A pictorial journey guides supporters through the highlights of the former England youth international’s footballing career so far, which has seen the 32-year-old play throughout the pyramid.
19th September 2009 | Born in Rochdale, Dawson began his footballing career in his hometown, representing Rochdale St Clements and Radcliffe Borough before joining Rochdale AFC.
19th December 2009 | Having opened his Dale account at home to Hereford, Dawson’s bagged the first brace of his career during a 4-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in League Two.
17th April 2010 | Dawson scored 11 goals in 46 appearances in his first season at Spotland, as Rochdale earned promotion to League One by finishing third in the table.
26th August 2010 | After one season in the football league, Dawson signed for then-Premier League side West Bromwich Albion, but was loaned back to Rochdale for the 2010/11 season.
30th July 2011 | Dawson finds the back of the net for West Brom for the first time as he opens the scoring against Bristol City in a pre-season friendly.
1st September 2011 | After another 11-goal season for Rochdale, Dawson earns a call-up to England under-21s and scores a brace on his debut in a 6-0 Euro U21 qualifying victory over Azerbaijan.
10th November 2011 | The defender scores a fourth goal in his first five appearances for the under-21s as he helps England to a 5-0 win against Iceland.
3rd January 2012 | Dawson gets his first chance of Premier League football during the 2011/12 season as he makes irregular appearance for the Baggies as they finish 10th.
16th July 2012 | After continuing to impress for England U21s, Dawson is called up to represent the Great Britain football team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
4th August 2012 | The centre-back comes off the bench in Great Britain’s quarter-final draw with South Korea to score in the penalty shootout, although that was as far as the hosts would get.
7th August 2012 | Just three days after being knocked out of the Olympics, Dawson was back in action for West Brom to score the opening goal in a pre-season friendly against Walsall.
12th October 2012 | Dawson continued to be selected by England under-21s, and scored once again from the penalty spot in a Euro qualifying play-off against Serbia at Carrow Road.
23rd January 2013 | In a bid to gain regular football, Dawson is loaned to Championship outfit Bolton Wanderers, where he scored four times in 22 appearances – including a brace against Hull City.
7th May 2013 | He returns to West Brom at the backend of the 2012/13 Premier League season to help West Brom to their greatest ever season in the competition, finishing 8th with 49 points.
5th June 2013 | In his first international tournament, Dawson’s celebrations were short lived as his goal for England under-21s against Italy – which ended 1-0 to the Italians – was disallowed.
8th June 2013 | He didn’t have to wait long to find the net however, although his goal against Norway in the second group game was not enough, as England fell to a 3-1 loss.
28th September 2014 | Dawson began the 2014/15 Premier League season as West Brom’s first-choice centre-back, and that was soon followed by his opening top-flight goal in a 4-0 rout over Burnley.
2nd December 2014 | He enjoyed scoring against claret and blue, as a second Premier League goal came just months later for Dawson as he netted against future side West Ham United.
13th December 2015 | Dawson played every minute of the 2015/16 season for West Brom, a campaign which also included a goal to secure a point at Anfield.
18th March 2017 | The highlight of the centre-back’s 2016/17 Premier League season was his first top-flight brace which helped West Brom secure a 3-1 win against Arsenal at the Hawthorns.
14th May 2019 | 12 months after suffering relegation to the Championship, Dawson netted in the Championship play-off semi-final to Aston Villa, which ultimately ended in defeat.
10th August 2019 | Despite that result, Dawson ended up starting the next season back in the top-flight after securing a move to Watford.
28th September 2019 | His first visit to Molineux in the Premier League was not a happy one for Watford, as the Hornets fell to a 2-0 defeat to Wolves.
29th December 2020 | Following a year at Vicarage Road, Dawson moved to West Ham on an initial season-long loan, with the defender helping the Hammers to their best Premier League finish.
21st October 2021 | Their 6th place finished earned West Ham a place in the Europa League, and Dawson opened the scoring in their 3-0 group game victory over KRC Genk.
14th April 2022 | West Ham overcame Lyon in the Europa quarter-finals, as Dawson found the net in a 3-0 win at Parc Olympique – although their campaign ended in the semis to Eintracht Frankfurt.
7th January 2023 | After two successful seasons as a fan favourite at the London Stadium, Dawson made his final appearance in claret and blue in the recent FA Cup victory over Brentford.
