DEAN ASHTON


'Dean Ashton' (born November 24 1983 in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United in the Premiership. Ashton is a strong, powerful forward who is good in the air and a constant threat. He is widely-considered to be one of the most promising young strikers around, having consistently scored goals at every tier of English football he has played in.
Ashton is a product of Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra academy. At the age of 16, Ashton signed for Crewe as a senior player, making his debut as a substitute against Gillingham. After five years at Crewe, Ashton moved to Premiership club, Norwich City for £3 million, breaking Norwich City's transfer record. Ashton spent around a year at Norwich before moving to West Ham United for £7.25 million, becoming the Hammers' record signing.
He also won 9 caps for England U21s, scoring four goals in those games. As well as his league record, Ashton has also played in 14 FA Cup matches and scored 8 goals, including one in West Ham's 2006 FA Cup Final defeat to Liverpool.
On 11 August 2006, Ashton was called up to the England squad for the first time in his career for their friendly against Greece. Unfortunately, on 15 August 2006, it was confirmed that he had broken an ankle in training and at first it was thought he could be back by Christmas 2006 but this was then put back to February which Alan Curbishley denied saying he would not rush him back too soon. When near his return Dean Ashton had a scan on his ankle which revealed excess scar tissue. In March he had surgery to correct this putting his return back to June at the earliest.

Contents
Ability
Early and personal life
Club career
Crewe Alexandra
Norwich City
West Ham United
International career
Club statistics
Career honours
Crewe Alexandra
West Ham United
External links
Footnotes
References

Ability


Dean Ashton's main asset is his strength, along with his ability to use both feet, his aerial prowess and his natural eye for goal. These attributes are not dissimilar to those of Alan Shearer,[1] and it is not surprising that some pundits believe Ashton will one day fill the boots left by the Newcastle United striker in the England team. When Alan Pardew signed Ashton for West Ham, he conceded that he believed the club may have spent over the odds, but most football experts believe that this investment in a player of Ashton's talent will pay dividends in the future.

Early and personal life


Ashton grew up in the small village of Holmes Chapel near Crewe, and attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School.''Crewe Alexandra | History|Past Players|Dean Ashton'' www.CreweAlex.PremiumTV.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2006 He was originally on the books of Stoke City as a youngster but moved to join the Crewe Alexandra school of excellence.''Crewe Alexandra|History|Past Players|Dean Ashton'' www.CreweAlex.PremiumTV.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2006
On August 28th Ashton did not travel with the West Ham United team for their 2nd Round Carling Cup match with Bristol Rovers as it was announced that his partner had gone into labour with their first child.

Club career


Crewe Alexandra

Ashton was a product of Crewe's renowned youth development policy under manager/coach Dario Gradi. He signed scholarship forms as a 16-year-old in 2000 before making his first team debut later that year in Crewe's 1-0 win over Gillingham and became one of the youngest players to represent the club. He waited three months for his second appearance, again as substitute, in a 3-1 victory over Grimsby Town, and his first goal for the "''Railwaymen''" was in their 4-2 victory against Burnley. His first start arrived in an FA Cup clash against Cardiff City in January 2001. He finished his first season at the club with eight goals, including crucial ones against Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Gillingham and Wimbledon towards the end of the season as Crewe secured their First Division status.
His second season at the club was disrupted by injury and a temporary loss of form,[2] but in spite of this he scored ten times and began to win international honours with England at Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level. Ashton scored sixteen more times in the 2002-03 season as the club bounced back to the First Division after just one season in the Second Division. Ashton had a number of notable displays for Crewe, one of which was in 4-0 win against Luton Town, where he scored 2 goals and set up David Vaughan's goal. Crewe manager Dario Gradi said that "''These have been his best performances and people are right to say he has a bright future in the game''".[3]
In the 2003-04 season, he became the first player in the club's history to score 20 goals in the First Division. One of Ashton's games secured his first Football League hat-trick in a 3-2 win at the JJB Stadium against Wigan Athletic (6 March 2004) - a game in which he converted two penalties. During the season, Ashton was reportedly linked to a number of clubs, Wolves were among the clubs interested in signing the striker at the time, however Dario Gradi regarded all the rumours as just speculation.[4] Having previously played for England at Under-19 level, he stepped up to the Under-21 side that season, scoring against the Netherlands and Sweden.
Ashton scored 18 times for Crewe in the 2004-05 season prior to becoming Norwich City's record signing at £3 million.[5][6] His uncle helped negotiate his transfer to Norwich.[7]
Norwich City

Ashton joined Norwich City from Crewe Alexandra for a fee of £3 million in January 2005, breaking the club's transfer record previously held by the £1 m deal that brought Jon Newsome to Norwich City from Leeds United in 1994. Additionally, Crewe inserted a 20% sell-on clause.
He scored on his home debut for Norwich City against Middlesbrough in an exciting 8 goal thriller, Norwich came back from 4-1 down to draw the game 4-4. In February, Ashton scored an impressive goal against Manchester City, which later achieved second place in the BBC's Goal of the Month for February, Thierry Henry's goal against Crystal Palace won the award.[8] Many of the pundits believed that Ashton would be the key to Norwich's survival.[9] Ashton scored many important goals in Norwich's fight for survival, including the deciding goals against Newcastle and Birmingham. Norwich however, were relegated in 2005 and even with a host of Premier league clubs interested in him, Ashton decided to stay at the club in the next season in an attempt to try and win promotion back into the Premiership. Later that year Ashton scored his first and only hat trick for Norwich City against Southampton, in a 3-1 win at Carrow Road.[10]
With Norwich out of the top flight there was much speculation surrounding Ashton's future at the club, with some people believing a player with his qualities merited a place in the Premiership. Many clubs, including Manchester City and Charlton. The Addicks manager, Alan Curbishley, was reportedly prepared to axe six of his players to buy the Norwich youngster.[11] West Ham were also among the clubs interested in buying the striker.[12] Nigel Worthington attempted to quash these rumours, saying that Ashton would only be sold for a price which matched his value to the club. Wigan manager ,Paul Jewell, was put off considering a move for Ashton because of this price.[13] Dean Ashton re-stated his commitment to the club in the summer of 2005 by signing a contract-extension until 2009.[14] By December, it looked likely that a Premiership club would bid for Ashton, as boss Nigel Worthington said that Ashton would be allowed to leave in January of that year - if the club are happy with the fee.[15] After playing 46 games for Norwich, in which he scored 18 goals, he was transferred to West Ham on January 22, 2006 for a fee of £7 million,[16] rising to £7.25 m, with two £125,000 bonuses dependent on a future England call-up and possible European qualification while Ashton is at West Ham.[17] Norwich also negotiated a 15% sell-on clause.
West Ham United

Norwich accepted West Ham's bid after apparently having been in negotiations with them for a few weeks.
:
On 22 January, 2006, the day the transfer was announced, Ashton agreed personal terms with the club and underwent a medical later in the day. He was unveiled at a press conference prior to the West Ham vs Fulham match on Monday 23 January.
Ashton made an impressive start to his West Ham career, making his debut in the Hammers' 3-2 victory away to Arsenal,[18] and scored some key goals in West Ham's following fixtures, including two goals in the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City, which was vital in continuing the team's inspiring FA Cup run in 2006.[19] However, it is not just his goal-scoring record that has stupefied the Irons' faithful. Not blessed with much pace, he has shown a pleasing touch and daring vision, often slicing defences open with eye-catching passes, hence drawing comparisons with his more experienced former West Ham teammate, Teddy Sheringham. Not only has he shown that he can consistently score at the highest level, he has also displayed an ability to introduce other players into the game. In West Ham's semi-final against Middlesbrough, Ashton broke 'Boro goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer's cheekbone. He caught Schwarzer with his elbow in an aerial challenge in the first half. This incident did not go well with the Middlesbrough fans, who booed Ashton for the remaining time he was on the field. Ashton however, made an apology to Schwarzer and to 'Boro fans and said that it was accidental and that no malice was intended.[20]
To cap off a pivotal season in Ashton's career, he scored a goal and was a thorn in the usually solid Liverpool defence in the 2006 FA Cup Final, which eventually ended (after a 3-3 draw) in a 3-1 penalty shootout victory for the Merseysiders. Ashton had been a doubt in the build-up to the game after picking up a hamstring injury in the Premiership tie versus West Bromwich Albion.[21] However, despite not participating in any intensive training before the final, Ashton declared himself fit, and duly produced one of the most impressive displays in his short time at West Ham. Despite not managing to secure a place in Sven-Göran Eriksson's England 2006 World Cup squad, Ashton impressed sufficiently to draw praise from acid-tongued football pundit Alan Hansen[22] and then West Ham manager, Alan Pardew.[23] He scored 6 goals in 16 appearances in his first half-season with the club. During the summer of 2006, Ashton was link with moves away from Upton Park, one club that was mentioned the most was Newcastle United. However, Alan Pardew claimed Ashton "''[would] be going nowhere''".[24]
Ashton suffered a broken ankle while on England duty in August 2006, which meant that he was forced eventually to miss the whole of the 2006-07 season. In his absence, West Ham were fighting relegation for virtually the whole season, which led to speculation that Ashton would leave if the club was relegated. Eggert Magnusson, the club's chairman, stated in March 2007 that Ashton would not be allowed to leave until the following January at the earliest if the club were to go down.[25] In the event, the club avoided relegation on the final day of the 06-07 season.
Ashton returned to the West Ham team on 14 July 2007 in a pre-season friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge where he played for 45 minutes. He admitted he had doubted whether he would ever return to top class football and was excitedly looking forward to next season, saying, ''"I don't think there will be a hungrier player in the Premier League this season than me"''.[26] He scored his first goals for a year in the pre-season games against Leyton Orient[27] and A.S. Roma.[28] He made his return to the Premier League on August 11 2007 against Manchester City, coming on as a substitute for George McCartney at the 65th minute. West Ham 0-2 Man City

International career


Ashton has progressed through the England youth set up, racking up an impressive goal-game ratio. On 11 August 2006, Ashton was called up to Steve McClaren's England squad for the first time in his career for their friendly against Greece. Ashton was one of four strikers in the squad, alongside him were Darren Bent (Charlton); Peter Crouch ( Liverpool) and Jermaine Defoe (Tottenham).[29] Sadly for Ashton, just a day before the match, the striker suffered a broken ankle in training and missed out on a chance to make his England debut against the Greeks.[30]

Club statistics


ClubSeasonDomestic
League		FA CupLeague CupEuropean
Competition		Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
' West Ham United'07-083000000030
06-070000000000
05-06113530000166
Total 06-08133530000186
' Norwich City'05-0628100021003011
04-05167000000167
Total 05-0644170021004618
' Crewe Alexandra'04-0524180032002720
03-0444191021004720
02-033892210004111
01-023274310003910
00-01218200000238
Total 00-051596195730017769
Career Totals00-Present21781148940024093

Career honours


Crewe Alexandra


★ Runners up

★
★ 2002-2003 Football League Second Division
West Ham United


★ Runners up

★
★ 2005-2006 FA Cup

External links



★ Profile on Premierleague.com

★ Knees Up Mother Brown - Unofficial Fan Site

★ Profile at 4thegame.com

★ Photo and stats at sporting-heroes.net

★ Transfermarkt.de Profile

★ Dean Ashton Official Website at Icons.com

★ Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk

Footnotes



1. ''FA Cup Semi Final: Middlesbrough v West Ham United - The fans view'' (15th Paragraph)SquareFootball.net. Retrieved 5 July 2006
2. ''Crewe hit by Ashton injury'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
3. ''Gradi salutes Ashton'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2006
4. ''Gradi denies Ashton link'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2006
5. ''Norwich secure £3 m Ashton signing'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
6. ''Norwich City|History'' Canaries.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
7. ''The squad 2005/06: Dean Ashton'' new.PickUn.com. Retrieved 6 July 2006
8. ''Goal of the month news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
9. ''Newspaper pundits rate City's chances'' bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
10. ''Norwich 3-1 Southampton'' bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
11. ''Thursday's gossip column'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
12. ''Pardew to go back in for Ashton'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
13. ''Ashton price too high says Jewell'' news.bbc.co.uk. retrieved 5 July 2006
14. ''Ashton commits himself to Norwich'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
15. ''Norwich may consider Ashton bids'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
16. ''Hammers complete Ashton transfer'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
17. ''Canaries collect Ashton windfall'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2006
18. ''Premiership clockwatch'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
19. ''Man City 1-2 West Ham'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
20. ''Ashton makes apology'' Home.Skysports.com. Retrieved 6 July 2006
21. ''West Ham duo winning fitness race'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2006
22. ''Alan Hansen's Cup final verdict'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2006
23. ''Pards backs Deano for England'' Home.SkySports.com. Retrieved 6 July 2006
24. ''Ashton going nowhere, says Pardew'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2006
25. BBC football gossip, 28/03/07 Retrieved 14/05/07
26. Ashton had doubts over comeback
27. Ashton confidence boosted by goal
28. Ashton shows glimpse of class in return
29. ''Ashton receives England call-up'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2006
30. ''Ashton hit by England injury blow'' news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2006


References



★ whufc.com
''All Match results are taken from:''

★ West ham site

★

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