Farewell Ballon D'Orson

Sad to see that Craig Dawson is going to Wolves for £3.3 million. The Rochdale Beckenbauer became something of a cult during his three seasons at West Ham. Craig might not be the most skilful player in the world but he relished the ugly part of defending and has to be one of the best players at blocking in the division. He always showed massive commitment on the pitch.

Dawson is very underrated and was a better signing than James Tarkowski for whom West Ham once bid £30m. He was also very useful at set-pieces and scored a lot of goals for a centre-back including the opener at Lyon last season. And there was a nerveless penalty against Man City in the Carabao Cup shoot-out. 

There's nothing much we can do if he wants to move closer to his family up north and he is pushing 33 — while WHU now have a lot of centre-backs. But you certainly wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of one of his tackles. Thank you for the daze, Craig.

In praise of Craig Dawson

It was a good time for Craig Dawson to get his first league goal of the season on Sunday. And what a bargain he has proved at £2 million. He's not the best ball-player in the world, but he is a proper defender who enjoys tackling and scoring goals from set pieces. His character was there to see when he blocked a dangerous effort against Watford and got a kick in the head and when he had the nerve to thump home a penalty in the shoot-out against Man City.

Dawson was originally loaned as a fourth-choice centre-back and spent a couple of months on the bench. Yet he has seen off Balbuena (sold), Diop (loss of form), Ogbonna (injury) and Zouma (cat attack). Once again he is the man holding WHU together at the back. He can sometimes be vulnerable against a top class forward like Salah and bang in the odd own goal, but he never gives less than 200 per cent effort and is an example to those around him. Dawson cost £2 million after the Irons had bid £30m for James Tarkowski. A very underrated player who has come up the hard way via Rochdale and West Brom and it shows.

Dawson is a bargain at £2m

Good news is that Craig Dawson is to join West Ham permanently from Watford in the close season. And if the fee is only the reported £2 million then he's a massive bargain — particularly considering the fact West Ham offered £31 million for Burnley's Tarkowski in the summer. Since coming into the side at Southampton Dawson's played 17 games and scored four goals. Without  Ogbonna he's had to be a leader at the back and has been generally immense at the back. Even his two own goals have been signs of a player who is always close to stopping a chance. Craig is a good old-fashioned stopper who is dangerous at the other end too. As befits someone who has come up via Rochdale, West Brom and Watford, he's still hungry at 30 and a great addition to the squad. 

Dawson signs

Well, it's a comedown after offering £30m for James Tarkowski, but Craig Dawson on a season's loan isn't a bad signing for the squad. He's only 30 and had eight successful seasons at West Brom. Any centre back who gets in a team managed by Tony Pulis has to be solid. He didn't have such a good time at relegated Watford last season, but was playing in a team beset by changing managers and low confidence. And I like the fact that he started out at Radcliffe Borough and Rochdale, so has seen the rougher side of the lower leagues. Plus Dawson has 15 England Under-21 caps, so is certainly good cover for Ogbonna, Diop, Creswell and Balbuena.

Meanwhile the Irons are still interested in Josh King and said to be close to a £25m deal with Brentford for Said Benrahma, though the Guardian reports an ominous hitch with Brentford. Knowing West Ham we might end up with Bananarama instead, which would be Really Saying Something and symptomatic of our Cruel Summer. The other worrying thing is that Benrahma, although a very exciting player, seems to be more of a goalscoring winger than a striker, which begs the question why not have kept the promising Diangana, particularly as WHU now have a centre back signed on loan and Grady was sold specifically to fund defensive purchases.