The Official Simon Dawkins thread

Second stint with Quakes. Down 2 men against eventual Cup-host, and next-year's champs. Play picks up at 3:14 mark. (it wasn't a deluge, but there was a special pin for this.)

 

I think he did well in 2011 and 2012 but then his whole objective and ambition was getting back the the EPL.

I recall him stating it many times.

His second stint with the club from 2016-2017 was a different story. He was already gone for 3 straight seasons and I think at that point he and the team lost something. The Quakes of 2012 was a magical campaign and everyone shined.

 

Yet another reason (not that I needed any) to go down to Monterey Bay and catch a game.

 

I drive by the stadium under renovation almost every day. It's going to be a pretty sweet place to see the game — huge beer garden, great site lines, plenty of parking, easy off the highway, blue skies, the smell of the ocean... I'm looking forward to it.

 

Question:

Below, are two confusion statements regarding Dawkins in wiki.

First is says he became coach of Monterey Bay FC 2 in the summer of 2024 (or rather, since June 21st) ......

They it says, he retired on August 1st, 2024 and was named head coach of Monterey Bay's first team.

Does the first statement mean he retired as a player or as a coach of Monterey Bay's second team?

 

Simon Dawkins Is Monterey Bay F.C.’s New Technical Director — What Exactly Does That Mean? | by Andrew Martin | THE UNION REPORT | Dec, 2024 | Medium

 

It means that he directes the technical stuff.

 

May God always bless the technical directors!

 

They're like the glue that holds the world together.

 

Looking at his Wikipedia page, I didn’t realize what a weird career Simon Dawkins had. The Quakes are his only bright spot. I’ve always wondered why he went to Monterey Bay and why he would want to stay there. Did he bring his wife and kids with him, or was he trying to put distance between them? Was he a charity hire by Frank Yallop?

 

The other weird thing is that he was really good for the Quakes in 2011-2012, and then when he came back in 2016 he was pretty much ineffective. And it's not like he was that old in 2016. He was 29 I think. He also had that weird injury when he came here from England the first time - compartment syndrome, where your muscles create too much pressure on the fascia covered compartments surrounding the muscles.

 

I wonder if investigation would really have predicted that he'd be much worse the 2nd time around? It would have required a pretty astute scout. Simon flamed out at Aston Villa but didn't seem like he was too bad with Derby County in those intervening years.

 

I dunno, when i looked at Simon’s Wikipedia page, based on that record, I wouldn’t have resigned him to the Quakes for anything but peanuts.

But I do remember Wondo and somebody else effusing during the 1st go-round that Simon was the best player on the team.

 

I think he was in 2011 / 2012. He was playing CAM, and he was very good at it. He had a really long 1st step and he could use it to go around defenders. And his finishing was pretty good. I think Dom played him at left side attacker, which is usually what he did with attacking mids. Stick them on the outside. MPG was another. If he was coach of the team now, I think Dom would play Hernán as left or right side attacker.

 

When he was with the Quakes on his second stint didn't his mother fall ill and eventually pass away, which he had a hard time dealing with?

 

I saw a couple of his Derby County games. Did not impress. Seemed unmotivated.

 

Yeah, I know she died, but, I thought it happened when he was back in England?
Edit: Yes, his mom died of breast cancer in 2015, when he was with Derby County.

 

Yeah, that's what I remembered - it happened before he came back to the Quakes.

 

That's why he changed his jersey number to #49, IIRC. I believe it represented his mother's age at her death.