Haggle for £400k Baggies fans will feel conflicted over the West Brom signing.

Under Carlos Corberan’s leadership, West Brom is pushing for promotion to the Premier League, therefore it’s an exciting moment to be a supporter.

Naturally, the Baggies would be no strangers to the top division; they have seen ups and downs throughout the years, with their greatest run of eight years in a row being in 2010.

Craig Dawson was a West Brom steal when he signed.

During that time, Albion experienced many special moments. Craig Dawson was one player who had a significant impact.

The defender signed a low-cost £400,000 contract to join West Brom from Rochdale. He would go on to participate in over 200 games for the team, becoming a regular starting in the 2014–15 season.

Dawson was a dependable and trustworthy player who could play both right and center back. His no-nonsense approach won him over many fans. He was the kind of guy who would go about his business without causing any problems and who throughout the years contributed some significant goals for Albion.

Granted, Dawson’s wishful ending isn’t entirely accurate, but he should be commended for remaining in the area when Albion was demoted in 2018.

He remained an important player for the Baggies in the second division, but sadly, they were unable to win back their home ground after losing to rivals Aston Villa in the play-offs.

Jacob Murphy of Oxford United is out of contract in the summer, and West Brom is one of many teams interested in him.

Dawson would then move to Watford after securing a switch from The Hawthorns.

Although most people acknowledged that this was a player who had given it his all over the years and had given Albion a season in the Championship before joining Watford in the Premier League, it was still a blow for the team.

Craig Dawson experiences ups and downs following West Brom’s victory.

For the one season that he was at Vicarage Road, Dawson was unable to keep the team from relegating, hence his tenure there was brief.

However, the seasoned center defender would make another Premier League move, this time to West Ham, which helped to revitalize his career.

Over the next few years, Dawson would frequently appear for David Moyes’ team. It was an incredible ride as they qualified for Europe, and the former Rochdale player became a cult icon following some incredible performances. He also scored in a historic victory against Lyon in the Europa League quarterfinal.

Craig Dawson Career Stats (Source: Transfermarkt)
Club	Appearances
Rochdale	94
Bolton Wanderers	16
West Brom	225
Watford	31
West Ham United	87
Wolverhampton Wanderers	45

Craig Dawson joined Wolves and leaves a sour taste in mouths of West Brom fans

At that point, Dawson was still highly respected at The Hawthorns, so most Albion supporters would have been happy to see him succeeding.

He would, however, lose credibility with West Brom following his January 2023 transfer to Wolves.

Of course, it’s even worse when players switch clubs directly, but in the modern game, it is extremely uncommon. Dawson’s popularity at The Hawthorns was never going to be the same, even though he didn’t do that.

Afterwards, earlier this year, the two teams’ FA Cup matchup marked their first meeting with supporters in almost ten years.

Dawson was naturally the center of attention after that, and before the game, keeper Jose Sa of Wolves made a humorous discovery on the wall as they made their way to the dressing room: a photo of the center back wearing Albion colors.

The Wolfpack defeated the Baggies at The Hawthorns for the first time since the mid-1990s, despite Dawson being the victim of constant heckling from some sections of the support once the game began.

Dawson ultimately made the decision to join Wolves in order to further his career, and it was a wise one as he has since made frequent appearances and moved closer to his family after living in London.

Although it damaged his reputation among certain West Brom supporters, Dawson seems to be able to move over it based on his remarks from earlier this year about how much he “truly liked” defeating his old teams.

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