LOCAL HERO CAM HAVING A BALL
LOCAL boy Cameron Dawson says Sheffield Wednesday’s homegrown heroes were “buzzing” at the club’s summer transfer embargo.
After two years of hefty spending under owner Dejphon Chansiri, the Owls fell foul of FFP restrictions and were banned from signing any players during the window.
Fans were disappointed. Pundits proclaimed a crisis. But for the likes of Dawson, Jordan Thorniley and a host of other academy grads, the door to the first team was thrown open.
It is one they have seized, with ten points from their first six games marking the club’s best start to a season since 1991.
“What happened in the summer – the younger lads were buzzing with it,” said Dawson, who, pre-weekend, had saved more shots than any other keeper in the Championship this season.
Chance
“It’s given them a chance they might never have got. And as much as supporters love big names and famous players, they also want to see a few of their own get a chance.
“I just think it brings the club back to the fans a little bit. They feel represented on the pitch. That can be a big burden at 19 or 20, but the lads have come in and done them proud.”
Nobody offers more genuine representation than Dawson, a Sheffield native who has followed the club through thick and – more often – thin.
“I didn’t join the academy until I was 15,” explains the 23-year-old. “I wasn’t in that football ‘bubble’ so I was able to be an out-and-out supporter for a long time.
“I was just a local lad playing Sunday football and going down to Hillsborough on a Saturday afternoon to sit in the stands.
“Those were the dark days, really. I’d grown up with my parents talking about a solid Premier League club; Chris Waddle, David Hurst, all these great players.
“But that wasn’t my experience. I saw us struggling in League One, going up, coming back down again. There wasn’t a lot to shout about back then, but we stuck by the team.
“Nowadays, you almost have to put that emotional attachment to the back of your mind. But walking out at Hillsborough… the feeling I get as a local lad is just something I can’t explain.”
Dawson has battled past Keiren Westwood to seize the No.1 berth at Hillsborough. The 33-year-old Republic of Ireland international had been a fixture since his arrival in 2014 but is currently third choice under Dutch boss Jos Luhukay.
Respect
“I’ve got huge respect for what Westy’s done in his career,” says Dawson. “It’s tough for him because he’s an experienced player who wants to play.
“But we all help each other out. In all honesty, we don’t discuss the situation. We don’t want to get involved in the reasons. It’s the manager’s decision and that’s nobody’s fault.”
Luhukay was swayed by Dawson’s displays in the FA Cup last season, not to mention his ability on the deck. In the age of Ederson, Alisson and Manuel Neuer, that is fast becoming a prerequisite for any top-class keeper.
“Even in the short time I’ve been a goalkeeper, I’ve seen the balance shift,” says Dawson, an outfield player until the age of 13.
“Once, you’d spend all your time in training trying to keep the ball out of the net. Now, it’s a 50/50 split between working with your hands and distribution from the back. That’s something our manager is really keen on. When he went with me at the start of the season, he said that was something he’d identified.
“At this level, you’ve increasingly got to be comfortable off both feet. A keeper now is expected to pick passes off rather than just shovelling it long. That’s something that’s still evolving and it’s only going one way – in ten years, I think you’ll rarely see the ball leave the grass.
“Does it make life harder? Maybe, but it makes us feel a bit more important, doesn’t it? ] Instead of just kicking out we’re now described as ‘building attacks’!”