Dalton winged his way over to the States
IT’S understandable that any new coach or manager should be determined to make a positive, winning start for their hopeful club.
Carlos Corberan will be focused on making a fine first impression when Huddersfield Town return to action in the Carabao Cup, ahead of the new Championship season.
IF you want to find former Huddersfield Town wingman Paul Dalton these days, you’ll have to take on a 7,000-mile round trip.
The one-time mercurial wingman is now 53 and working as director of coaching at Chicago Fire Juniors West in America.
He has been out there for the best part of a decade, after finishing his playing career at Gateshead and coaching at Middlesbrough and then Darlington College.
You might have expected to find ‘Dolly’ still around his hometown of Middlesbrough, but the trans-Atlantic challenge proved too much of an attraction and he’s part of a settled management team in Illinois.
Dalton scored 13 goals in just 26 vital appearances during Town’s ‘Great Escape’ season of 1997-98 under Peter Jackson.
The most memorable, perhaps, was his breakaway clincher against Stoke City at the now John Smith’s Stadium.
While it was netted in the closing moments of the match on November 1, with Stoke and their goalkeeper all dispatched to try and equalise from a corner, it sealed what was the club’s first win of the season.
That 3-1 victory sparked a tremendous revival and Town eventually staved off relegation with two games to spare.
Dalton started the following season well, too.
After an opening defeat at Bury, in which debutant goalkeeper Nico Vaesen was sent off after only nine minutes, Dalton set Town en route to a 2-1 home victory over Port Vale.
His strike, backed up by another from Marcus Stewart, was scored exactly 22 years ago today, on August 15, 1998, and Town went on to finish the season 10th under Jackson, despite topping the table for a time in both September and October.
An injury to Dalton was one of the problems which caused Town’s form to drop off after an excellent start to the campaign.
Immediately the season was over, Jacko was sacked as boss and, later, replaced by Steve Bruce.
Dalton also left, after scoring 27 goals in 93 starts and 23 substitute appearances.