Comparing the Hull City defender with his former Tottenham Hotspur teammates.
Hull City defender Michael Dawson has shone for the Tigers since his £3.5million summer move from Tottenham Hotspur.
Steve Bruce’s side may have shipped more goals than they would have liked, but Dawson’s individual performances have been impressive, to such an extent that he is outperforming his former Spurs teammates Jan Vertongen and Younes Kaboul in a number of key areas.
The Hull defender has made considerably more outfield blocks, effective clearances (both with his feet and with his head) and has won more ground duels and aerial duels than both Kaboul and Vertonghen.
In fact when you consider the huge difference in terms of aerial dominance between the new Hull man and Tottenham’s defensive duo, you have to question if it was the right move selling Dawson during the summer.
| Outfield Block | Won Tackle | Effective Clearance | Effective Head Clearance | Interception Won | Duel Won | Aerial Won | Pass Accuracy | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Dawson | 12 | 5 | 58 | 39 | 12 | 32 | 26 | 83.92% | 5 | 450 |
| Younes Kaboul | 5 | 7 | 48 | 28 | 22 | 28 | 11 | 81.33% | 7 | 630 |
| Jan Vertonghen | 4 | 3 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 90.16% | 4 | 360 |
Looking at the statistics on an average basis, Dawson has done better than the Tottenham pair in all but one area below – with Kaboul making more interceptions per match than his former teammate.
But that aside, the £3.5million man is proving to be a canny addition for Hull and a missed opportunity by new Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
| Outfield Block / apps | Won Tackle / apps | Effective Clearance / apps | Effective Head Clearance / apps | Interception Won / apps | Duel Won / apps | Aerial Won / apps | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Dawson | 2.40 | 1.00 | 11.60 | 7.80 | 2.40 | 6.40 | 5.20 | 5 | 450 |
| Jan Vertonghen | 1.00 | 0.75 | 6.25 | 4.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 1.25 | 4 | 360 |
| Younes Kaboul | 0.71 | 1.00 | 6.86 | 4.00 | 3.14 | 4.00 | 1.57 | 7 | 630 |
Yes Hull have had more to do at the back than Spurs, but Dawson has done it well and when you consider the huge difference in a number of defensive areas, it is clear the 30-year-old still has it. It is just a shame for Tottenham that they bid him farewell arguably too soon.
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