior to his loan to San Jose.
“He is a man now and he wants to go away and play football and is obviously delighted to be getting the chance to go and play in MLS,” said Tottenham Hotspur Technical Coordinator Tim Sherwood. “Simon is gifted, he holds the ball up well, sees his teammates and has a good appreciation of the game. I think he will do well [in MLS].”
Despite the fact that the transfer comes just days before San Jose kicks off the season against Real Salt Lake, there is a chance he could feature should his paperwork go through.
