The Official Simon Dawkins thread

I think most players would get a temporary contract to be paid and covered with medical care for training. Simon’s situation is weird since he bought out and theoretically paid all he was owed. I would guess he got nothing additional when at MN and if he’d have stuck SJ would have got paid back to the tune of league minimum. But that’s a guess.

 

This just demonstrates what a phony setup MLS single-entity is.
Is it any different from Fantasy Football?
No wonder MLS breeds mediocrity

 

He had a tryout with the team and they declined to sign him. What's so hard to accept about that?

 

If you are arguing that individually owned and operated teams somehow produce a higher average of quality because they "compete" with each other, I have some bad news for you.

That and the quality of the average MLS match has been steadily increasing year over year for more than a decade now. Don't make the mistake of looking at the Earthquakes as an example of the league as a whole. Teams that were competently run produced much more entertaining teams.

 

I like how you used a comment that begins with "I think" and ends with "But that's a guess" to conclude that it's "No wonder MLS breeds mediocrity"... Alex Jones would be impressed.

 

Tactically and over the course of time , the league has gotten better. I’ve seen some incredible plays and players and then some very inconsistent , amateurish , costly mistakes that shouldn’t happen at a D1 level.

The archaic insane restrictions and rules limit the league’s growth. No matter which way you turn it, the TAM, DP and salary caps are outdated and $4 million dollars divided among the bulk of the roster (or 25 players) only goes so far. They are paying outrageous salaries to two or three players (and in many cases players who don’t deserve it (I.E. Dawkins), while everyone else is making on average only $150k or even less. There is no way you can't have a drop in quality and that is true of any sports league.

Maybe some of the rules in place were necessary in 1996 and even 2007 but that isn’t the case in 2018. Listening to Garber last night, he said the league no longer dictates what franchises do and that they no longer have any control over which players teams can or can’t buy or have. Saying that though he is admitting or suggesting that the league until recently did in fact have complete control over player acquisitions and salaries. If it was true from 1996-2016, I doubt much has changed in the last two years. Of course single entity still exists and that has to hinder the leagues level.

 

Haha since you’re being so word nerdy, let me point out that i don’t have to have absolute facts to stop wondering about something. Sometime clear indicators are sufficient for me.

The indicator in this case is that a single entity league treats its players like throwaways because the players are at their mercy. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel sorry for Dawkins & I never wanted him back here. But jerking any player around the country, refusing to entertain offers and trades (Warshaw), these are just some of the things mls is free to do because players are stuck in. Unhappy players don’t become better players. Those were meant to be my points..

 

Simon Dawkins: ‘I look outside and it’s snowing – there’s Adebayor clearing my neighbour’s drive’

https://theathletic.com/1539343/

 

Can’t open the link. Can you please copy the article?

 

Yes, please don't post links that require a subscription to be able to read it.

 

In regards to Simons second stint in SJ he basically confirms what most people thought. He was in a bad place mentally after his mothers death, and it affected his playing and personal life.

 

Please copy the article so we can read it

 

Good point. I no longer have a free trial and can't oblige. In future I'll not post about subscription sites.

 

EXCERPTING SAN JOSE STUFF (and everyone should get their own damned subscription, because that's what allows quality sports journalism to survive):

. . . “I was 21 and after Tim [Sherwood] watched me train, he was asking why I had been let go. He asked David Beckham, who was training with Spurs at the time, to get in touch with his friends in America about a possible loan. Becks spoke with Frank Yallop, who had initially signed him and I did a year out there (on loan) with San Jose.”

That particular move kickstarted his career. Dawkins ripped it up, scoring 14 important goals in 53 appearances as the Earthquakes finished top of the table and lost out in the play-offs to an LA Galaxy team that contained both Beckham and Robbie Keane.

“I still, to this day, don’t know how someone can be so famous and down to earth,“ Dawkins says as he reminisces about Beckham. “When you see him, he’s different level. When I played against him, not one piece of hair was out of place!

“You know when someone is just a top professional? There’s no bad image of him. He’s immaculate. Look at everything he has done in his career. He was a top man and helped me at an important time.”

Such was his love for San Jose that Dawkins wanted a permanent move. His career was on the up, the supporters loved him and he finally felt valued and ready to unleash his true personality — but Tottenham refused to sell.

. . . “I was frustrated because I knew I deserved my opportunity,” Dawkins says. “The San Jose experience gave me a level of experience. I just didn’t get the opportunity at Villa. I was happy with the experience because I had no Premier League games before that but I deserved more. I didn’t get enough opportunities.

. . . Instead, he was sold back to San Jose Earthquakes — the club he had previously played for on loan — but with new-found difficulties ahead. Dawkins says: “I went in as a Designated Player and there was massive pressure on me. You know what it’s like in America — if you don’t perform, they’re onto you.

“There were three DPs: Chris Wondolowski, Matias Perez Garcia and me. It’s a different pressure than before. My performances dropped because of a few injuries and to be honest, I was very lonely. I didn’t deal with my mom (dying).

“I should have spent more time with her when I had the chance. I know she wouldn’t have wanted me to do that because I was doing so well with my football but I should have taken that decision myself. I’ve had to battle with that. It’s been difficult.

. . . Dawkins cut short his spell in the US for personal reasons that meant he had to return to the UK. He sacrificed a large chunk of his final contract and also turned down a move to Minnesota United. . . .

https://theathletic.com/1539343/2020/01/17/simon-dawkins-adebayor-messi-tottenham-aston-villa/

 

so Don, you start with that admonition and then you copy and paste so much of the article. ...

I agree, we won't get good journalism like The Athletic unless people pay the paltry fee they charge to subscribe. That's why I try to limit my paraphrases to 1-2 sentences.

 

Fair use. And I was not compensated for my testimonial.

 

I don't subscribe to The Athletic, but I am a Patreon supporter of Quakes Epicenter.

 

Is there a the definition of fair use in terms of word or character count or percentage?

 

No. It appears it's largely a case by case basis and depends on what was used, how much, and for what purpose.

 

I always thought he would come back to Nor Cal. Either in Sac, Monterey or Oakland!

Hope he does well!

 

Simon Dawkins, now that's a name I never expected to see again, as an active player, or in our area. He hasn't played professional soccer since 2019 when he got two games for Ipswich Town....

I didn't bother to mention it at the time because I try not to think about the guy, but:

I went to London in the summer of 2019 (during the heat wave) for my cousin's wedding, and it was the offseason so as much as I would have liked to see Fulham or Arsenal the only game in the greater London area during that time was Charlton Athletic hosting Brighton and Hove Albion in a preseason friendly... one of the players looked really familiar... it was Simon Dawkins, trailing with Charlton. He was with the Quakes until they cut him in 2018, so my comment to my cousin was, "I came across the ocean and I still can't get away from this guy." He looked pretty mediocre, and clearly didn't make their roster.

Oh well, good luck to him in USL...

 

Simon had his moments.

 

Yes, all roads from Tottenham Hostspur eventually lead to Monterey Bay FC. This we know. Good for him that he found a way to still get paid a little to play. IIRC he married an American(?), or at least I think he got married while here. It's possible his wife has a gig in the area.

People tend to remember him by his 2nd stint with the Quakes which was generally lousy. Don't know what happened, but he was really good in 2011-12.