George Dobson was a youngster at Premier League outfit West Ham United and now he’s playing League One football at Sunderland.
George Dobson admits he loves playing for a ‘big club’ like Sunderland and has compared his new employers to West Ham United in quotes reported by the Sunderland Echo.
A la Glen Johnson, Michael Carrick, Declan Rice, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand, Dobson spent time in the youth ranks at West Ham but, unlike the aforementioned quintet, he failed to force his way into their first-team plans.
The 21-year-old left The Hammers to join Walsall in 2016 and after three years with The Saddlers sealed a move to Sunderland.
Now, the Black Cats may be a League One club these days but they are still one of the best supported teams in English football with their 49,000 capacity stadium very much an anomaly in the third tier, although you’d forgive the fans for staying away right now.
Sunderland are sixth in the table, eight points off leaders Ipswich Town, going into the October international break. But Dobson is still enjoying life in the North East, even if things haven’t quite gone to plan so far.
“I love playing for a big club,” said the box-to-box midfielder, who also spent time at Arsenal as a youth. “It’s why you play football.
“I was a big West Ham fan growing up, I’d go and watch the away games, there would be four or five thousand of us. That’s why, for me, I just enjoy it so much.
“At Walsall, you play in front in four or five thousand, it goes under the radar a bit and you move onto the next game. Here, it is 30,000 and you sell out every away game.”
Dobson has featured in eight league games so far for Sunderland, competing with the likes of Grant Leadbitter, Max Power, Dylan McGeouch and Luke O’Nien in the centre of the park.
And Dobson will be desperate to help take Sunderland back to where they belong and ensure they are playing the likes of West Ham on a regular basis once more.
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